Never Say Die (horse)
| Never Say Die | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Nasrullah |
| Grandsire | Nearco |
| Dam | Singing Grass |
| Damsire | War Admiral |
| Sex | Colt |
| Foaled | 1951 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Robert Sterling Clark |
| Owner | Robert Sterling Clark |
| Trainer | Joseph Lawson |
| Record | 12: 3-1-3 |
| Earnings | £31,147 |
| Major wins | |
|
Epsom Derby (1954) St. Leger Stakes (1954) |
|
| Awards | |
|
Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland (1962) Timeform Top-rated horse of 1954 (137) |
|
Never Say Die (1951–1975) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning only once from his first nine races, he demonstrated much improved form in the summer of 1954 to win the Epsom Derby, becoming the first American colt to win the race in seventy-three years. Later that year he added a second British Classic when winning the St. Leger Stakes by a record margin of twelve lengths. He was later retired to a successful stud career.
Never Say Die was a chestnut colt with a white blaze and three white feet, bred and raced by the American philanthropist and art collector Robert Sterling Clark. At the time of his Derby win, the horse stood 15.3 ½ hands high. He was conceived in Ireland but foaled at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky. His sire, Nasrullah had been a talented but temperamental racehorse who was beginning to have an impact as a stallion. Never Say Die's dam, Singing Grass won seven unimportant races in England. Clark sent the colt to England as a yearling to be trained by Joseph Lawson, who had already won nine Classics Clark's other British trainer, Harry Peacock had been given first choice of the owner's yearlings but had rejected Never Say Die because of his low opinion of Nasrullah's stock.
In six races as a two-year-old, Never Say Die showed some good form but appeared to be somewhat below the best of his generation. He won the six furlong Rosslyn Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in July and finished third in both the Richmond Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the year's best British juveniles, Never Say Die was allotted a weight of 115 pounds, eighteen pounds below the top-rated The Pie King.
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