Polynesian (USA)

March 8, 1942 – December 29, 1959

Unbreakable (USA) x Black Polly (USA), by Polymelian (GB)

Family 14-a

Picture

Polynesian had plenty of raw talent, but a willful disposition and a marked distaste for training kept him from having the conditioning to use that talent to its full extent. Nonetheless, he was the foremost sprinter of his time and could carry his speed over intermediate distances on class. He was a good sire who made his greatest marks on the Thoroughbred through his son Native Dancer and his daughter Alanesian.


Race record

58 starts, 27 wins, 10 seconds, 10 thirds, US$310,410

1944:
  • Won Sagamore Stakes (second division) (USA, 6FD, Pimlico)
  • 2nd Endurance Handicap (second division) (USA, 8f+70yD, Pimlico)

1945:
  • Won Preakness Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
  • Won Withers Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
  • Won Saranac Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
  • Won Valorous Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
  • 2nd Ritchie Handicap (USA, 6FD, Pimlico)
  • 3rd Experimental Free Handicap (USA, 6FD, Jamaica)

1946:
  • Won Riggs Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
  • Won Scarsdale Handicap (USA, 8f+70yD, Jamaica)
  • Won Toboggan Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
  • Won Pageant Handicap (USA, 6FD, Atlantic City; equaled world record 1:09-1/5)
  • Won Roseben Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)
  • Won Rumson Handicap (USA, 6FD, Monmouth)
  • 2nd Trenton Handicap (USA, 9FD, Garden State)
  • 2nd Saratoga Handicap (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
  • 2nd Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Belmont)
  • 3rd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
  • 3rd Bay Shore Handicap (USA, 7FD, Aqueduct)
  • 3rd Vosburgh Handicap (USA, 7FD, Belmont)
  • 3rd Fleetwing Handicap (USA, 6FD, Jamaica)

1947:
  • Won Atlantic City Inaugural Handicap (USA, 6FD, Atlantic City)
  • Won Camden Handicap (USA, 6FD, Garden State; new track record 1:09-4/5)
  • Won Long Branch Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Monmouth; equaled track record 1:43-2/5)
  • Won Oceanport Handicap (USA, 6FD, Monmouth)
  • Won Omnibus Handicap (USA, 9FD, Monmouth; new track record 1:50-3/5)
  • Won Wilmington Handicap (USA, 6FD, Delaware)
  • Won Janney Handicap (USA, 6FD, Pimlico)
  • 2nd Excelsior Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Jamaica)
  • 2nd Paumonok Handicap (USA, 6FD, Jamaica)
  • 3rd Toboggan Handicap (USA, 6FD, Belmont)


Honors
  • Monmouth Park Hall of Champions
  • American champion sprinter (1947)


Assessments

Earned a rating of 119 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1944, 7 pounds below co-leaders Pavot (the official divisional champion) and Free For All.

Ranked fourth among American 3-year-old males of 1945 by The Blood-Horse.

Ranked fifth among American older males of 1946 by The Blood-Horse, which also rated Polynesian as the best American sprinter of 1946 although no official championship voting was held in that category.

Ranked fourth among American older males of 1947 by The Blood-Horse.


As an individual

A thick-set, muscular brown horse of medium size, Polynesian had suspicious ankles and a willful disposition but was tough, sound, well-proportioned, and a notable weight carrier. His head was wide between the eyes, suggesting high intelligence. He was a notably poor work horse and was always hampered by being less fit than he should have been; in fact, he had to be sent to the farm between races because after four or five days at any given track, he would refuse to set foot on it at all.


As a stallion

According to The Jockey Club, Polynesian sired 185 winners (62.1%) and 36 stakes winners (12.1%) from 298 named foals. Sires and Dams of Stakes Winners 1925-1985 (Blood-Horse) credits him with 37 stakes winners (12.4%). Polynesian is an Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.


Sire rankings

Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
  • 4th on the American general sire list in 1953; 9th in 1956; 10th in 1957.
  • 4th on the American broodmare sire list in 1968; 8th in 1969; 9th in 1966.
  • Led the American juvenile sire list in 1952

Per The Blood-Horse:
  • 4th on the American general sire list in 1953; 9th in 1956; 10th in 1957.
  • Led the American juvenile sire list in 1952

Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
  • 4th on the American general sire list in 1953; 9th in 1956; 10th in 1957.
  • 4th on the American broodmare sire list in 1968; 8th in 1969; 9th in 1966.


Notable progeny

Alanesian (USA), Banquet Bell (USA), Barbizon (USA), Imbros (USA), Native Dancer (USA)


Notable progeny of daughters

Boldnesian (USA), Chateaugay (USA), Earldom (CAN), Primonetta (USA), Princessnesian (USA), Swing Easy (USA)


Connections

Polynesian was bred by Joseph E. Widener's Elmendorf Farm and was inherited by P. A. B, Widener II on the death of his father. The colt was given as an anniversary gift to Widener's wife Gertrude and raced under her name. He was trained by Morris H. Dixon. He stood in Kentucky at Gallaher Stud Farm, where he died of a twisted intestine on December 29, 1959.


Pedigree notes

Polynesian is inbred 4x3 to five-time leading English sire Polymelus. His dam Black Polly is a winning half sister to juvenile stakes winner Perida (by Chance Shot) and the good steeplechaser Adaptable (by Blenheim II). She is also a half sister to Taj Bibi (by Sickle), dam of 1948 Arlington Classic winner Papa Redbird (by Balladier); to Femme Noire (by Unbreakable), dam of stakes winner Lil's Nite Out (by Alibhai) and second dam of multiple stakes winner License Plate; and to Queen of Clubs (by Roman), third dam of 1982 Italian champion 3-year-old filly Friendswood and Grade 3 winner Bronze Point.

Polynesian's second dam, stakes-placed Black Queen (by Pompey), was the only foal of three-time American champion Black Maria (by Black Toney). A half sister to juvenile stakes winner Head Cover (by Helmet), Black Maria was produced from the Sardanapale mare Bird Loose.


Books and media
  • Polynesian is profiled in Chapter 27 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released by Eclipse Press in 2006).
  • Polynesian is profiled in Chapter 7 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).


Fun facts
  • Orphaned three weeks after his birth, Polynesian was raised on a cow's milk formula, a circumstance which sportswriter Joe Palmer facetiously suggested was the cause of Polynesian's “bullheadedness.”
  • Polynesian suffered a severe case of azoturia ('tying up”) as a juvenile and was so mentally traumatized by the pain he endured that he refused to move of his own volition even after the ailment cleared up. According to "Polynesian and the Hornets," a section in Palmer's This Was Racing (1953, Henry Clay Press), he was cured of his phobia after his owner's young son disturbed a hornet's nest in the colt's paddock. The aggrieved hornets focused on Polynesian as their target, and the colt promptly became a runner.
  • Polynesian is the head of the first of two three-generation chains of Preakness Stakes winners in American racing history. The winner of the 1945 Preakness, he sired 1953 winner Native Dancer, in turn the sire of 1966 winner Kauai King. The other such chain begins with 1957 Preakness winner Bold Ruler, who sired 1973 winner Secretariat, in turn the sire of 1988 winner Risen Star.
  • The Polynesian Stakes is a 6-furlong race on the main track at Laurel for horses aged 3 and up.
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Photo credit

Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkins); used by permission.



Last updated: August 8, 2021