Runaway Groom (CAN)
April 11, 1979 – June 8, 2007
Blushing Groom (FR) x Yonnie Girl (USA), by Call the Witness (USA)
Family 4-r
April 11, 1979 – June 8, 2007
Blushing Groom (FR) x Yonnie Girl (USA), by Call the Witness (USA)
Family 4-r
When Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner Gato del Sol, Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Aloma's Ruler, and Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) winner Conquistador Cielo went into the gate for the 1982 Travers Stakes (USA-G1), virtually everyone was convinced that a North American Classic winner would come away with the prize. That is indeed what happened, but the Classic winner who took the Travers was not one of the ones the “wise guys” were backing. Instead, it was dual Canadian Classic winner Runaway Groom who charged through the stretch to snatch the honors and seal a title for himself as Canada's champion 3-year-old male. After a disappointing 4-year-old campaign, Runaway Groom became a useful sire of hard-knocking stock and continued a branch of the Blushing Groom male line through his best son, Cherokee Run.
Race record
18 starts, 6 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third, US$347,537 (including Canadian earnings)
1982:
1983:
Honors
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American-raced 3-year-old males of 1982, 10 pounds below Conquistador Cielo in spite of having beaten him at level weights in their only meeting.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap, 1 pound above Queen's Plate winner Son of Briartic and British Columbia Derby (CAN-G3) winner Travelling Victor.
As an individual
A well-balanced gray horse, Runaway Groom did not race at 2. He had a good shoulder and strong hindquarters with good muscling down into his forearms and gaskins but was slightly short and upright in his pasterns and had a choppy stride. He had a tough, dominant personality and was inclined to bite but was not vicious and enjoyed human attention. He especially liked being stroked under the chin. He stood 15.3½ hands. At his best, he had a strong closing kick.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Runaway Groom sired 761 winners (66.0%) and 72 stakes winners (6.2%) from 1153 named foals. The Blood-Horse credits Runaway Groom with 75 stakes winners (6.5%).
Notable progeny
Alex the Groom (USA), Cherokee Run (USA), Down the Aisle (USA), March Groom (USA), The Groom Is Red (USA), Wekiva Springs (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Ontario, Runaway Groom was bred by Gardiner Farms Ltd. and was owned by Albert Coppola, who had purchased the colt for US$39,000 from the 1980 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling sale. The colt was initially trained by George “Rusty” Arnold but was turned over to John A. DiMario prior to his first start. At 4, Runaway Groom was trained by Charlie Whittingham.
Runaway Groom entered stud in 1984 in California at El Rancho Murieta. Following the 1984 breeding season, he moved to Donald Dizney's Double Diamond Farm in Florida, where he stood in 1985–1990. In 1991, the stallion moved on to Vinery in Kentucky, where he was pensioned on February 27, 2007. He was humanely destroyed due to the infirmities of old age on June 8, 2007, and was buried in the courtyard of the stallion complex at Vinery.
Pedigree notes
Runaway Groom is inbred 5x5 to 1930 Derby Stakes winner and 1941 American champion sire Blenheim II. He is a half brother to multiple Canadian stakes winner Bold Enterprise (by Hopeful Venture) and to stakes winner Tout Ou Rien (by Sham). He is also a half brother to Park Girl (by Victoria Park), second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Cornwall Queen.
Yonnie Girl, the dam of Runaway Groom, was a minor stakes winner at 3. Sired by 1961 Longfellow Handicap winner Call the Witness (by Better Self), she is out of Po'Chile, a winning daughter of stakes-placed Boodle (by Mahmoud) and a full sister to 1958 Swift Stakes winner Hubcap. The next dam in Runaway Groom's tail-female line, the winning Pensive mare Rub-Adub-Dub, is out of the winning Stimulus mare Stimbala, a half sister to 1939 New England Oaks winner Bala Ormont (by Ormont).
Fun facts
Last updated: June 25, 2021
Race record
18 starts, 6 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third, US$347,537 (including Canadian earnings)
1982:
- Won Travers Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Prince of Wales Stakes (CAN-R, 9.5FT, Fort Erie)
- Won Breeders' Stakes (CAN-R, 12FT, Woodbine)
- 2nd Queen's Plate Stakes (CAN-R, 10FD, Woodbine)
- 2nd Heresy Stakes (first division) (CAN, 8FT, Woodbine)
1983:
- 3rd San Diego Handicap (USA-G3, 8.5FD, Del Mar)
Honors
- Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2001)
- Sovereign Award, Canadian champion 3-year-old male (1982)
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American-raced 3-year-old males of 1982, 10 pounds below Conquistador Cielo in spite of having beaten him at level weights in their only meeting.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap, 1 pound above Queen's Plate winner Son of Briartic and British Columbia Derby (CAN-G3) winner Travelling Victor.
As an individual
A well-balanced gray horse, Runaway Groom did not race at 2. He had a good shoulder and strong hindquarters with good muscling down into his forearms and gaskins but was slightly short and upright in his pasterns and had a choppy stride. He had a tough, dominant personality and was inclined to bite but was not vicious and enjoyed human attention. He especially liked being stroked under the chin. He stood 15.3½ hands. At his best, he had a strong closing kick.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Runaway Groom sired 761 winners (66.0%) and 72 stakes winners (6.2%) from 1153 named foals. The Blood-Horse credits Runaway Groom with 75 stakes winners (6.5%).
Notable progeny
Alex the Groom (USA), Cherokee Run (USA), Down the Aisle (USA), March Groom (USA), The Groom Is Red (USA), Wekiva Springs (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Ontario, Runaway Groom was bred by Gardiner Farms Ltd. and was owned by Albert Coppola, who had purchased the colt for US$39,000 from the 1980 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling sale. The colt was initially trained by George “Rusty” Arnold but was turned over to John A. DiMario prior to his first start. At 4, Runaway Groom was trained by Charlie Whittingham.
Runaway Groom entered stud in 1984 in California at El Rancho Murieta. Following the 1984 breeding season, he moved to Donald Dizney's Double Diamond Farm in Florida, where he stood in 1985–1990. In 1991, the stallion moved on to Vinery in Kentucky, where he was pensioned on February 27, 2007. He was humanely destroyed due to the infirmities of old age on June 8, 2007, and was buried in the courtyard of the stallion complex at Vinery.
Pedigree notes
Runaway Groom is inbred 5x5 to 1930 Derby Stakes winner and 1941 American champion sire Blenheim II. He is a half brother to multiple Canadian stakes winner Bold Enterprise (by Hopeful Venture) and to stakes winner Tout Ou Rien (by Sham). He is also a half brother to Park Girl (by Victoria Park), second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Cornwall Queen.
Yonnie Girl, the dam of Runaway Groom, was a minor stakes winner at 3. Sired by 1961 Longfellow Handicap winner Call the Witness (by Better Self), she is out of Po'Chile, a winning daughter of stakes-placed Boodle (by Mahmoud) and a full sister to 1958 Swift Stakes winner Hubcap. The next dam in Runaway Groom's tail-female line, the winning Pensive mare Rub-Adub-Dub, is out of the winning Stimulus mare Stimbala, a half sister to 1939 New England Oaks winner Bala Ormont (by Ormont).
Fun facts
- Runaway Groom was the last yearling in the 1980 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky sale catalog, and most of the buyers had already gone home by the time he came into the ring, contributing to his relatively modest sale price.
- Runaway Groom's Travers Stakes marked the second time that three winners of American Triple Crown races had contested the race (the first time was in 1918, when Sun Briar defeated Exterminator, War Cloud, and Johren) and the first time that four North American Classic winners were in the field.
Last updated: June 25, 2021