Lonesome Glory
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| Lonesome Glory | ||
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| Sire: | Transworld | |
| Grandsire: | Prince John | |
| Dam: | Stronghold | |
| Damsire: | Green Dancer | |
| Sex: | Gelding | |
| Foaled: | 1988 | |
| Country: | USA | |
| Colour: | Chestnut | |
| Breeder: | Walter M. Jeffords, Jr. | |
| Owner: | Kay Jeffords | |
| Trainer: | F. Bruce Miller | |
| Record: | 44: 24-5-6 | |
| Earnings: | $1,325,868 | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| Supreme Handicap (1992) Breeders Cup Steeplechase (1993) Temple Gwathemy Handicap (1994) New York Turf Writer's Cup (1995) Colonial Cup (1994, 1995 & 1997) Iroquois Steeplechase (1995) Hard Scuffle Steeplechase (1998) The Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings (1999) Carolina Cup (1997 & 1999) |
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| Racing Awards | ||
| Eclipse Award for Outstanding Steeplechase horse (1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 & 1999) | ||
| Honours | ||
| United States Racing Hall of Fame (2005) Leading money-winning horse in American Steeplechase history |
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Infobox last updated on: November 18, 2006. |
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Lonesome Glory (April , 1988 - February 2, 2002) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse in steeplechase racing. Inherited by Kay Jeffords when her husband Walter Jeffords, Jr. died in 1990, Lonesome Glory nearly became a show horse but proved too rambunctious for that sport. As such, Mrs. Jeffords sent the unraced 2-year-old to trainer F. Bruce Miller who developed him into the most-accomplished American steeplechaser in history before being retired after the 1999 racing season.
Lonesome Glory won his only hurdle start as a 3-year-old, and captured four of six starts as a 4-year-old, clinching his first Eclipse Award with a victory over hurdles at Cheltenham in England. The long-legged chestnut with a wide blaze won another championship with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Steeplechase (NSA-I) at age 5 in 1993. In 1994, he won the first of his three Colonial Cups (NSA-I) but lost the championship vote to Warm Spell. A year later, Lonesome Glory dominated American steeplechase racing with a campaign that included three Grade I victories and a Grade II in five starts. He closed the season in England, winning a handicap chase at Sandown Park by 11 lengths.
"To me, the greatest thing he did was win the two races in England one over hurdles and one over steeplechase fences," said Miller, "but I think his best race here was that 1993 Breeders' Cup. There were two four-horse entries in the race, and we were the ninth horse. He beat Highland Bud, who was going for his third Breeders' Cup win."
Lonesome Glory faltered in 1996, losing his only two American starts after beginning the year in England. The champion returned again in 1997, however, joining Flatterer as a four-time champion after becoming the only horse to sweep the Grade I Carolina and Colonial Cups over the Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina. The spring/fall double earned Lonesome Glory a $250,000 bonus.
Pointed for England again in 1998, Lonesome Glory missed a try at the Cheltenham Gold Cup with a pulled muscle but returned to action in time to showcase his talent in America at Churchill Downs. At age 10, he overwhelmed seven foes to win the $100,000 Hard Scuffle Stakes. The fifth Eclipse Award would have to wait a year, however, as Lonesome Glory lost his remaining two starts of 1998. His 11-year-old season began with a second Carolina Cup score in March and reached a peak with a powerful win in the $188,000 Royal Chase at Keeneland in April. That would be the horse's final career start as he was retired while in training for the fall season, but was enough to earn his fifth Eclipse award.
"He proved he was the best by what he did over time," said Miller, whose daughter Blythe was Lonesome Glory's regular jockey. "The horses he beat were pretty special not many horses last like he did at that level. He was a great horse who did a lot for our whole family."
Lonesome Glory won 19 jump races (17 in the U.S. and two in England) from 35 starts and retired with earnings of $1,352,868. Major victories came in America's most storied races, and he topped the National Steeplechase Association's theoretical handicap three times in the 1990s, including a record 170-pound honor after the 1995 season.
His five championships surpass only Flatterer among steeplechasers, and put him on par with Kelso's run of five Horse of the Year titles in flat racing. Since the Eclipse Awards were created in 1971, only four other Thoroughbred racehorses have won five or more. The others were Forego, John Henry, Affirmed and Secretariat.
Lonesome Glory died in 2002 from injuries suffered in an accident at trainer Bruce Miller's farm. He was buried at the National Steeplechase Museum on the Springdale Race Course property in Camden, South Carolina.
In 2005, Lonesome Glory was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of him is now on display in the Museum at Saratoga Springs, New York.
