Rated as the top juvenile filly of 1924 by The Blood-Horse (the general consensus of racing historians is that she shared honors with her stablemate Maud Muller, who defeated her in two of the three races they both contested), Mother Goose's primary claim to fame as a racehorse was a victory against the best youngsters of both sexes in the 1924 Futurity Stakes. Her great contribution to Thoroughbred breeding was as the second dam of the 20th-century foundation mare Almahmoud.
Race record
10 starts, 3 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, US$72,755
1924:
Honors
American co-champion 2-year-old filly (1924)
As an individual
A brown mare, Mother Goose had a good shoulder, powerful hindquarters and short cannons. She was not very sound (like many of the progeny of Chicle) and did not race after her juvenile season. She also had a good dash of her sire's ugly temperament.
As a producer
Mother Goose produced five named foals, of which four started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Mother Goose was bred and owned by Harry Payne Whitney. She was trained by Freddy Hopkins. After Whitney's death, Mother Goose passed to the ownership of his son, C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. She disappears from the records after the birth of her 1937 foal, Arbitrator.
Pedigree notes
Mother Goose is a full sister to 1929 American champion 2-year-old male Whichone and to Free and Easy, dam of 1936 Queen Mary Stakes winner Night Song (by Royal Minstrel) and second dam of the good steeplechaser The Heir. Mother Goose is also a half sister to stakes-placed Margin (by All Gold), dam of stakes winner Collateral (by St. Germans), and to Witchery (by Peter Pan), dam of 1939 Grand National Steeplechase Handicap winner Whaddon Chase (by Monk's Way) and second dam of 1946 Stars and Stripes Handicap winner Witch Sir.
Flying Witch, the dam of Mother Goose, won once in six tries. She is a full sister to Fly By Day, dam of juvenile stakes winner Mad Hattie (by Mad Hatter; dam of two minor stakes winners) and 1932 Schuylervillle Stakes winner Volette (by Dis Donc), dam of 1950 National Stallion Stakes winner Volt and C. D. Bidwill Memorial Handicap winner Plumper, both by Menow. Flying Witch is also a full sister to Flyleaf, dam of 1932 Selima Stakes winner Notebook (by Chicle; dam of multiple stakes winner Keynote, by Mahmoud). The sisters were produced from the Peter Pan mare Fly By Night II, whose dam Dazzling was a talented but luckless daughter of St. Leonards and the imported Sheen mare Splendour.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: August 16, 2020
Race record
10 starts, 3 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, US$72,755
1924:
- Won Futurity Stakes (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
- Won Fashion Stakes (USA, 5FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Astoria Stakes (USA, 5FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Rosedale Stakes (USA, 5FD, Jamaica)
- Also set a track record of :53 for 4½ furlongs in her debut at Havre de Grace
Honors
American co-champion 2-year-old filly (1924)
As an individual
A brown mare, Mother Goose had a good shoulder, powerful hindquarters and short cannons. She was not very sound (like many of the progeny of Chicle) and did not race after her juvenile season. She also had a good dash of her sire's ugly temperament.
As a producer
Mother Goose produced five named foals, of which four started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Gosling (1928, by St. Germans) was a minor stakes winner as a juvenile. She is the second dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Tweet's Boy and the third dam of 1953 Joliet Stakes winner Tiger Wander.
- Gooseflesh (1931, by Mad Hatter) is the second dam of Home-Made, winner of the 1953 Comely and Vagrancy handicaps.
- Wes (1935, by Mad Hatter) is the second dam of 1961 Dixie Handicap winner Hunter's Rock.
- Arbitrator (1937, by Peace Chance) never won but is the dam of 1946 Will Rogers Handicap winner Burra Sahib, 1954 Test Stakes winner Dispute and 1950 Vineland Handicap winner Almahmoud, all by Mahmoud. Through the last-named mare, Arbitrator is the second dam of 1974 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Cosmah and the third dam of the great stallion Northern Dancer, the 1964 Canadian Horse of the Year and American champion 3-year-old male; three-time American champion filly Tosmah; 1974 United Nations Handicap (USA-G1) winner and two-time American champion sire Halo; 1977 Prix Ganay (FR-G1) winner and 1986 French champion sire Arctic Tern; and the excellent broodmares Coup de Folie and Queen Sucree. Through another Mahmoud daughter, Avatara, Arbitrator is also the third dam of 1974 Jersey Derby (USA-G1) winner Better Arbitor.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Mother Goose was bred and owned by Harry Payne Whitney. She was trained by Freddy Hopkins. After Whitney's death, Mother Goose passed to the ownership of his son, C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. She disappears from the records after the birth of her 1937 foal, Arbitrator.
Pedigree notes
Mother Goose is a full sister to 1929 American champion 2-year-old male Whichone and to Free and Easy, dam of 1936 Queen Mary Stakes winner Night Song (by Royal Minstrel) and second dam of the good steeplechaser The Heir. Mother Goose is also a half sister to stakes-placed Margin (by All Gold), dam of stakes winner Collateral (by St. Germans), and to Witchery (by Peter Pan), dam of 1939 Grand National Steeplechase Handicap winner Whaddon Chase (by Monk's Way) and second dam of 1946 Stars and Stripes Handicap winner Witch Sir.
Flying Witch, the dam of Mother Goose, won once in six tries. She is a full sister to Fly By Day, dam of juvenile stakes winner Mad Hattie (by Mad Hatter; dam of two minor stakes winners) and 1932 Schuylervillle Stakes winner Volette (by Dis Donc), dam of 1950 National Stallion Stakes winner Volt and C. D. Bidwill Memorial Handicap winner Plumper, both by Menow. Flying Witch is also a full sister to Flyleaf, dam of 1932 Selima Stakes winner Notebook (by Chicle; dam of multiple stakes winner Keynote, by Mahmoud). The sisters were produced from the Peter Pan mare Fly By Night II, whose dam Dazzling was a talented but luckless daughter of St. Leonards and the imported Sheen mare Splendour.
Fun facts
- “Mother Goose” is the name given to a legendary countrywoman who is credited as the source of many popular nursery rhymes and children's stories. The term can be dated back to at least 1695, when it appeared in the subtitle of a collection of fairy tales published by Charles Perrault. Several American and European women have been proposed as the real-life prototypes for Mother Goose, but none have any strong historical support for the claim.
- The Mother Goose Stakes has been contested annually since 1957. Formerly part of the New York Racing Association's Triple Tiara series for 3-year-old fillies and a Grade 1 event in 1973-2016, the race was downgraded to a Grade 2 in 2017. It is currently carded at 8.5 furlongs on dirt at Belmont Park.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: August 16, 2020