Page 90 - March_2022

When Dad found out the colt was a two year old he told me, “Son, if there’s many two year olds like him up here, we’re in trouble.” The truth was, there weren’t many two year olds like him anywhere.
When Simpson finally sent “Hank” to the races, he won
a maiden race in slow time, racing greenly. But two weeks
later he broke sharply and thundered 350 yards in 17.8
seconds—at that time equaling a World Record for
two-year-old colts—and the legend was born. His
owners, the father and son team of C.G. and Milo
Whitcomb, were Colorado ranchers who had heard about
the plans for the All American Futurity and had bred their
favorite mare to Tonto Bars Gill, a fast son of the popular new Thoroughbred stallion Three Bars, who had been made famous by the exploits of Josie’s Bar and Bob’s Folly. But when the ranching business took a downturn, the Whitcombs were forced to sell some stock. They put a price tag of $300 on the mare and her muscular young foal but there were no takers. A couple more cows had to
be sold but the Whitcombs were forced to keep the mare and foal. Two years later they found themselves owners of the favorite for the upcoming Kansas Futurity, a prelude to the All American. Tonto Bars Hank finished second in his Kansas trial but came back to win the Kansas Futurity, earning a check for $9,000 which was a life saver for the Colorado ranch.
But Tonto Bars Hank was not the only brilliant colt on the grounds in 1960. The popular Western actor Dale Robertson owned a sleek brown colt named Rebel Cause, a son of another up-and-coming Thoroughbred sire of Quarter Horse runners, Top Deck, best known as the sire of the legendary Go Man Go. Rebel Cause had won all the big two-year-old races in California, setting up a West Coast/Rocky Mountain rivalry which would be repeated dozens of times in the decades to follow.
Galobar
after winning the first All American Futurity in 1959.
Milo & Ann Whitcomb
“He came out onto the track on a colt that just busted in two and bucked as hard as a horse can buck and he stayed right in the middle of him the whole time and just took
off and galloped him like it was nothing.That boy is a hand.”
– Ted Wells speaking of Curtis Perner
Curtis Perner rode Tonto Bars Hank to victory in the All American Futurity.
Scott and his father, Ted, riding Stormy Lee, one of the first sons of Leo in 1952.
88 SPEEDHORSE March 2022
Speedhorse Archives
Speedhorse Archives
Speedhorse Archives
Courtesy Scott Wells