Fervent (horse)
| Fervent | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Blenheim II |
| Grandsire | Blandford |
| Dam | Hug Again |
| Damsire | Stimulus |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1944 |
| Country | United States |
| Color | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Calumet Farm |
| Owner | Calumet Farm |
| Trainer | Ben & Jimmy Jones |
| Record | 44: 17-8-4 |
| Earnings | US$347,135 |
| Major wins | |
| Walden Stakes (1946)American Derby (1947)Dick Welles Stakes (1947)Pimlico Special (1947)Skokie Handicap (1947)Ben Ali Handicap (1948)Dixie Handicap (1948)Equipoise Mile Handicap (1948)Washington Park Handicap (1948) | |
Fervent (foaled 1944 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by Warren Wright's renowned Calumet Farm at Lexington, Kentucky. [1] The colt is best remembered for an August 23, 1947 American Derby win in which he broke the Washington Parktrack record with the then fastest mile and a quarter ever run by a three-year-old in the history of American Thoroughbred racing.[2]
Background
Fervent was sired by Blenheim II, a British import whose wins included their most prestigious race, the Epsom Derby. Blenheim II would earn Leading sire in North America honors in 1941. Fervent's dam, Hug Again, was a daughter of the good runner and sire Stimulus that won the important Pimlico Futurity.[3] Hug Again's other progeny included multiple stakes winners Sun Again (1939) and Arrogate (1951).
Throughout his racing career Fervent was trained by Ben Jones and his son Jimmy. Both men would have outstanding careers that earned them induction into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame.
1946: 2-year-old season
Racing at age two, Fervent's most significant win came in the November 13, 1946 Walden Stakes at Baltimore'sPimlico Race Course in which he defeated runner-up and stablemate Faultless by a head.[4] A major event, other top class two-year-olds that won the Walden Stakes include U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees Reigh Count (1927) and his son, U.S. Triple Crown winner Count Fleet (1943), another U.S. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway (1940), and future Hall of Fame inductee Alsab (1941) who would defeat Whirlaway in a 1942 match race at Narragansett Park.
1947: 3-year-old season
Calumet Farm chose to run Fervent in the August 23 American Derby at Washington Park Race Track in Chicago and to run stablemate Faultless in the 1947 U.S. Triple Crown series that began in early May. In addition to Fervent's national record setting time in winning the American Derby, he again beat Cosmic Bomb and Phalanx who had finished second and third respectively.[5]
Fervent closed out his 1947 campaign on October 31 with another major win at Pimlico Race Course. This time it would be in the Pimlico Special, a race won in 1945 by Calumet Farm's best runner Armed under jockey Douglas Dodson. For the 1947 edition, trainer Jimmy Jones again put Dodson on Armed and the up-and-coming young rider Albert Snider on Fervent who rode him to victory, again defeating runner-up Cosmic Bomb with Armed in third.[6]
1948: 4-year-old season
In what would be another successful year in racing, Fervent won four important Stakes races, taking the Ben Ali Handicap at Keeneland,[7]Dixie Handicap at Pimlico Race Course,[8]Equipoise Mile Handicap at Arlington Park,[9] and the Washington Park Handicap at Washington Park Race Track.[10]
At stud
When retired to stand at stud for Calumet Farm, among all of the progeny of Blenheim II, Fervent’s career earnings from racing ranked him second to Triple Crown winner Whirlaway. For Calumet, Fervent notably sired the colt Rockcastle (1952) that went on to win thirteen races including the 1955 Yankee Handicap and 1957 Tomasello Memorial Handicap, both at Suffolk Downs. Rockcastle retired with earnings of $115,100 in 1957 which would be equivalent to approximately $1,299,750 in July, 2025. However, at the time Calumet’s stable of sires also included, among others, Bull Lea, Citation, Coaltown, Faultless, Ponder and Sun Again. As such, when the French businessman Marcel Boussac, owner of the renowned House of Dior in Paris, and the Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard in rural Neuvy-au-Houlme, a highly successful Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation, made a good offer in 1953 that was accepted. As a result, it meant further offspring of Fervent would most likely never be competing against Calumet runners.[11]
Pedigree
| SireBlenheim II | Blandford | Swynford | John O'Gaunt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury Pilgrim | |||
| Blanche | White Eagle | ||
| Black Cherry | |||
| Malva | Charles O'Malley | Desmond | |
| Goody Two-Shoes | |||
| Wild Arum | Robert Le Diable | ||
| Marliacea | |||
| DamHug Again | Stimulus | Ultimus | Commando |
| Running Stream | |||
| Hurakan | Uncle | ||
| The Hoyden | |||
| Affection | Isidor | Amphion | |
| Isis | |||
| One I Love | Minting | ||
| The Apple (family: 9-f) |
References
- ^"Fervent (USA)". Equibase Company. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^"Fervent Victor Over Cosmic Bomb by Neck With Phalanx 3d in Rich American Derby". The New York Times. 24 August 1947. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^"Marshall Fields Crack Colt, Stimulus, and His 1924 Record". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^"Calumet One, Two in Walden Stakes; Fervent Defeats Faultless by a Head". The New York Times. 14 November 1946. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^"Fervent Victor Over Cosmic Bomb by Neck With Phalanx 3d in Rich American Derby". The New York Times. 24 August 1947. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^"Wright 3-Year-Old Beats Cosmic Bomb; Fervent's Closing Rush Takes $25,000 Special by a Neck". The New York Times, Section Sports, page 20. November 1947. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^"Fervent Works Six Furlongs". Daily Racing Form (University of Kentucky Archives). Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^"Fervent in Handy Dixie Accounting; Choice Handled Flawlessly By Pierson". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
- ^"BC announces 2022 "Win and You're In' schedule". Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^"FERVENT IS VICTOR BY NOSE AT CHICAGO". The New York Times, Section sports, Page 32. 7 September 1948. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^"Sires And Dams: Kentucky Has Many of Worlds Finest Sires; Breeders Invested Millions in Top Horses". Daily Racing Form (University of Kentucky Archives). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
