Page 61 - April 2017

Their Thoroughbred breeding program seemed to be successful from the beginning. They bred Assault, who was the 1946 Thoroughbred Triple Crown winner, and Middleground, who won the 1950 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Middleground just missed winning a second Triple Crown for them with a second in the Preakness. The broodmare sire of Middleground is Chicaro.
Chicaro was bred by Harry Payne Whitney in Kentucky. The Whitney breeding program was started by William Collins Whitney and carried on by his sons Harry Payne Whitney and C. V. Whitney, with each Whitney contributing to the Thoroughbred.
Equestrian, the sire of Top Deck, was bred by C. V. Whitney and was purchased by they King Ranch. Equestrian is sired by Equipoise by Pennant by Peter Pan by Commando by Domino. Peter Pan was a major stallion used in the Whitney breeding program. Equipoise is out of Swinging by Broomstick by Ben Brush. Broomstick was another important Whitney stallion.
Equestrian is out of Frilette by Man O’War. Man O’War is by Fair Play and out of Mahubah by Rock Sand. The dam of Frilette is Frillery by Broomstick. Frillery is out of Petticoat by Hamburg, who was one of the first stallions used in the Whitney Stud. He is sired by Hanover and out of Lady Reel. Lady Reel is a half-sister to Domino as they were both out of Mannie Gray.
River Boat is the dam of Top Deck and she is sired by Chicaro. Chicaro shows his Whitney breeding as he was sired by *Chicle, an imported stallion that stood at the Whitney Stud. The dam of Chicaro is Wendy by Peter Pan and Wendy is out of Remembrance by Broomstick.
Last Boat, the dam of River Boat, is by Sir Gallahad III and out of Taps, by Man O’War. Taps is out of Shady, by Broomstick. This
last cross to Broomstick gives the pedigree of Top Deck a breeding pattern of 4 X 4 X 5 X 5 to Broomstick and a breeding pattern of
4 X 4 to Peter Pan. The Top Deck pedigree has a 3 X 4 breeding pattern to Man O’War. The pedigree of Top Deck is an example
of a balanced pedigree, especially when we see the Broomstick pattern. The balancing of the pedigree comes from the “balanced” distribution of the common ancestors Broomstick, Peter Pan and Man O’War through the pedigree.
The pedigree of Top Deck indicates his potential as a racehorse, but he never made it to an official race. This is where the mystery comes into the story of this great stallion. Bob Gray, in the article “The Story of Top Deck” that appeared in the HORSEMAN
magazine in December 1967, tells us that Top Deck was kicked in the knee as a young horse and was never able to recover to be sound enough to run.
Gray interviewed King Ranch veterinarian Dr. J. K. Northway through a letter about what appeared to be an insignificant injury
at the time and this was his response, “It is difficult to say just why the lameness persisted and plagued this horse.” Northway went on to explain in his letter that the injury bothered the horse when he “bore down on the foot.” The article explains that they did try to train Top Deck, but the lameness persisted despite his ability to show speed in his efforts. They even tried surgery to solve the problem, but the horse was never able to run sound.
The second story about why Top Deck never made an official start came through
the article “In the Tradition of Greatness” by Scott Wells in SPEEDHORSE November 1979. The article indicates that Top Deck was in training with the other two year
olds when he foundered and was unable to continue his training to be a racehorse. He had reportedly run 1/8 mile in 12.2 seconds, just 1/10th of a second off the World Record. Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. was present for the work and was disappointed when Top Deck didn’t go east with the other two-year-old runners in 1947.
A third theory as to why Top Deck was not raced was also brought out in the article by Scott Wells. That theory indicates that Top Deck never made an official start because of his temperament. The Wells’ article indicated that there were rumors in South Texas that Top Deck was difficult to handle and that he wasn’t even broke to ride. It appears that this rumor was wide spread, but Wells indicated that he was broke to ride.
An interview I had with O. S. Carlton III in the mid 1980’s reaffirmed the theory that Top Deck was, as he put it, “broncy” and hard to handle. Carlton had heard this theory over the years by visiting with horsemen who had worked with the horse. Carlton, the breeder of 1995 All American Futurity winner Winalota Cash, is the brother of Harriet Peckham, the last owner of Go Man Go.
The next phase of this version of the story finds that as Top Deck was recovering from the founder, his disposition got the best of him and he was injured again. This time it marked the end of any attempt to race the horse.
For whatever the reason was, the fact that Top Deck never raced is credited as to why he became such a noted sire of Quarter Horses. Earnest Lane was a South Texas rancher and trainer of racehorses. As the story goes, Lane was the trainer for the King Ranch who
The King Ranch breeding program was successful from the beginning and included such horses as the 1946 Kentucky Derby & Belmont Stakes winner Middleground, (shown above) and AQHA Champion Brigand TB, Miss Princess & Nobodys Friend.
The Top Deck pedigree has a 3X4 breeding pattern to Man O’ War, (shown above), who is considered to be one of the greatest racehorses
of all time.
King Ranch veterinarian Dr. J. K. Northway (shown above with AQHA Hall of Fame Horse Depth Charge TB), said that, even with surgery, Top Deck was never able to run sound after what seemed to be an insignificant injury.
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SPEEDLINES