Round Table (USA)
April 6, 1954 – June 13, 1987
Princequillo (IRE) x Knight's Daughter (GB), by Sir Cosmo (GB)
Family 2-f
April 6, 1954 – June 13, 1987
Princequillo (IRE) x Knight's Daughter (GB), by Sir Cosmo (GB)
Family 2-f
One of the best of a vintage crop, Round Table was tough, durable and versatile, winning turf and dirt races at the highest level of competition over a racing career spanning four years. He set or equaled 16 time records at eight different racetracks during his career, and many racing experts still consider him the greatest turf runner in American racing history. Following his racing career, he became an excellent sire and broodmare sire.
Race record
66 starts, 43 wins, 8 seconds, 5 thirds, US$1,749,869
1956:
1957:
1958:
1959:
Honors
Assessments
Round Table was ranked #17 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 118 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1956, 8 pounds below champion Barbizon.
Rated at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1957, 2 pounds below champion Bold Ruler and third overall.
Rated at 131 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1958, 1 pound below co-highweights Bold Ruler and Gallant Man.
Co-highweighted with Hillsdale on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1959.
As an individual
A bay, Round Table stood barely 15.3 hands. He possessed excellent balance and bone with an exceptional shoulder and short cannons. He could be faulted for being somewhat sickle-hocked and slightly over at the knee. He walked well with his hind feet overstriding his front hoof prints by about a foot. At racing speed, he ran off his hocks with great forward propulsion but needed good traction; he did not race well on wet or yielding surfaces. He had an ideal temperament during his racing days but as a stallion had to be muzzled to keep him from biting himself although he remained kind-natured in his dealings with people.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Round Table sired 275 winners (68.1%) and 83 stakes winners (20.5%) from 404 named foals. 50 of his stakes winners (60.2%) were from mares whose sires were from the Nasrullah sire line. He is a Solid chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
Notable progeny
Apalachee (USA), Artaius (USA), Baldric (USA), Banquet Table (USA), Cellini (USA), Dancealot (USA), Dignitas (USA), Drumtop (USA), Duel (USA), Flirting Around (USA), Folk Art (USA), Foreseer (USA), He's a Smoothie (CAN), Homespun (USA), Iaround (USA), King Pellinore (USA), Poker (USA), Royal Glint (USA), Take Your Place (USA), Targowice (USA), Upper Case (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bayford (CAN), Bowl Game (USA), Caerleon (USA), De La Rose (USA), Folk Art (USA), Full Out (USA), Golden Pheasant (USA), Hidden Lake (USA), Martial Law (USA), Mashaallah (USA), Navarone (USA), Northern Baby (USA), Outstandingly (USA), Petite Ile (IRE), Political Ambition (USA), Polonia (USA), Scuffleburg (USA), Son of Briartic (CAN), Topsider (USA), Trapp Mountain (USA), Upper Nile (USA), Victory Zone (USA), Vision (USA)
Connections
Round Table was bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm, which sold the colt to Travis Kerr for a reported US$145,000 early in Round Table's 3-year-old season. Claiborne retained a 20 percent breeding interest. Round Table was trained by Moody Jolley at 2 and by William Molter from early in his 3-year-old season onward. He stood at Claiborne Farm until being pensioned in 1979.
Pedigree notes
Round Table is inbred 5x5 to two-time English champion sire Gallinule and to 1896 Derby Stakes winner and four-time English champion sire Persimmon. His full sister Monarchy won the 1959 Arlington Lassie Stakes. The dam of Grade 2 winner Fabled Monarch (by Le Fabuleux) and the good sire Blade (by Bold Ruler), she became an important foundation mare for Claiborne Farm. Round Table is also a half brother to stakes winner Love Game (by Big Game), whose stakes-winning daughter Nas-Mahal (by Nasrullah) produced six stakes winners including 1971 American champion 3-year-old filly Turkish Trousers (by Bagdad).
Round Table's dam Knight's Daughter was sired by the top English sprint sire Sir Cosmo, himself a winner of the important July Cup. She is the 1959 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year and is a half sister to four stakes winners including 1946 One Thousand Guineas winner Hypericum (by Hyperion) and Yorkshire Oaks winner Angelola (by Donatello II), dam of 1954 English champion older male Aureole (by Hyperion). She is also a half sister to Starling (by Noble Star), dam of 1952 Argentine champion older male and three-time Argentine champion sire Sideral (by Seductor), of 1953 Argentine champion 3-year-old filly Siderea (by Seductor), and of Sagitaria (by Seductor), winner of the Gran Premio Saturnino J. Unzue and the Gran Premio Eliseo Ramirez.
Feola, the dam of Knight's Daughter, ran second in the 1936 One Thousand Guineas and third in that year's Oaks Stakes. A daughter of the speed influence Friar Marcus and the Son-in-Law mare Aloe, she is a half sister to Aroma (by Fairway), ancestress of an American branch of this family that includes two-time American champion Go for Wand, 1980 Two Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) winner Known Fact, 2011 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Shackleford, and the important sires Gone West and Tentam. Feola is also a half sister to Sweet Aloe (by Cameronian), second dam of two-time English champion Alcide.
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Round Table, taken by Joel Clyne Meadors at Claiborne Farm, undated. From the Keeneland Library Meadors Collection; used by permission. Please contact the Keeneland Library with any questions regarding use or licensure of this photo.
Last updated: May 9, 2024
Race record
66 starts, 43 wins, 8 seconds, 5 thirds, US$1,749,869
1956:
- Won Breeders' Futurity (USA, 7f+184ftD, Keeneland)
- Won Lafayette Stakes (USA, about 4FD, Keeneland)
- 2nd Hyde Park Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Arlington Park)
1957:
- Won Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA, 10FD, Hollywood; equaled track record 1:58-3/5)
- Won American Derby (USA, 9.5FT, Washington Park)
- Won United Nations Handicap (USA, 9.5FT, Atlantic City)
- Won Westerner Stakes (USA, 10FD, Hollywood)
- Won Hawthorne Gold Cup (USA, 10FD, Hawthorne; new track record 2:00-1/5)
- Won Bay Meadows Derby Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Bay Meadows)
- Won Cinema Handicap (USA, 9FD, Hollywood)
- Won El Dorado Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Hollywood)
- Won Blue Grass Stakes (USA, 9FD, Keeneland; new track record 1:47-2/5)
- Won Malibu Sequet Stakes (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Will Rogers Handicap (USA, 8FD, Hollywood)
- 2nd Californian Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Santa Anita Derby (USA, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Trenton Handicap (USA, 10FD, Monmouth)
1958:
- Won San Fernando Stakes (USA, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Santa Anita Maturity (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita; new track record 1:59-4/5)
- Won Gulfstream Park Handicap (USA, 10FD, Gulfstream Park; new track record 1:59-4/5)
- Won Caliente Handicap (Mex, 8.5FD, Agua Caliente; new track record 1:41-1/5)
- Won Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (USA, 10FD, Hawthorne; new track record 1:59-4/5)
- Won Laurance Armour Handicap (USA, 9FT, Arlington Park; equaled course record 1:48-2/5)
- Won Arlington Handicap (USA, 9.5FT, Arlington Park)
- Won San Antonio Handicap (USA, 9FD, Santa Anita; equaled world record 1:46-4/5)
- Won Argonaut Handicap (USA, 8FD, Hollywood)
- Won Arch Ward Memorial Handicap (USA, 9.5FT, Washington Park)
- 2nd Washington Park Handicap (USA, 8FD, Arlington Park)
- 2nd United Nations Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Atlantic City)
- 2nd Californian Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Hollywood)
- 2nd Warren Wright Memorial Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- Also set a track record of 1:41-3/5 for 8.5 furlongs at Gulfstream Park in an allowance race
1959:
- Won United Nations Handicap (USA, 9.5FT, Atlantic City)
- Won Washington Park Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park; new track record 1:47-1/5)
- Won Arlington Handicap (USA, 9.5FT, Arlington Park; new American record 1:53-1/5)
- Won Stars and Stripes Handicap (USA, 9FT, Arlington Park; new American record 1:47-1/5)
- Won Citation Handicap (USA, 8FD, Washington Park; equaled track record 1:33-2/5)
- Won Manhattan Handicap (USA, 13FD, Aqueduct; new track record 2:42-2/5)
- Won San Marcos Handicap (USA, 10FT, Santa Anita; new American record 1:58-2/5)
- 2nd Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd San Carlos Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Woodward Stakes (USA, 10FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Equipoise Mile Handicap (USA, 8FD, Arlington Park)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1972)
- Arcadia Historical Society's Racing Walk of Champions (inducted as part of the inaugural class in 2014)
- American Horse of the Year (1958)
- American champion handicap male (1958)
- American co-champion handicap male (1959)
- American champion turf horse (1957-1959)
Assessments
Round Table was ranked #17 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 118 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1956, 8 pounds below champion Barbizon.
Rated at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1957, 2 pounds below champion Bold Ruler and third overall.
Rated at 131 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1958, 1 pound below co-highweights Bold Ruler and Gallant Man.
Co-highweighted with Hillsdale on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1959.
As an individual
A bay, Round Table stood barely 15.3 hands. He possessed excellent balance and bone with an exceptional shoulder and short cannons. He could be faulted for being somewhat sickle-hocked and slightly over at the knee. He walked well with his hind feet overstriding his front hoof prints by about a foot. At racing speed, he ran off his hocks with great forward propulsion but needed good traction; he did not race well on wet or yielding surfaces. He had an ideal temperament during his racing days but as a stallion had to be muzzled to keep him from biting himself although he remained kind-natured in his dealings with people.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Round Table sired 275 winners (68.1%) and 83 stakes winners (20.5%) from 404 named foals. 50 of his stakes winners (60.2%) were from mares whose sires were from the Nasrullah sire line. He is a Solid chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
- Led the American general sire list in 1972.
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- Led the American general sire list in 1972; 2nd in 1971 and 1976; 3rd in 1968; 5th in 1966, 1969, and 1973; 7th in 1967.
- 3rd on the American broodmare sire list in 1981; 4th in 1979; 6th in 1984; 7th in 1980; 8th in 1982.
- 3rd on the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1964; 4th in 1975.
- 9th on the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1983; 10th in 1979.
- 10th on the French general sire list in 1964.
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
- Led the American general sire list in 1972.
Notable progeny
Apalachee (USA), Artaius (USA), Baldric (USA), Banquet Table (USA), Cellini (USA), Dancealot (USA), Dignitas (USA), Drumtop (USA), Duel (USA), Flirting Around (USA), Folk Art (USA), Foreseer (USA), He's a Smoothie (CAN), Homespun (USA), Iaround (USA), King Pellinore (USA), Poker (USA), Royal Glint (USA), Take Your Place (USA), Targowice (USA), Upper Case (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bayford (CAN), Bowl Game (USA), Caerleon (USA), De La Rose (USA), Folk Art (USA), Full Out (USA), Golden Pheasant (USA), Hidden Lake (USA), Martial Law (USA), Mashaallah (USA), Navarone (USA), Northern Baby (USA), Outstandingly (USA), Petite Ile (IRE), Political Ambition (USA), Polonia (USA), Scuffleburg (USA), Son of Briartic (CAN), Topsider (USA), Trapp Mountain (USA), Upper Nile (USA), Victory Zone (USA), Vision (USA)
Connections
Round Table was bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm, which sold the colt to Travis Kerr for a reported US$145,000 early in Round Table's 3-year-old season. Claiborne retained a 20 percent breeding interest. Round Table was trained by Moody Jolley at 2 and by William Molter from early in his 3-year-old season onward. He stood at Claiborne Farm until being pensioned in 1979.
Pedigree notes
Round Table is inbred 5x5 to two-time English champion sire Gallinule and to 1896 Derby Stakes winner and four-time English champion sire Persimmon. His full sister Monarchy won the 1959 Arlington Lassie Stakes. The dam of Grade 2 winner Fabled Monarch (by Le Fabuleux) and the good sire Blade (by Bold Ruler), she became an important foundation mare for Claiborne Farm. Round Table is also a half brother to stakes winner Love Game (by Big Game), whose stakes-winning daughter Nas-Mahal (by Nasrullah) produced six stakes winners including 1971 American champion 3-year-old filly Turkish Trousers (by Bagdad).
Round Table's dam Knight's Daughter was sired by the top English sprint sire Sir Cosmo, himself a winner of the important July Cup. She is the 1959 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year and is a half sister to four stakes winners including 1946 One Thousand Guineas winner Hypericum (by Hyperion) and Yorkshire Oaks winner Angelola (by Donatello II), dam of 1954 English champion older male Aureole (by Hyperion). She is also a half sister to Starling (by Noble Star), dam of 1952 Argentine champion older male and three-time Argentine champion sire Sideral (by Seductor), of 1953 Argentine champion 3-year-old filly Siderea (by Seductor), and of Sagitaria (by Seductor), winner of the Gran Premio Saturnino J. Unzue and the Gran Premio Eliseo Ramirez.
Feola, the dam of Knight's Daughter, ran second in the 1936 One Thousand Guineas and third in that year's Oaks Stakes. A daughter of the speed influence Friar Marcus and the Son-in-Law mare Aloe, she is a half sister to Aroma (by Fairway), ancestress of an American branch of this family that includes two-time American champion Go for Wand, 1980 Two Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) winner Known Fact, 2011 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Shackleford, and the important sires Gone West and Tentam. Feola is also a half sister to Sweet Aloe (by Cameronian), second dam of two-time English champion Alcide.
Books and media
- Round Table is the 16th book in the Thoroughbred Legends series from Eclipse Press. It was written by John McEvoy and was released in 2002.
- Round Table's three-cornered rivalry with Bold Ruler and Gallant Man is featured as the ninth chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff of The Blood-Horse.
- Round Table is profiled in Chapter 75 of Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and reprinted by Eclipse Press in 2006).
- Round Table is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
- Video clips of Round Table in action can be accessed at Walter Lazary's Historical Horse Racing (https://www.historical-horse-racing-lazmannick.com/1a-americas-best-turf-horses-of-the-20th-century/).
Fun facts
- Round Table was the first horse to sweep the Strub Series at Santa Anita Park, consisting of the Malibu Sequet Stakes, the San Fernando Stakes, and the Santa Anita Maturity (later the Charles H. Strub Stakes).
- Round Table shares his birthday with fellow Hall of Famer Bold Ruler, who was born in the same foaling barn at Claiborne. Later on, the two had adjoining stallion paddocks at Claiborne.
- The births of Round Table and Bold Ruler on April 6, 1954, were ranked #83 in Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, a review of racing in the 20th century compiled by The Blood-Horse and released in 2006.
- In 1984, Queen Elizabeth II actually rearranged her scheduled tour of Central Kentucky's horse farms to see Round Table after learning that he was still alive.
- Round Table was buried in an oak casket lined with Claiborne's racing colors. He was one of only five horses accorded the honor of being buried in his entirety in the main horse cemetery at Claiborne; the others were Nasrullah, Princequillo, Secretariat, and Swale. (Marguerite, also buried intact, is buried at Claiborne's Marchmont division.) All the other burials followed the tradition of burying the head, heart, hooves and (in the case of stallions) genitals because of the need to minimize the space taken up by each burial.
Photo credit
Round Table, taken by Joel Clyne Meadors at Claiborne Farm, undated. From the Keeneland Library Meadors Collection; used by permission. Please contact the Keeneland Library with any questions regarding use or licensure of this photo.
Last updated: May 9, 2024