Sea Hero
| Sea Hero | |
|---|---|
Statue of Sea Hero at Saratoga Park
|
|
| Sire | Polish Navy |
| Grandsire | Danzig |
| Dam | Glowing Tribute |
| Damsire | Graustark |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | March 4, 1990 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Paul Mellon |
| Owner | Rokeby Stables. Silks: Dark Gray, Yellow Braid, Sleeves and Cap. |
| Trainer | MacKenzie Miller |
| Record | 24: 6-3-4 |
| Earnings | $2,929,869 |
| Major wins | |
|
Champagne Stakes (1992) Kentucky Derby (1993) |
|
| Honours | |
|
Life-size statue at Saratoga Race Course Sea Hero Road, Frankfort, Kentucky Sea Hero Court in Napa, California Bronze statue at National Sporting Library |
|
| Last updated on December 9, 2007 | |
Champagne Stakes (1992)
Travers Stakes (1993)
Sea Hero (foaled March 4, 1990 in Virginia) is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1993 Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes. Since 2011, Sea Hero has been the oldest living winner of the Kentucky Derby.
Sea Hero was bred in Virginia by Paul Mellon and raced for Mellon's Rokeby Stables. Sea Hero was by Polish Navy, who was a good racehorse but otherwise a disappointment as a sire. Sea Hero's dam was Glowing Tribute, who descended from one of the most distinguished thoroughbred families in North America – that of La Troienne. Glowing Tribute was named Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 1993 after she had produced not only Sea Hero but graded stakes winners Hero's Honor, Wild Applause and Glowing Honor.
In 1992, Mellon, then aged 84, started dispersing most of his stock but kept Sea Hero, who was in training with MacKenzie Miller. Sea Hero was considered somewhat temperamental and had a habit of getting his tongue over the bit, forcing Miller to experiment with different equipment.
Sea Hero made his racing debut on July 13, 1992 in a maiden special weight race at Belmont Park, in which he finished fourth. He did not win his first race until September 7 in what was his fourth start, racing over 1 mile on the turf. He next won an allowance race on the turf then switched to dirt to win the Grade I Champagne Stakes. He finished the year with a seventh-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
At the start of his three-year-old campaign, Sea Hero was winless in his first three starts. His best result was a fourth-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes to Prairie Bayou, who then became the lukewarm favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Sea Hero entered the Derby as a 13-1 longshot and pulled off the upset by 2 1⁄2 lengths over Prairie Bayou. It marked the first Derby win for jockey Jerry Bailey and for 71-year-old trainer Miller. It was also the first Derby win for Mellon, who became the only person to ever win the Kentucky Derby, the Epsom Derby, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, having captured the latter two with Mill Reef in 1971.
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