Swoon (USA)
1942 – c. 1959
Sweep Like (USA) x Sadie Greenock (USA), by Greenock (USA)
Family 12-b
1942 – c. 1959
Sweep Like (USA) x Sadie Greenock (USA), by Greenock (USA)
Family 12-b
On her immediate pedigree, Swoon was an unlikely candidate to become a Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, and her race record, while adequate, was no better than that of hundreds of other fillies from the same crop, many of which were better bred. Adding to the genetic mysteries behind her accomplishments, she spent most of her career being bred to relatively modest sires. While she did not become one of the great matriarchs of the breed, she was far more influential than her background suggested she had any right to be, leaving an enduring puzzle behind for pedigree analysts.
Race record
23 starts, 5 wins, 9 seconds, 3 thirds, US$11,425
As an individual
A smallish chestnut mare of good overall conformation, Swoon had a habit of bearing out in her races.
As a producer
Swoon was named the 1956 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. She produced 10 named foals; all 10 started and eight won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Swoon was bred and owned by E. Gay Drake. She was trained by Lex Wilson.
Pedigree notes
Swoon is inbred 2x4 to two-time American champion sire Sweep, 5x5 to 1893 English Triple Crown winner Isinglass and 5x5 to the St. Simon horse St. Serf., a good stakes winner in England. A daughter of the stakes-winning Sweep horse Sweep Like, she is out of Sadie Greenock, whose sire Greenock is a stakes-winning son of The Porter. The next dam in the tail-female line, Silk Lady, is by Ormondale out of the Esher mare Silk Maid and is a half sister to 1909 Latonia Oaks winner Crystal Maid (by Pirate of Penzance), dam of the minor stakes winner Crystal Prince (by Prince of Bourbon) and second dam of 1928 Coffroth Handicap winner Crystal Pennant.
A minor stakes winner at Latonia, Silk Maid, in turn, was produced from Kate Pelletier (by the imported English horse Rapture), also the dam of stakes winners Monsieur Beaucaire (by Macduff) and Ivan the Terrible (by Pirate of Penzance). A half sister to 1893 Monmouth Oaks winner Augusta Belle (by King Alfonso) and stakes winner Judge Murray (by Ten Broeck), Kate Pelletier is out of Bertha B. (by Buckden).
Fun facts
Last updated: March 28, 2020
Race record
23 starts, 5 wins, 9 seconds, 3 thirds, US$11,425
As an individual
A smallish chestnut mare of good overall conformation, Swoon had a habit of bearing out in her races.
As a producer
Swoon was named the 1956 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. She produced 10 named foals; all 10 started and eight won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Dottie Dear (1951, by Amphitheatre) won seven of her 62 starts. She is the second dam of Grade 2 winner Aljamin and Grade 3 winner Neapolitan Way and the third dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Hudson County.
- Dogoon (1952, by The Doge) won six stakes races including two editions of the Chicago Handicap. He sired two stakes winners from 131 named foals.
- Swoon's Son (1953, by The Doge) was a top-class horse whose 22 stakes wins included the 1956 American Derby and Arlington Classic. A member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, Swoon's Son sired 22 stakes winners from 336 named foals, headed by 1974 American champion 3-year-old filly Chris Evert.
- Dogette (1957, by The Doge) failed to win in five starts. She is the third dam of Japanese Grade 3 winner Inado Kotobuki.
- Swooning (1958, by The Doge) won two of her 16 starts. She is the dam of stakes winners Swoonland (by Promised Land) and Susceptible (by Prince John). She is also the third dam of 1984 American champion sprinter Eillo and Grade 2 winners Radiant Ring and Secret Firm.
- Swoon's Princess (1959, by Princequillo) was stakes-placed as a juvenile. She is the second dam of French Group 2 winner Premier Role.
Connections
Swoon was bred and owned by E. Gay Drake. She was trained by Lex Wilson.
Pedigree notes
Swoon is inbred 2x4 to two-time American champion sire Sweep, 5x5 to 1893 English Triple Crown winner Isinglass and 5x5 to the St. Simon horse St. Serf., a good stakes winner in England. A daughter of the stakes-winning Sweep horse Sweep Like, she is out of Sadie Greenock, whose sire Greenock is a stakes-winning son of The Porter. The next dam in the tail-female line, Silk Lady, is by Ormondale out of the Esher mare Silk Maid and is a half sister to 1909 Latonia Oaks winner Crystal Maid (by Pirate of Penzance), dam of the minor stakes winner Crystal Prince (by Prince of Bourbon) and second dam of 1928 Coffroth Handicap winner Crystal Pennant.
A minor stakes winner at Latonia, Silk Maid, in turn, was produced from Kate Pelletier (by the imported English horse Rapture), also the dam of stakes winners Monsieur Beaucaire (by Macduff) and Ivan the Terrible (by Pirate of Penzance). A half sister to 1893 Monmouth Oaks winner Augusta Belle (by King Alfonso) and stakes winner Judge Murray (by Ten Broeck), Kate Pelletier is out of Bertha B. (by Buckden).
Fun facts
- Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form attributed much of Swoon's success as a broodmare to the fact that she was of a very similar physical type to The Doge, her most frequent mate and the sire of most of her important foals.
- The stature of Swoon's maternal grandsire, Greenock, can be gauged from the fact that he was sold to a Tennessee farmer in the years following his racing career and was used for pulling a plow when not performing stud duty.
- The name "Swoon" was reused in 1978 for a son of Secretariat out of the Sea Hawk II mare Miss Pele. The colt became a listed stakes winner but was not a success at stud.
Last updated: March 28, 2020