Whirlaway

Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Whirlaway


caption =
sire = Blenheim II
grandsire = Blandford
dam = Dustwhirl
damsire = Sweep
sex = Stallion
foaled = 1938
country = USA flagicon|USA
colour = Chestnut
breeder = Calumet Farm
owner = Calumet Farm
trainer = Ben A. Jones
record = 60: 32-15-9
earnings = $561,161
race = Breeders' Futurity Stakes (1940)
Hopeful Stakes (1940)
Saratoga Special Stakes (1940)
Kentucky Derby (1941)
Preakness Stakes (1941)
Belmont Stakes (1941)
Travers Stakes (1941)
Lawrence Realization Stakes (1941)
Saranac Handicap (1941)
Dwyer Stakes (1941)
American Derby (1941)
Massachusetts Handicap (1942)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1942)
awards= 5th U.S. Triple Crown Champion (1941)
U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1941)
United States Horse of the Year (1941 & 1942)
U.S. Champion Older Male Horse (1942)
honours = United States Racing Hall of Fame (1959)
#26 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
Whirlaway Handicap at Fair Grounds Race Course
updated= October 31, 2006

Whirlaway (April 2, 1938-April 61953) was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse.

A chestnut colt, he was sired by "Blenheim II," out of the dam "Dustwhirl" at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

Trained by Ben A. Jones and ridden by Eddie Arcaro, he won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1941 by capturing the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He also won the Lawrence Realization Stakes and the Travers Stakes that year. He was voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year for 1941 and repeated as Horse of the Year in 1942.

Whirlaway, ridden by George Woolf, who won the Pimlico Special in 1938 on Seabiscuit, 1940 on Challedon, and 1942 on Whirlaway, rode the 1941 Triple Crown winner at a leisurely pace during the 1942 Special in a walkover. No opponent had been found to challenge the great horse for the race.

Arcaro, who successfully rode Whirlaway in all his 3-year-old victories, missed the 1942 season because of racing infractions and was suspended for a year. [http://www.niaf.org/milestones/year_1955.asp] George Woolf took the reins of Whirlaway for most of the 1942 season. On December 12th of that year, more than twenty thousand people turned out to watch Whirlaway win the inaugural Louisiana Handicap at the Fair Grounds Race Course. The newly formed Thoroughbred Racing Association staged this event as a war relief event.

At age 5, Whirlaway was retired to stud and notably sired 1947 Kentucky Derby winner, Jet Pilot and Fervent who won the Pimlico Special in 1947. Whirlaway was later shipped to France to stand for Marcel Boussac at his Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard.

Whirlaway was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1959. In "The Blood-Horse" ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Whirlaway was ranked No. 26.

References

* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/whirlaway Whirlway's pedigree]
* [http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2006/derby_history/derby_charts/years/1941.html Whirlaway's Kentucky Derby]
* [http://www.tbcprojects.com/career.php Every horse that has ever participated in a classic: Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or Belmont]

* [http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1930s/sports/19410503_Whirlaway_Wins_Kentucky_Derby.html Whirlway's Triple Crown History]