Marguerite (horse)
Marguerite (April 24, 1920 - October 27, 1945) was an American Thoroughbred racemare owned by Belair Stud who had to be retired after only one start but who established her place in racing history as the dam of four significant runners. A broodmare's place in racing history. A 1946 "Daily Racing Form" article lamented the fact that when a sire of one or more outstanding runners dies there will be much written about that stallion in country's all over the world. Conversely, when a mare who has produced similar such successful offspring, scant little will be reported  on her accomplishment. That same article recounted a story by the sports Editor of the "Atlanta Journal" about his visit to Claiborne Farm and the gravesite of Marguerite. The "Daily Racing Form" commented that Arthur Hancock telling the reporter he was saving a space next to her for Sir Gallahad III was "one of the most romantic stories in the annals of the world's turf". Breeding. Marguerite was purchased as a yearling by William Woodward at a 1921 Saratoga sale. Her sire was Celt, winner of the 1907 Junior Champion Stakes and the 1908 Brooklyn Handicap who would be  the Leading sire in North America in 1921. Celt was a son of the great Commando, an American Horse of the Year and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Commando also sired Hall of Fame champions Colin and Peter Pan. Marguerite's dam was the English mare Fairy Ray, a daughter of Radium who was a successful runner for Leopold de Rothschild. Dam Fairy Ray also produced the multiple stakes winning colt Cloudland (1922) by Wrack. Marguerite's best. Three of Marguerite's best progeny were sired by Sir Gallahad III, a French-bred stallion that had been bought in  1926 by an American syndicate when standing at stud for owner Jefferson Davis Cohn at his Haras du Bois-Roussel near Alençon in Normandy, France. The syndicate was made up of Robert A. Fairbairn, William Woodward Sr., Marshall Field III, and Arthur B. Hancock. Following a story by Ed Danforth, sports Editor of the "Atlanta Journal", about his visit to Claiborne Farm and the gravesite of Marguerite, the "Daily Racing Form" commented that Arthur Hancock's saying that he was saving a space next to her for Sir Gallahad III was "one of the most romantic stories in the annals  of the world's turf". The Marguerite Stakes. In 1942 the Maryland Jockey Club announced there would be a new race to be inaugurated in 1945 for two-year-old fillies that would be named in honor of Marguerite. The race was created as a companion event to the Pimlico Futurity and declared to be one of the richest of its kind in the United States. The final running of the Marguerite Stakes took place on November 27, 1965 and was won by Harbor View Farm's Swift Lady.