High Quest (1931–1948) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1934 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races.
| High Quest | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Sir Gallahad III |
| Grandsire | Teddy |
| Dam | Etoile Filante |
| Damsire | Fair Play |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1931 |
| Country | United States |
| Color | Brown |
| Breeder | Marshall Field III |
| Owner | Brookmeade Stable |
| Trainer | Robert A. Smith |
| Record | 13: 6-3-1 |
| Earnings | $52,190 |
| Major wins | |
| Eastern Shore Handicap (1933) Wood Memorial Stakes (1934) U.S. Triple Crown series: Preakness Stakes (1934) | |
| Last updated on December 20, 2006 | |
Background
editSir Gallahad III, the sire of High Quest, had been purchased in 1926 from his owner in France by an American breeding syndicate made up of Robert A. Fairbairn, William Woodward Sr., Arthur B. Hancock, and High Quest's breeder, Marshall Field III.
Bob Smith, a trainer with a history of spotting talent, had been hired by heiress Isabel Dodge Sloane to stock her newly formed Brookmeade Stable. Smith purchased High Quest for $3,500 at the Saratoga Yearling Sales and that same year bought Time Clock for $700 and Cavalcade for $1,200. Time Clock won the Flamingo Stakes in 1934 while Cavalcade won the Kentucky Derby, Horse of the Year honors, and was later inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Racing career
editRacing at age two, High Quest won an allowance race at Saratoga Race Course, defeating future Hall of Famer Discovery. In the prestigious Hopeful Stakes for two-year-olds, he again defeated Discovery but finished second to a filly named Bazaar. In the Eastern Shore Handicap at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Maryland, High Quest beat Discovery for the third time as well as stablemate Cavalcade.
In 1934, en route to the U.S. Triple Crown races, the three-year-old High Quest won the important Wood Memorial Stakes. His stablemates Cavalcade and Time Clock were entered in the Kentucky Derby, finishing first and seventh respectively. High Quest then replaced Time Clock in the Preakness Stakes and under California jockey Bobby Jones scored the most important win of his career by defeating stablemate Cavalcade by a nose.[1]
Despite sustaining an injury in the Withers Stakes,[2] High Quest competed in the third leg of the Triple Crown series, finishing second in the Belmont Stakes to the Joseph E. Widener colt Peace Chance. An injury shortly before the Arlington Classic ruled him out for the rest of the year[3] and he did not race again.
Stud record
editRetired to stud duty, unlike his prominent father, High Quest was less than successful in producing stakes winners with 1946 Santa Anita Handicap winner War Knight probably the best of the lot.
Breeding
edit| Sire Sir Gallahad bay 1920 |
Teddy
bay 1913 |
Ajax | Flying Fox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amie | |||
| Rondeau | Bay Ronald | ||
| Doremi | |||
| Plucky Liege
bay 1912 |
Spearmint | Carbine | |
| Maid of the Mint | |||
| Concertina | St. Simon | ||
| Comic Song | |||
| Dam Etoile Filante ch. 1918 |
Fair Play
ch. 1905 |
Hastings | Spendthrift |
| Cinderella | |||
| Fairy Gold | Bend Or | ||
| Dame Masham | |||
| Chit Chat
bay 1913 |
Rock Sand | Sainfoin | |
| Roquebrune | |||
| Chinkara | Galopin | ||
| Raker |