Macbeth II (USA)
1885 – Unknown
Macduff (USA) x Agnes (USA), by Gilroy (USA)
American Family 24
1885 – Unknown
Macduff (USA) x Agnes (USA), by Gilroy (USA)
American Family 24
Macbeth II was lightly regarded as a Kentucky Derby prospect until the 1888 Memphis spring meeting, during which he won two of the three stakes starts he made (his sole loss was to an older stablemate while “in hand”) and set a new track record. A poor performance at the subsequent Nashville meeting cooled his stock, however, and after two seconds at Lexington, he went off at 6-1 with the on-track bookmakers in the Derby. (Off-track bookies were reportedly offering as high as 15-1 odds against him.) Regardless of his odds, he won with relative ease. It was by far the biggest victory of an inconsistent career, although how much of his inconsistency could be attributed to gambling plays by his owners (who were notorious for such behavior) is anyone's guess. Macbeth II also suffered from a prolonged illness over the winter of 1888-1889 that may have affected his later form. By the spring of 1891, Macbeth II had descended to running regularly in selling company. He was reportedly schooled for steeplechasing in 1894 but does not appear to have actually started over the jumps. He is said to have ended his days as a gentleman's saddle horse.
Race record
106 starts, 25 wins, 21 seconds, 14 thirds, US$22,170
1887:
1888:
1890:
1891:
As an individual
A brown gelding, Macbeth II was described in contemporary accounts as a “big little horse,” standing barely 15.2 hands in the spring of his 3-year-old season but with plenty of substance. He had a reputation for sulking at times but as an older horse was so gentle that he was considered suitable for training new exercise boys and prospective jockeys. He underwent having a foot “nerved” (a procedure which cut the nerve carrying pain sensations from the foot) in 1893 or early 1894, suggesting that he had developed some type of chronic injury by that point.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Macbeth II was bred by Rufus Lisle. He raced for Chicago Stable (John Campbell and George Hankins) after Hankins bought him for US$4,000 and was trained by John Campbell through his 3-year-old season. In October 1888, Hankins bought out Campbell's interest in all the Chicago Stable horses they owned in partnership for US$10,000 and assumption of the stable's debts, and Macbeth II raced under Hankins' sole ownership with William Angel (Campbell's former assistant) as trainer until the Chicago Stable was taken over by B. J. Johnson during the winter of 1888-1889. Eugene Leigh took over training duties by the end of 1889.
On October 5, 1890, George Hankins dispersed his horses at auction at Morris Park, and Macbeth II went to John Campbell for US$1,100. The gelding was soon resold to William Angel, in whose colors he won the 1891 New Year's Handicap at Clifton, New Jersey. Later that year, he was running for B. J. Johnson. By 1892, Macbeth II had passed to the ownership of the Aetna Stable (George Hankins and B. J. Johnson). In 1910, the Daily Racing Form reported that following his racing career, Macbeth II had been sold to a Chicago gentleman for use as a saddle horse. His year of death is not recorded, but he reportedly lived to “an advanced age.”
Pedigree notes
Macbeth II is inbred 5x4 to 16-time American champion sire Lexington. Sired by 1881 Champagne Stakes winner Macduff, he is a half brother to 1890 Tennessee Derby winner Robespierre (by Jils Johnson) and to Laura Agnes (by Jils Johnson), dam of 1902 St. Louis Derby winner Otis (by Foul Shot or Sain).
Agnes, the dam of Macbeth II, was produced from the Star Davis mare Laura Bruce, whose half sister Annie Lysle (by War Dance) is the second dam of 1893 Tennessee Derby winner Calhoun. The female line traces back to an unnamed daughter of the 18th-century import Vampire (by Regulus) and cannot be connected to any of the Bruce Lowe families.
Fun facts
Last updated: March 20, 2022
Race record
106 starts, 25 wins, 21 seconds, 14 thirds, US$22,170
1887:
- Won Kimball Stakes (USA, 6FD, Latonia)
1888:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Kansas City Derby (USA, 12FD, Kansas City)
- Won Gayoso Hotel Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Memphis)
- Won Peabody Hotel Stakes (USA, 9FD, Memphis; new track record 1:55-1/2)
- 2nd Phoenix Stakes (USA, 10FD, Lexington)
- 2nd Distillers' Stakes (USA, 10FD, Lexington)
- 2nd Merchants' Stakes (USA, 10FD, Memphis)
- 2nd Cottrill Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, New Orleans)
- 3rd a welter handicap (USA, 8FD, Gravesend)
1890:
- Won Green Stakes (USA, 8FT, Sheepshead Bay)
- Won a highweight handicap sweepstakes (USA, 10FT, Sheepshead Bay)
- 2nd a highweight handicap sweepstakes (USA, 10FT, Sheepshead Bay)
1891:
- Won New Year's Handicap (USA, 18FD, Clifton)
As an individual
A brown gelding, Macbeth II was described in contemporary accounts as a “big little horse,” standing barely 15.2 hands in the spring of his 3-year-old season but with plenty of substance. He had a reputation for sulking at times but as an older horse was so gentle that he was considered suitable for training new exercise boys and prospective jockeys. He underwent having a foot “nerved” (a procedure which cut the nerve carrying pain sensations from the foot) in 1893 or early 1894, suggesting that he had developed some type of chronic injury by that point.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Macbeth II was bred by Rufus Lisle. He raced for Chicago Stable (John Campbell and George Hankins) after Hankins bought him for US$4,000 and was trained by John Campbell through his 3-year-old season. In October 1888, Hankins bought out Campbell's interest in all the Chicago Stable horses they owned in partnership for US$10,000 and assumption of the stable's debts, and Macbeth II raced under Hankins' sole ownership with William Angel (Campbell's former assistant) as trainer until the Chicago Stable was taken over by B. J. Johnson during the winter of 1888-1889. Eugene Leigh took over training duties by the end of 1889.
On October 5, 1890, George Hankins dispersed his horses at auction at Morris Park, and Macbeth II went to John Campbell for US$1,100. The gelding was soon resold to William Angel, in whose colors he won the 1891 New Year's Handicap at Clifton, New Jersey. Later that year, he was running for B. J. Johnson. By 1892, Macbeth II had passed to the ownership of the Aetna Stable (George Hankins and B. J. Johnson). In 1910, the Daily Racing Form reported that following his racing career, Macbeth II had been sold to a Chicago gentleman for use as a saddle horse. His year of death is not recorded, but he reportedly lived to “an advanced age.”
Pedigree notes
Macbeth II is inbred 5x4 to 16-time American champion sire Lexington. Sired by 1881 Champagne Stakes winner Macduff, he is a half brother to 1890 Tennessee Derby winner Robespierre (by Jils Johnson) and to Laura Agnes (by Jils Johnson), dam of 1902 St. Louis Derby winner Otis (by Foul Shot or Sain).
Agnes, the dam of Macbeth II, was produced from the Star Davis mare Laura Bruce, whose half sister Annie Lysle (by War Dance) is the second dam of 1893 Tennessee Derby winner Calhoun. The female line traces back to an unnamed daughter of the 18th-century import Vampire (by Regulus) and cannot be connected to any of the Bruce Lowe families.
Fun facts
- Macbeth II was named for Macbeth, the protagonist of the Shakespearean play of that name. In history, the actual Macbeth was an 11th-century Scottish king who gained the throne in 1040 after killing the previous king, Duncan I, in battle. He ruled for some 17 years before being killed in battle by Duncan I's son Malcolm Canmore, who took the throne as Malcolm III. Ironically, given the reputation Shakespeare gave him, his reign seems to have been a period of relative stability, law and order.
- According to noted sportswriter Joe Palmer, Agnes, the dam of Macbeth II, was blind and was used as a buggy horse in between producing foals.
- Rufus Lisle, the breeder of Macbeth II, was notoriously tightfisted when it came to paying for stallion services, preferring to use stallions he could get to for free whenever possible. Nonetheless, he managed to breed the 1890 Brooklyn Handicap winner, Castaway II (by the Leamington horse Outcast), in addition to Macbeth II.
- Macbeth II's status coming off his 2-year-old season can be gauged by the fact that he scored his first win at 3 in a selling race worth US$100 to the winner (though he was entered as not to be sold).
- Following Macbeth II's victory in the Kentucky Derby, his owners were estimated to have won as much as US$75,000 on him. By comparison, his winning purse was US$4,740.
- According to the Chicago Inter Ocean of May 23, 1888, Macbeth II's appearance in the Kentucky Derby nearly broke up Chicago Stable, as one partner had wanted to run the horse and the other had not following the gelding's poor performance at Nashville.
- Macbeth II appears to have been the first Kentucky Derby winner to have subsequently won a stakes on turf.
Last updated: March 20, 2022