A brilliant juvenile, Pavot gained a reputation as being a lucky sprinter after winning the 1945 Belmont Stakes and 1946 Jockey Club Gold Cup by setting an artificially slow pace and then sprinting home in the last few furlongs over rivals with more stamina but less of a turn of foot. Pavot actually stayed intermediate distances well, however, and was a successful racehorse at 3 and 4 if not as dominant as he had been at 2. He was moderately successful as a sire.
Race record
32 starts, 14 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds, US$373,365
1944:
1945:
1946:
Honors
American champion 2-year-old male (1944)
Assessments
Co-highweighted with Free For All at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1944.
Ranked fifth among American 3-year-old males of 1945 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American older males of 1946 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A handsome brown horse who combined elegance with power, Pavot had the tendency toward sickle hocks that marked many of Teddy's descendants. He was a highly energetic colt who had the vice of stall walking while he was racing; nonetheless, he had a good disposition.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Pavot sired 149 winners (72.0%) and 14 stakes winners (6.6%) from 207 named foals.
Notable progeny
Ampola (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Dotted Swiss (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Pavot was bred and owned by Walter M. Jeffords. He was trained by Oscar White. He retired to stud in Kentucky in 1948 at Jeffords' Faraway Farm.
Pedigree notes
Pavot is inbred 4x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Commando and 1899 American champion older male Voter and 5x5 to 1880 Derby Stakes winner Bend Or. He is a half brother to 1946 Choice Stakes winner Lovat (by Jamestown) and to Azalea (by Sun Teddy), dam of stakes winners Nile Lily (by Roman) and Kingmaster (by One-Eyed King) and third dam of 1972 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, FR-G1) winner and notable sire Riverman and of Japanese Group 2 winner Aswan. Pavot is also a half brother to Tapis Vert (by Mahmoud), second dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Drop Your Drawers.
Coquelicot, the dam of Pavot, won once from 10 starts. She is a half sister to stakes-placed My Rose (by Snark), dam of 1966 Sussex Turf Handicap winner Portsmouth (by Blue Prince) and multiple stakes winner Momus (by Natchez), second dam of three stakes winners and third dam of Grade 2 winner Gene's Lady and Grade 3 winner Crackedbell; to Wichuraiana (by Man o' War's champion son War Admiral), third dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Grenzen; and to French Flower (by War Admiral), third dam of 1970 Gardenia Stakes winner Eggy.
Coquelicot was produced from the Pennant mare Fleur, an unraced half sister to stakes winner Salaam (by Broadside). The next dam in Pavot's tail-female line, Forsythia (by Broomstick) won her only start and is a full sister to 1926 Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap winner Flagstaff and to 1920 Astoria Stakes and 1921 Saranac Handicap winner Crocus. She is also a half sister to 1922 American champion 3-year-old male Whiskaway (by Broomstick's champion son Whisk Broom II), to 1923 Clover Stakes winner Initiate (by Whisk Broom II; dam of 1938 Beverly Handicap and New Orleans Handicap winner Novelette, by Strolling Player), to 1919 Paumonok Handicap winner Flags (by Whisk Broom II) and to multiple stakes-winning steeplechaser Coronation (by Johren). Produced from the Voter mare Inaugural, Forsythia is also a half sister to Panoply (by Peter Pan), dam of 1935 Schuylerville Stakes winner Parade Girl (by Display) and multiple stakes winners Annapolis (by Man o' War; an outstanding sire of steeplechasers) and Ladder (by Ladkin); to Overture (by Whisk Broom II), dam of multiple stakes winner Trombone (by St. James); and to Mablonde (by Dis Donc), second dam of two-time Aqueduct Handicap winner Wine List.
Books and media
Pavot is profiled in Chapter 7 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: September 5, 2023
Race record
32 starts, 14 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds, US$373,365
1944:
- Won Futurity Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Belmont)
- Won Mayflower Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Suffolk Downs)
- Won Hopeful Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Saratoga)
- Won Grand Union Hotel Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- Won United States Hotel Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- Won Christiana Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Delaware)
- Won Saratoga Special (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
1945:
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Empire City Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Jamaica)
- 2nd Withers Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Jerome Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
1946:
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont)
- Won Massachusetts Handicap (USA, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
- Won Sussex Handicap (USA, 10FD, Delaware)
- Won Wilson Stakes (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Narragansett Special (USA, 9.5FD, Narragansett Park)
- 2nd Manhattan Handicap (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Roseben Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
Honors
American champion 2-year-old male (1944)
Assessments
Co-highweighted with Free For All at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1944.
Ranked fifth among American 3-year-old males of 1945 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American older males of 1946 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A handsome brown horse who combined elegance with power, Pavot had the tendency toward sickle hocks that marked many of Teddy's descendants. He was a highly energetic colt who had the vice of stall walking while he was racing; nonetheless, he had a good disposition.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Pavot sired 149 winners (72.0%) and 14 stakes winners (6.6%) from 207 named foals.
Notable progeny
Ampola (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Dotted Swiss (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Pavot was bred and owned by Walter M. Jeffords. He was trained by Oscar White. He retired to stud in Kentucky in 1948 at Jeffords' Faraway Farm.
Pedigree notes
Pavot is inbred 4x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Commando and 1899 American champion older male Voter and 5x5 to 1880 Derby Stakes winner Bend Or. He is a half brother to 1946 Choice Stakes winner Lovat (by Jamestown) and to Azalea (by Sun Teddy), dam of stakes winners Nile Lily (by Roman) and Kingmaster (by One-Eyed King) and third dam of 1972 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, FR-G1) winner and notable sire Riverman and of Japanese Group 2 winner Aswan. Pavot is also a half brother to Tapis Vert (by Mahmoud), second dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Drop Your Drawers.
Coquelicot, the dam of Pavot, won once from 10 starts. She is a half sister to stakes-placed My Rose (by Snark), dam of 1966 Sussex Turf Handicap winner Portsmouth (by Blue Prince) and multiple stakes winner Momus (by Natchez), second dam of three stakes winners and third dam of Grade 2 winner Gene's Lady and Grade 3 winner Crackedbell; to Wichuraiana (by Man o' War's champion son War Admiral), third dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Grenzen; and to French Flower (by War Admiral), third dam of 1970 Gardenia Stakes winner Eggy.
Coquelicot was produced from the Pennant mare Fleur, an unraced half sister to stakes winner Salaam (by Broadside). The next dam in Pavot's tail-female line, Forsythia (by Broomstick) won her only start and is a full sister to 1926 Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap winner Flagstaff and to 1920 Astoria Stakes and 1921 Saranac Handicap winner Crocus. She is also a half sister to 1922 American champion 3-year-old male Whiskaway (by Broomstick's champion son Whisk Broom II), to 1923 Clover Stakes winner Initiate (by Whisk Broom II; dam of 1938 Beverly Handicap and New Orleans Handicap winner Novelette, by Strolling Player), to 1919 Paumonok Handicap winner Flags (by Whisk Broom II) and to multiple stakes-winning steeplechaser Coronation (by Johren). Produced from the Voter mare Inaugural, Forsythia is also a half sister to Panoply (by Peter Pan), dam of 1935 Schuylerville Stakes winner Parade Girl (by Display) and multiple stakes winners Annapolis (by Man o' War; an outstanding sire of steeplechasers) and Ladder (by Ladkin); to Overture (by Whisk Broom II), dam of multiple stakes winner Trombone (by St. James); and to Mablonde (by Dis Donc), second dam of two-time Aqueduct Handicap winner Wine List.
Books and media
Pavot is profiled in Chapter 7 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Pavot means “poppy” in French and is a play on the name of the colt's dam Coquelicot. “Coquelicot” is a French common name for the wild corn poppy of Europe, Papaver rhoeas, and passed into English as a term for the orange-tinted red color of the poppy.
- Pavot's success as a juvenile led Walter Jeffords to offer US$100,000 for the colt's sire, Case Ace. Joseph Roebling, Case Ace's owner, turned down the offer.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: September 5, 2023