Counterpoint (horse)
Encyclopedia
Counterpoint was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. Sired by 1943 U.S. Triple Crown
champion Count Fleet
, as a yearling he injured an ankle bone severely enough that his racing future was put in doubt. However, he healed to where could be trained and although late in the season, at age two he started in two races but showed little, most likely hampered by the effects of injury and a late start in developing his strength.
, an important test race for Kentucky Derby
hopefuls. Raced in two divisions that year because of the number of entrants, Counterpoint finished fourth in the second division of the Blue Grass but then was moved up to third place after the winner Sonic was disqualified. Still believing the colt had potential, his handlers put him in the Kentucky Derby. But, after making a move at the three quarters pole that got him from eighth place to fifth, he tired badly and wound up a very disappointing eleventh to winner and half-brother, Count Turf
.
. Dismissed by bettors
, he went off as a heavy odds-on favorite at 25:1. Although he finished seven lengths behind Brookmeade Stable's
winning colt Bold
in the second fastest time in Preakness history, Counterpoint's second place finish was a sign of things to come.
. Here, he showed his true brilliance, not just by winning the race, but doing it in track record time. Although scheduled just one week later, the colt was raced in the 1½ mile Belmont Stakes
, the longest of the Triple Crown races. In the Belmont, Counterpoint would establish himself as the dominant three-year-old of 1951, running away from a strong field to win by four lengths over George Widener, Jr.'s
colt and U.S. Two-Year-Old Champion
, Battlefield. For regular jockey David Gorman it was his first and only Classic Race win and for owner Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
and trainer Sylvester Veitch
it was their second Belmont Stakes win together, having captured the 1947 edition with Phalanx
.
. He was then entered in the Jockey Club Gold Cup
where he had to compete against older horses, notably the heavily favored previous year's winner and 1950 Horse of the Year
, Hill Prince
. Counterpoint won the demanding two-mile long race then defeated Christopher Chenery's
Hill Prince for the second time in the Empire City Gold Cup while equaling the track record and assuring himself the 1951 Horse of the Year title.
Raced at age four, Counterpoint won the inaugural San Fernando Stakes
and the Whitney Stakes before being retired to stud
duty at owner C.V. Whitney's breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky
. Although Counterpoint sired a number of Graded stakes race
winners including Hollywood Gold Cup
winner Dotted Swiss
, none achieved the level of racing success he had.
Counterpoint died in 1969 at the Whitney farm (today part of Gainesway Farm
) and was buried in its equine cemetery next to a number of other prominent horses owned both by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and his father, Harry Payne Whitney
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Sired by 1943 U.S. Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
champion Count Fleet
Count Fleet
Count Fleet was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943....
, as a yearling he injured an ankle bone severely enough that his racing future was put in doubt. However, he healed to where could be trained and although late in the season, at age two he started in two races but showed little, most likely hampered by the effects of injury and a late start in developing his strength.
Disastrous Derby
In his three-year-old campaign in 1951, Counterpoint was entered in the Blue Grass StakesBlue Grass Stakes
The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky....
, an important test race for Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
hopefuls. Raced in two divisions that year because of the number of entrants, Counterpoint finished fourth in the second division of the Blue Grass but then was moved up to third place after the winner Sonic was disqualified. Still believing the colt had potential, his handlers put him in the Kentucky Derby. But, after making a move at the three quarters pole that got him from eighth place to fifth, he tired badly and wound up a very disappointing eleventh to winner and half-brother, Count Turf
Count Turf
Count Turf was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the 1951 Kentucky Derby. He is one of only two equine families where three generations have won the Kentucky Derby. His grandsire Reigh Count won the 1928 Derby and then his sire Count Fleet won it in 1943. Count Fleet...
.
Preakness Promise
Despite his poor showing in the Kentucky Derby, Counterpoint was still competed in the Preakness StakesPreakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. Dismissed by bettors
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, he went off as a heavy odds-on favorite at 25:1. Although he finished seven lengths behind Brookmeade Stable's
Brookmeade Stable
Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924....
winning colt Bold
Bold (horse)
Bold was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that is best remembered for winning the 1951 Preakness Stakes in a long shot victory and for being struck by lightning at the age of four while pastured at his Upperville, Virginia farm....
in the second fastest time in Preakness history, Counterpoint's second place finish was a sign of things to come.
Belmont Star
Counterpoint was entered in the June 16th Peter Pan Handicap at Belmont ParkBelmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
. Here, he showed his true brilliance, not just by winning the race, but doing it in track record time. Although scheduled just one week later, the colt was raced in the 1½ mile Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
, the longest of the Triple Crown races. In the Belmont, Counterpoint would establish himself as the dominant three-year-old of 1951, running away from a strong field to win by four lengths over George Widener, Jr.'s
George D. Widener, Jr.
George Dunton Widener, Jr. was an American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
colt and U.S. Two-Year-Old Champion
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse
The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
, Battlefield. For regular jockey David Gorman it was his first and only Classic Race win and for owner Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses....
and trainer Sylvester Veitch
Sylvester Veitch
Sylvester E. Veitch was a Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse trainer.Veitch began his career in racing as a jockey and trainer in Steeplechase racing. In 1939 he moved to flat racing when he began employment as a trainer with Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney in Kentucky...
it was their second Belmont Stakes win together, having captured the 1947 edition with Phalanx
Phalanx (horse)
Phalanx was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Pilate, a son of the 1916 Belmont Stakes winner, Friar Rock. His dam was the outstanding runner, Jacola, the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1937 who beat the great Seabiscuit by two lengths in the 1938 Laurel Stakes....
.
Horse of the Year
Unfortunately, Counterpoint bruised a foot and was out of racing for two months but in early fall returned to the track in impressive fashion with a win in the important Lawrence Realization StakesLawrence Realization Stakes
The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...
. He was then entered in the Jockey Club Gold Cup
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...
where he had to compete against older horses, notably the heavily favored previous year's winner and 1950 Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
, Hill Prince
Hill Prince
Hill Prince was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who earned Champion honors in his first three years of racing. Trained by Casey Hayes for owner Christopher Chenery, at age two Hill Prince won six of the first seven races he entered and was the American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, sharing the...
. Counterpoint won the demanding two-mile long race then defeated Christopher Chenery's
Christopher Chenery
Christopher Tompkins Chenery was an American engineer, businessman, and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat....
Hill Prince for the second time in the Empire City Gold Cup while equaling the track record and assuring himself the 1951 Horse of the Year title.
Raced at age four, Counterpoint won the inaugural San Fernando Stakes
San Fernando Breeders' Cup Stakes
The San Fernando Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to four-year-old horses, it is contested on at a distance of 11/16 miles on Pro-Ride synthetic dirt...
and the Whitney Stakes before being retired to stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
duty at owner C.V. Whitney's breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. Although Counterpoint sired a number of Graded stakes race
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
winners including Hollywood Gold Cup
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
winner Dotted Swiss
Dotted Swiss
Dotted Swiss was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Hollywood Gold Cup in 1960. He was bred and raced by C. V. Whitney, a member of New York City's prominent Vanderbilt family. His dam was Swistar, a daughter of the 1944 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and 1945...
, none achieved the level of racing success he had.
Counterpoint died in 1969 at the Whitney farm (today part of Gainesway Farm
Gainesway Farm
Gainesway Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding business in Lexington, Kentucky. It was originally called Greentree Farms.The 1,500 acre property has been home to sires such as Youth and Exceller and numerous others who are buried on the property...
) and was buried in its equine cemetery next to a number of other prominent horses owned both by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and his father, Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horsebreeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.- Early years :...
.