Page 73 - July 2022

excellent shape, his handlers tentatively pointed him toward the fast-approaching Kentucky Derby. It was an audacious move for a horse who had never even placed in a stakes race. In the Derby, Bold Venture would have to face stars like Granville, Brevity (who had annexed the prestigious 1935 Champagne Stakes), and He Did (the winner of the Santa Anita Derby). The colt quickly proved that he was a contender to be reckoned with. Two weeks before the Kentucky Derby, Bold Venture made his three- year-old debut in an allowance event at Jamaica Racetrack. The rest of the field didn’t have a chance. After flying into first at the outset,
he scorched through the early furlongs and quickly built up an insurmountable lead. Easing up, Bold Venture devastated his opponents
by 4-lengths. The colt, one witness claimed, “performed as if destined for a fine career as a three year old.”
Despite his effortless triumph, Bold Venture still only appeared to have an outside chance
at the Kentucky Derby. Moreover, the jockey scheduled to ride him – Ira Hanford – was an 18-year-old apprentice. The bettors didn’t have much confidence in the pair. On Derby Day, Bold Venture was installed as a 20.5-1 longshot. The colt didn’t seem to be daunted by the challenge. “He was as quiet as a sleepy puppy before the race,” his groom marveled. “He wasn’t nervous. Just stood in his stall and waited.”
As it transpired, Bold Venture’s cool composure gave him a decisive advantage.
The moment the starting gates flew open, the Kentucky Derby dissolved into a wild melee. Seconds after the break, He Did collided with Granville throwing the latter’s jockey out of
his saddle. He Did’s chances were further compromised after an unruly spectator snatched his jockey’s whip. At the same time, Brevity
was knocked to his knees by an opponent.
Bold Venture didn’t escape unscathed. As
he struggled to gain momentum, the colt
was rammed by another horse. Unlike his adversaries, Bold Venture regained his balance and began to push towards the front of the pack. After seizing the lead in the backstretch, the colt hit the homestretch in front. The race wasn’t over yet. Incredibly, Brevity motored into second and took aim at Bold Venture. As the immense crowd roared, the two colts thundered towards the wire. In the final 100 yards, Bold Venture overhauled Brevity to win by a head.
It was a startling upset. With his victory, Bold
Venture became the longest shot to capture
the Kentucky Derby since Exterminator in 1918. Appropriately, Ira Hanford was also the first apprentice rider to win the event. The apprentice’s triumph was tinged with disgrace due to “rough riding” - he and two other jockeys were grounded for 15 days.
Hanford’s suspension put Bold Venture’s handlers in a difficult position. Since their rising star was scheduled to compete in the Preakness Stakes – held 14 days after the Kentucky Derby – Max Hirsch and Morton Schwartz were forced to find another rider. They quickly settled on George Woolf, a uniquely intuitive rider who had won the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap the previous year. With Woolf in the irons, Bold Venture put on a spectacular show. After lurking in fifth behind Granville for more than half
of the race, he unleashed his stretch drive and made a bid for first. Granville refused to fold. In a near-repeat of the Derby, Bold Venture and Granville hurtled down the homestretch as one, trading the lead every few strides. When they flew under the wire, the two horses were so close together that the stewards had to consult a photograph
of the finish. After some deliberation, they announced that Bold Venture had won by a nose – boosting his career earnings to a solid $68,300. Interestingly, the colt earned an additional place in history as the only runner to annex both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes under different riders.
Now on the cusp of sweeping the Triple Crown, Bold Venture was shipped north to New York for the Belmont Stakes. It was not to be. Several days before the Belmont, Hirsch sent his star out for a strenuous workout. When the colt returned, his trainer discovered that he had bowed a tendon. Still reeling from the development, Hirsch informed the turf world that Bold Venture wouldn’t appear in the Belmont Stakes or any other races that year. In his absence, Granville narrowly won the Belmont after another thrilling stretch duel. Soon afterwards, Hirsch and Schwartz announced that Bold Venture would be retired to stud for good.
Despite the racing success he had enjoyed, Bold Venture’s stud career began unremarkably. After performing poorly at Schwartz’s Mereworth Farm, the stallion was moved to John Hay Whitney’s Mare’s Nest Farm where his popularity continued to decline.
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