Obeah (horse)
Encyclopedia
Obeah was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse
for whom the Obeah Stakes
at Delaware Park Racetrack is named. Bred in Kentucky
by Bertram N. Linder, she was sired by 1961 Futurity Stakes winner, Cyane. Her dam was Book of Verse, a daughter of 1952 American Horse of the Year, One Count
. Obeah was bought for just $10,000 at the 1966 Saratoga yearling auction by Harry and Jane Lunger
who owned her sire and who felt the filly was being bid too low.
Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
inductee, Henry Clark
, Obeah raced under the colors of the Lungers' Christiana Stables. Racing at age two in 1967, Obeah won the Blue Hen Stakes
at her Delaware Park Racetrack home base. At age three her best result in a major race was a second in the Firenze Handicap but at age four she won the 1969 Delaware Handicap
in early August and then captured October's Vineland Handicap
at Garden State Park
. Obeah returned to racing at age five and won her second straight edition of the Delaware Handicap
and in late November won the Firenze Handicap.
and his full sister, Gazelle Handicap winner Discorama. Barren for a second time in 1985, the following year 22-year-old Obeah was sent to Windfields Farm
in Maryland
where she was bred to Deputy Minister
. The mating resulted in the birth of her greatest foal on April 6, 1987, a filly named Go For Wand
born at Walnut Green Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania
owned by the Lungers' son-in law, Richard I.G. Jones. Voted the 1998 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and 1990 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, Go For Wand was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1996.
Pensioned in 1992 at Claiborne Farm
at Paris, Kentucky
, Obeah died at age twenty-eight in 1993 and was buried in Claiborne's Marchmont division cemetery.
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...
for whom the Obeah Stakes
Obeah Stakes
The Obeah Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid June at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of a mile and an eighth ....
at Delaware Park Racetrack is named. Bred in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
by Bertram N. Linder, she was sired by 1961 Futurity Stakes winner, Cyane. Her dam was Book of Verse, a daughter of 1952 American Horse of the Year, One Count
One Count
One Count was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Walter M. Jeffords, Sr., and raced by his wife, Sarah, he was a son of the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown Champion, Count Fleet.-Racing career:...
. Obeah was bought for just $10,000 at the 1966 Saratoga yearling auction by Harry and Jane Lunger
Jane du Pont Lunger
Jane du Pont Lunger was an American heiress, philanthropist, and an owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. A sixth generation member of Delaware's prominent Du Pont family, her father, Philip Francis du Pont, was a major benefactor to the University of Virginia.In 1934, Jane du Pont married...
who owned her sire and who felt the filly was being bid too low.
Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee, Henry Clark
Henry S. Clark
Henry S. Clark was an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. He was the grandson of William Jennings, an owner-trainer who won the 1887 Preakness Stakes....
, Obeah raced under the colors of the Lungers' Christiana Stables. Racing at age two in 1967, Obeah won the Blue Hen Stakes
Blue Hen Stakes
The Blue Hen Stakes at Delaware Park Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies held annually in early October at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware...
at her Delaware Park Racetrack home base. At age three her best result in a major race was a second in the Firenze Handicap but at age four she won the 1969 Delaware Handicap
Delaware Handicap
The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....
in early August and then captured October's Vineland Handicap
Vineland Handicap
The Vineland Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on turf over a distance of a mile and a sixteenth....
at Garden State Park
Garden State Park
Garden State Park was a harness and thoroughbred race track in Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums...
. Obeah returned to racing at age five and won her second straight edition of the Delaware Handicap
Delaware Handicap
The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....
and in late November won the Firenze Handicap.
As a broodmare
Retired to broodmare duty in Kentucky for the Lungers, from her offspring Obeah produced four stakes winners, including Dance SpellDance Spell
Dance Spell was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky by Harry and Jane Lunger's Christiana Stables. They entrusted his race conditioning to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James W...
and his full sister, Gazelle Handicap winner Discorama. Barren for a second time in 1985, the following year 22-year-old Obeah was sent to Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
where she was bred to Deputy Minister
Deputy Minister (horse)
Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...
. The mating resulted in the birth of her greatest foal on April 6, 1987, a filly named Go For Wand
Go For Wand
Go For Wand was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse.Sired by Canadian Hall of Famer Deputy Minister, out of Obeah . Go For Wand was foaled and raised at Jane du Pont Lunger's Christiana Stables...
born at Walnut Green Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania
Unionville, Pennsylvania
Unionville is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania:*Unionville, Centre County, Pennsylvania*Unionville, Chester County, Pennsylvania*Neffs, Pennsylvania in Lehigh County, historically called Unionville...
owned by the Lungers' son-in law, Richard I.G. Jones. Voted the 1998 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and 1990 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, Go For Wand was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1996.
Pensioned in 1992 at Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...
at Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
, Obeah died at age twenty-eight in 1993 and was buried in Claiborne's Marchmont division cemetery.