- Skywalker (horse)
Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Skywalker
caption =
sire = Relaunch
grandsire = In Reality
dam = Bold Captive
damsire = Boldnesian
sex = Stallion
foaled = 1982
country =United States flagicon|USA
colour = Dark Bay
breeder = Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds Ltd.
owner = Oak Cliff Stable
trainer =Michael Whittingham
record = 20: 8-3-3
earnings = $2,226,750
race =Santa Anita Derby (1985)Longacres Mile (1986)Mervyn Leroy Handicap (1986)San Diego Handicap (1986)Breeders' Cup wins:Breeders' Cup Classic (1986)
awards=
honours =
updated= October 10, 2007Skywalker (1982-2003) was an American
Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred inKentucky by Thomas T. Tatham's Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds Ltd., who also bredSunday Silence , he was foaled and raised at Arthur B. Hancock III'sStone Farm . Sired by Relaunch and out of the mare Bold Captive, he was named by Tatham's son forLuke Skywalker , a lead character in the "Star Wars " motion pictures.Skywalker was trained by
Michael Whittingham and raced under the Oak Cliff Stable partnership led by Thomas Tatham. He began racing inCalifornia in 1984 at age two where he won one of his two starts and was off the board in the other. In his three-year-old campaign, Skywalker made five starts, winning twice. His most important victory came under future U.S. Racing hall of Famejockey ,Laffit Pincay, Jr. when they won the most important West Coast race for three-year-olds, theSanta Anita Derby . He was then sent toChurchill Downs for theKentucky Derby where jockeyEddie Delahoussaye rode him to a sixth-place finish behind winner,Spend A Buck .In 1986, the four-year-old Skywalker had his best year in racing. That year he won the
Longacres Mile , theMervyn Leroy Handicap , and theSan Diego Handicap then topped off the year with a win on the familiar ground of California'sSanta Anita Park in theBreeders' Cup Classic . Ridden by Laffit Pincay, Jr., Skywalker defeated the heavy favorites Turkoman andPrecisionist , who finished second and third respectively, as well as theEurope an star Triptych who finished sixth.Sent back to race at age five, Skywalker's best result in 1987 was a second place finish in the Arcadia Handicap and a third in the Goodwood Handicap. Retired to stud duty at
Cardiff Stud Farm in Creston,California , he notably siredBertrando , the 1993Eclipse Award winner forAmerican Champion Older Male Horse . Skywaker was also the damsire ofSky Jack , aHollywood Gold Cup winner.Moved to his birthplace at Stone Farm in 1996, Skywalker died of a
heart attack at age twenty-one on February 25, 2003. He is buried in the Stone Farm equine cemetery.References
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/skywalker Skywalker's pedigree and partial racing stats]
* [http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=14265 Skywalker's February 25, 2003 obituary at Bloodhorse.com]
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