Marching Home (USA)
1932 – c. 1956
John P. Grier (USA) x Warrior Lass (USA), by Man o' War (USA)
Family 1-k
1932 – c. 1956
John P. Grier (USA) x Warrior Lass (USA), by Man o' War (USA)
Family 1-k
Marching Home was the best racer from eight foals produced by mating the Man o' War mare Warrior Lass to “Big Red”'s old rival John P. Grier, but the accolade didn't amount to much as Marching Home proved more durable than talented. Liker her dam, she was to prove more important as a broodmare than as a racer, continuing an American branch of the family of the important 19th-century matron Rouge Rose.
Race record
65 starts, 13 wins, 8 seconds, 10 thirds, US$12,080
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Marching Home was tough and durable enough to average over 16 starts a season for four years.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Marching Home produced 11 named foals. All 11 were starters and nine were winners. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in New Jersey, Marching Home was bred by F. Wallis Armstrong at his Meadowview Farms. She later became the property of William Ziegler, Jr., who bred 10 of her 11 foals. After a six-year gap in her production record, Marching Home produced her final foal, Home-Del (by Chicuelo), in 1956 as the property of David Evans.
Pedigree notes
Marching Home is inbred 4x4 to the top 19th-century sprinter Voter and 4x5x5x5 to 1893 American Horse of the Year Domino. She is a full sister to Little Rebel, dam of 1951 Preakness Stakes winner Bold (by By Jimminy): to Mistress Grier, dam of 1946 Pimlico Oaks winner Red Shoes (by Easton), second dam of 1955 American co-champion 2-year-old filly Nasrina and 1954 Maskette Handicap winner Ballerina, and third dam of 1965 Prix d.Aumale winner Nasambi; and to Lasso, second dam of 1965 Beverly Handicap winner Swoonalong and third dam of Grade 3 winner Beira. Marching Home is also a half sister to 1939 Metropolitan Handicap winner Knickerbocker (by Teddy) and to War East (by Easton), dam of stakes winner Dos Equis (by Poona II) and of 1971 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Iberia (by Heliopolis), whose produce includes two-time American champion Riva Ridge (by First Landing). In addition, Marching Home is a half sister to stakes-placed Easton Queen (by Easton), dam of stakes winner Smart Apple (by Jet Pilot).
Marching Home and her siblings were produced from the winning Man o' War mare Warrior Lass, a half sister to 1936 Arlington Futurity winner Case Ace (by Teddy), multiple stakes winner Teddy Haslam (by Teddy), and Appeal (by John P. Grier), dam of 1938 Gazelle Stakes winner Invoke (Teddy) and stakes winner The Finest (by Teddy) and second dam of six stakes winners including 1945 Dwyer Handicap winner Wildlife and 1952 American Handicap winner Admiral Drake. Warrior Lass is also a half sister to Psyche (by John P. Grier), dam of 1937 Blue Grass Stakes winner Fencing (by Chance Shot); to Kiss (by Teddy), dam of multiple stakes winner Gabe Paul (by Sickle); and to Granheart (by Granville), dam of 1957 Toboggan Handicap winner Decimal (by Slide Rule).
Warrior Lass is out of the stakes-winning Ultimus mare Sweetheart, a half sister to the minor stakes winner Tuskegee (by Black Toney). Sweetheart, in turn, is out of the Voter mare Humanity, a mare imported to the United States in 1917 by her breeder, John Sanford, and later a foundation mare for Brownell Combs.
Fun facts
Last updated: June 13, 2022
Race record
65 starts, 13 wins, 8 seconds, 10 thirds, US$12,080
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Marching Home was tough and durable enough to average over 16 starts a season for four years.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Marching Home produced 11 named foals. All 11 were starters and nine were winners. Her important foals are as follow:
- Romping Home (1939, by Espino) was a good juvenile who won the 1941 Adirondack Handicap and Schuylerville Stakes. She died without issue.
- Breezing Home (1940, by Espino; a gelding) won the 1942 Flash Stakes and Great American Stakes and was also a stakes winner at 4.
- Bounding Home (1941, by Espino) won the 1944 Belmont Stakes and placed in 11 other stakes events during his racing career. He died in training as a 6-year-old.
- Leading Home (1946, by Bull Lea) placed in three good filly and mare stakes as a 5-year-old. She is the second dam of six stakes winners including 1976 Vanity Handicap (USA-G1) winner Miss Toshiba. She is also the third dam of five-time champion Committed (who won titles in England, France, and Ireland), 1986 Vosburgh Handicap (USA-G1) winner King's Swan, Grade 2 winner Smart 'n Noble, and Grade 3 winner Camarado.
- Sailing Home (1948, by Wait a Bit) is the second dam of three stakes winners including 1968 San Bernardino Handicap winner Tiltable and 1971 Jersey Derby winner Bold Reasoning, sire of the great Seattle Slew.
Connections
Foaled in New Jersey, Marching Home was bred by F. Wallis Armstrong at his Meadowview Farms. She later became the property of William Ziegler, Jr., who bred 10 of her 11 foals. After a six-year gap in her production record, Marching Home produced her final foal, Home-Del (by Chicuelo), in 1956 as the property of David Evans.
Pedigree notes
Marching Home is inbred 4x4 to the top 19th-century sprinter Voter and 4x5x5x5 to 1893 American Horse of the Year Domino. She is a full sister to Little Rebel, dam of 1951 Preakness Stakes winner Bold (by By Jimminy): to Mistress Grier, dam of 1946 Pimlico Oaks winner Red Shoes (by Easton), second dam of 1955 American co-champion 2-year-old filly Nasrina and 1954 Maskette Handicap winner Ballerina, and third dam of 1965 Prix d.Aumale winner Nasambi; and to Lasso, second dam of 1965 Beverly Handicap winner Swoonalong and third dam of Grade 3 winner Beira. Marching Home is also a half sister to 1939 Metropolitan Handicap winner Knickerbocker (by Teddy) and to War East (by Easton), dam of stakes winner Dos Equis (by Poona II) and of 1971 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Iberia (by Heliopolis), whose produce includes two-time American champion Riva Ridge (by First Landing). In addition, Marching Home is a half sister to stakes-placed Easton Queen (by Easton), dam of stakes winner Smart Apple (by Jet Pilot).
Marching Home and her siblings were produced from the winning Man o' War mare Warrior Lass, a half sister to 1936 Arlington Futurity winner Case Ace (by Teddy), multiple stakes winner Teddy Haslam (by Teddy), and Appeal (by John P. Grier), dam of 1938 Gazelle Stakes winner Invoke (Teddy) and stakes winner The Finest (by Teddy) and second dam of six stakes winners including 1945 Dwyer Handicap winner Wildlife and 1952 American Handicap winner Admiral Drake. Warrior Lass is also a half sister to Psyche (by John P. Grier), dam of 1937 Blue Grass Stakes winner Fencing (by Chance Shot); to Kiss (by Teddy), dam of multiple stakes winner Gabe Paul (by Sickle); and to Granheart (by Granville), dam of 1957 Toboggan Handicap winner Decimal (by Slide Rule).
Warrior Lass is out of the stakes-winning Ultimus mare Sweetheart, a half sister to the minor stakes winner Tuskegee (by Black Toney). Sweetheart, in turn, is out of the Voter mare Humanity, a mare imported to the United States in 1917 by her breeder, John Sanford, and later a foundation mare for Brownell Combs.
Fun facts
- Marching Home's son Breezing Home was one of the figures in a cause célèbre involving Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro. The star jockey, who was known for his temper as much as his riding skill, earned himself a one-year suspension when he slammed his mount Occupation into Breezing Home and his jockey Venancio Nordase as revenge for a riding foul the latter had committed earlier on the card. When asked to account for his actions by the stewards, Arcaro forthrightly replied, “I was trying to kill him [Nordase].” Arcaro was later reinstated and returned as a much more mature rider. When he finally hung up his saddle after 31 years as a jockey, he had earned a personal fortune reckoned in seven figures and a reputation among many racing historians as the best American reinsman of the 20th century.
Last updated: June 13, 2022