Henry of Navarre (horse)

Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Henry of Navarre


caption =
sire = Knight of Ellerslie
grandsire = Eolus
dam = Moss Rose
damsire = The Ill-Used
sex = Stallion
foaled = 1891
country = USA flagicon|USA
colour = Chestnut
breeder = Lucien O. Appleby
owner = Byron McClelland
August Belmont, Jr. at age 4 & 5
trainer = Byron McClelland
John J. Hyland
record = 42: 29-8-3
earnings = $68,985
race = Belmont Stakes (1894)
Travers Stakes (1894)
Manhattan Handicap (1894)
Municipal Handicap (1895)
Suburban Handicap (1896)
awards= United States Horse of the Year (1894 & 1895)
honours = National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame (1985)
updated= November 24, 2006

Henry of Navarre (1891-1917) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Sired by the 1884 Preakness Stakes winner Knight of Ellerslie he was named for the Huguenot king, Henry IV of France.

Purchased by trainer Byron McClelland, at age three Henry of Navarre won nine races in a row including the Belmont Stakes in which he defeated another future Hall of Fame colt, Domino, who had beaten him in the Withers Stakes. After winning the Travers Stakes, his handlers and James R. Keene, owner of Domino, agreed to a match race in which the two horses ended up in a dead heat. As such, they met again three weeks later in a race to determine the 1894 championship. For this championship event, the 4-year-old Clifford joined the two younger colts. Henry of Navarre beat his rivals by 3/4's of a length, earning Horse of the Year honors.

Sold in 1895 to prominent horseman, August Belmont, Jr., Henry of Navarre repeated as the U.S. Champion under future Hall of Fame trainer John J. Hyland. At age six suffered a career ending injury while winning the Suburban Handicap.

Retired to stand at stud he met with little success and in 1911, along with several other horses, was donated to the U.S. Army Remount service to help establish a national breeding program at the Front Royal, Virginia depot.

In 1985, Henry of Navarre was posthumously inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. A painting by Gene Smith of Henry of Navarre in his 1894 match race against Domino can be seen at the Museum.

References

* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/henry+of+navarre Henry of Navarre's pedigree and racing stats]
* [http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=88 Henry of Navarre at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame]