Page 70 - July 2022

BOLD VENTURE
Bold Venture
Fby Andrew Hanna
or a horse who would be dogged by
misfortune the majority of his career,
Bold Venture’s beginnings were surprisingly promising. The colt came into
the world on March 4, 1933, at Morton L. Schwartz’s Elsmeade Farm – which had already produced stars like Gusto (the previous year’s leading money-earner) and Enfilade (the 1918 Champion Three-Year-Old Filly). Bold Venture’s bloodlines were equally illustrious. His dam Possible was a stakes winner who had racked up five wins and $5,427 over the course of eleven starts. Moreover, Possible was closely related to both Colin and Domino – the latter of whom had reigned as the richest Thoroughbred in American history for twenty-five years. Bold Venture’s sire St. Germans, had also been a formidable racehorse. As a three year old, he
had placed second in the fabled English Derby
(ironically, the only runner to out race him was his half-brother Sansovino). After racking up a few more stakes victories at four, St. Germans was retired. He promptly parlayed his racing success into a brilliant stud career. In 1928, the stallion sired Twenty Grand – a future Hall of Famer who captured both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.
Evidently, Bold Venture initially displayed potential as well. When the colt was two years old, Morton Schwartz decided to consign all his horses to a dispersal sale. However, the owner was already so confident in Bold Venture that he wasn’t willing to lose him for a pittance. To prevent this from happening, Schwartz asked one of his friends – a Runyonesque ticket speculator, inveterate gambler, and racehorse owner named Isidor Bieber – to buy the colt
if he failed to fetch a sufficient sum. After a brief flurry of bidding, it became clear that
nobody was willing to pay the colt’s true worth. Bieber sprang into action. Staying true to his instructions, he quickly bought Bold Venture for $7,100 and gave the colt back to Schwartz. The owner was ecstatic.
Soon after the auction, Bold Venture’s trainer – the notoriously demanding Hall of Famer Max Hirsch – decided that his charge was ready for the races. On June 1, 1935, the colt went to the post for a $900 maiden race at Belmont Park. He placed second. Even so, his performance left a lasting impression. “Bold Venture,” a journalist remarked, “came with a grand rush in the stretch, getting up in time to be second. This horse may be a real champion. It will pay to keep [a] tab on him.” One month after his start, Bold Venture returned to action in another maiden event. The colt made his supporters proud. Despite being challenged throughout the homestretch, Bold Venture
“Bold Venture, came with a grand rush in the stretch, g g e e t t t t i i n n g g u u p p i i n n t t i i m m e e t t o o b b e e s s e e c c o o n n d d . . T T h h i i s s h h o o r r s s e e m m a ay y b b e e a a r r e e a a l l champion. It will pay to keep [a] tab on him.”
68 SPEEDHORSE July 2022
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