Runaway Groom
| Runaway Groom | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Blushing Groom |
| Grandsire | Red God |
| Dam | Yonnie Girl |
| Damsire | Call The Witness |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1979 |
| Country | Canada |
| Colour | Gray |
| Breeder | Gardiner Farms |
| Owner | Albert P. Coppola, Sr. |
| Trainer |
John DiMario Charlie Whittingham |
| Record | 18-6-5-1 |
| Earnings | $347,537 |
| Major wins | |
|
Prince of Wales Stakes (1982) Breeders' Stakes (1982) Travers Stakes (1982) |
|
| Awards | |
| Canadian Champion 3-Yr-Old- Colt (1982) | |
| Honours | |
| Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (2001) | |
| Last updated on March 15, 2007 | |
Runaway Groom (1979–2007) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.
Bred by Gardiner Farms in Caledon, Ontario, Runaway Groom was sired by the prominent Nearco descendant Blushing Groom out of the mare Yonnie Girl. He was purchased as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton sale in Kentucky by New Yorker Albert J. Coppola, who only realized later that the colt's birthplace meant he qualified for the Canadian Triple Crown series.
Runaway Groom did not race at age two. Trained by New Yorker John DiMario, he began his career in the spring of 1982 at age three. Racing in Kentucky, he won two of his first four races, then was sent to Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack for the Queen's Plate, the most prestigious race in Canada and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown series. Under jockey Robin Platts, the lightly regarded Runaway Groom surprised fans and bettors as he finished a solid second behind Son of Briartic. In the ensuing Prince of Wales Stakes, Runaway Groom turned the tables on the Plate winner, winning it as well as the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Stakes.
Brought to New York to compete, Runaway Groom won an allowance race at Belmont Park before competing in Saratoga Race Course's premier event, the Grade I Travers Stakes. In a very strong field, bettors sent the colt off at 13-1 odds but under Canadian jockey Jeffrey Fell, Runaway Groom won the race, marking the second time in American racing history that a horse has beaten the Kentucky Derby winner (Gato Del Sol), the Preakness Stakes winner (Aloma's Ruler), and the Belmont Stakes winner (Conquistador Cielo) in the same race. The first took place when Sun Briar defeated Kentucky Derby winner (Exterminator), Preakness Stakes winner (War Cloud), and Belmont Stakes winner (Johren) in the 1918 Travers.
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