Tomy Lee (GB)
1956 – October 29, 1971
Tudor Minstrel (GB) x Auld Alliance (GB), by Brantôme (FR)
Family 1-n
1956 – October 29, 1971
Tudor Minstrel (GB) x Auld Alliance (GB), by Brantôme (FR)
Family 1-n
Purchased as a traveling companion for a more highly-regarded colt, Tomy Lee proved much the better of the pair as a racer and became only the second horse bred outside North America to win the Kentucky Derby. He failed to win another stakes race after his Derby victory and, sadly, proved virtually sterile when tried at stud. A comeback attempt at ages 6 and 7 ended with only modest success.
Race record
31 starts, 14 wins, 4 seconds, 3 thirds, US$405,014
1958:
1959:
Assessments
Ranked second among American 2-year-old males of 1958 and second among American 3-year-old males of 1959 by The Blood-Horse.
Weighted at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1958, 2 pounds below champion First Landing.
Weighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1959, 6 pounds below divisional champion and Horse of the Year Sword Dancer.
As an individual
A bay horse standing 16 hands, Tomy Lee was a lightly-made, beautifully-molded animal who was often likened to a greyhound. He was light-boned, particularly below the knee, and was fired as a juvenile due to splint trouble. He was rather delicate and did not stand hard races close together. He had an excellent disposition but had a habit of bearing out while racing.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Tomy Lee sired 13 named foals of which 10 were winners and one, Jeep Driver, was a minor stakes winner.
Connections
Tomy Lee was bred in England by Major D. H. Wills and was sold as a weanling for 2,300 guineas at the 1956 Newmarket December sale. He was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner, Jr., and was trained by Frank Childs. He stood two seasons at The Stallion Station in Kentucky before being returned to training at ages 6 and 7, after which he was permanently retired. He died from a severe kidney infection at Pillar Stud in October 1971.
Pedigree notes
Tomy Lee is inbred 3x3 to six-time English champion sire Hyperion and 4x4 to Swynford, winner of the 1910 St. Leger Stakes and the English champion sire of 1923. He is a half brother to Due Respect II (by Zucchero), dam of English Group 3 winner Shoolerville (by King of the Tudors) and second dam of 1980 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner and American champion 3-year-old filly Genuine Risk. He is also a half brother to All Honesty (by Blue Peter), dam of the juvenile stakes winner Auskerry (by Aureole) and third dam of South African Group 3 winner Gaelic Find.
Sired by the great French champion Brantôme, Auld Alliance is a half sister to Skye (by Blue Peter), winner of the 1953 Princess Royal Stakes and Ribbesdale Stakes and dam of the stakes-winning Nasrullah colt Rocky Thumb. Skye is also the third dam of Comely, winner of the 1986 Gran Premio de Potrancas (ARG-G1) at San Isidro.
Auld Alliance and Skye are out of the multiple stakes winner Iona (by Hyperion), a full or half sister to five other stakes winners including Ocean Swell (by Blue Peter), winner of the 1944 Derby Stakes and the 1945 Ascot Gold Cup; Staffa (by Hyperion), dam of 1961 Irish Champion Stakes winner Sail Cheoil (by Vimy); and Snap (by Big Game), second dam of English Group II winner Prickle. Produced from the Hurry On mare Jiffy, Iona is also a half sister to stakes-placed All Aboard, dam of four stakes winners and second dam of English Group III winner Alia, and to Speedy (by Fairway), second dam of 1964 Jockey Club Stakes winner Fighting Ship.
Books and media
Tomy Lee is profiled in Chapter 8 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Last updated: August 10, 2021
Race record
31 starts, 14 wins, 4 seconds, 3 thirds, US$405,014
1958:
- Won Charles S. Howard Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Hollywood)
- Won Haggin Stakes (USA, 5FD, Hollywood)
- Won Starlet Stakes (USA, 6FD, Hollywood)
- Won Del Mar Futurity (USA, 6FD, Del Mar)
- 2nd Garden State Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Garden State)
- 3rd Champagne Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont; disqualified from second)
1959:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Blue Grass Stakes (USA, 9FD, Keeneland)
- 2nd San Felipe Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- 2nd San Vicente Stakes (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- Also set a new track record for 7 furlongs of 1:21-3/5 in Keeneland's Stepping Stone Purse
Assessments
Ranked second among American 2-year-old males of 1958 and second among American 3-year-old males of 1959 by The Blood-Horse.
Weighted at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1958, 2 pounds below champion First Landing.
Weighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1959, 6 pounds below divisional champion and Horse of the Year Sword Dancer.
As an individual
A bay horse standing 16 hands, Tomy Lee was a lightly-made, beautifully-molded animal who was often likened to a greyhound. He was light-boned, particularly below the knee, and was fired as a juvenile due to splint trouble. He was rather delicate and did not stand hard races close together. He had an excellent disposition but had a habit of bearing out while racing.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Tomy Lee sired 13 named foals of which 10 were winners and one, Jeep Driver, was a minor stakes winner.
Connections
Tomy Lee was bred in England by Major D. H. Wills and was sold as a weanling for 2,300 guineas at the 1956 Newmarket December sale. He was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner, Jr., and was trained by Frank Childs. He stood two seasons at The Stallion Station in Kentucky before being returned to training at ages 6 and 7, after which he was permanently retired. He died from a severe kidney infection at Pillar Stud in October 1971.
Pedigree notes
Tomy Lee is inbred 3x3 to six-time English champion sire Hyperion and 4x4 to Swynford, winner of the 1910 St. Leger Stakes and the English champion sire of 1923. He is a half brother to Due Respect II (by Zucchero), dam of English Group 3 winner Shoolerville (by King of the Tudors) and second dam of 1980 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner and American champion 3-year-old filly Genuine Risk. He is also a half brother to All Honesty (by Blue Peter), dam of the juvenile stakes winner Auskerry (by Aureole) and third dam of South African Group 3 winner Gaelic Find.
Sired by the great French champion Brantôme, Auld Alliance is a half sister to Skye (by Blue Peter), winner of the 1953 Princess Royal Stakes and Ribbesdale Stakes and dam of the stakes-winning Nasrullah colt Rocky Thumb. Skye is also the third dam of Comely, winner of the 1986 Gran Premio de Potrancas (ARG-G1) at San Isidro.
Auld Alliance and Skye are out of the multiple stakes winner Iona (by Hyperion), a full or half sister to five other stakes winners including Ocean Swell (by Blue Peter), winner of the 1944 Derby Stakes and the 1945 Ascot Gold Cup; Staffa (by Hyperion), dam of 1961 Irish Champion Stakes winner Sail Cheoil (by Vimy); and Snap (by Big Game), second dam of English Group II winner Prickle. Produced from the Hurry On mare Jiffy, Iona is also a half sister to stakes-placed All Aboard, dam of four stakes winners and second dam of English Group III winner Alia, and to Speedy (by Fairway), second dam of 1964 Jockey Club Stakes winner Fighting Ship.
Books and media
Tomy Lee is profiled in Chapter 8 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Tomy Lee got his unusual name because owner Fred Turner liked the sound of the name “Tommy Lee.” When Turner found that the name had been claimed for another horse, he dropped one “m” from the spelling to make his choice acceptable to The Jockey Club.
- Tomy Lee wasn't even Turner's first choice as a traveling companion for the horse he was really interested in, a son of Tulyar who was later named Tuleg and won just one race from 10 starts. After bloodstock agent Bertie Kerr advised Turner that he didn't like the second colt that Turner had originally intended to buy, Turner gave Kerr the go-ahead to buy Kerr's own recommendation so long as he didn't spend more than US$15,000. Kerr got the future Kentucky Derby winner for the equivalent of US$6,762.
- The 1959 Kentucky Derby was the hottest on record up to that time, with temperatures reaching 94.2 degrees Fahrenheit in Louisville.
- Bill Shoemaker later admitted that he would never have won the Kentucky Derby on Tomy Lee if his mount and future Horse of the Year Sword Dancer hadn't made contact repeatedly in the stretch. The bumping got Tomy Lee to change leads, which gave him just enough of a spurt that he nosed out Sword Dancer by the narrowest of margins.
- Following the finish of the 1959 Kentucky Derby, the stewards deliberated for 17 minutes before allowing the result to stand on the grounds that Sword Dancer had initiated the contact. Tomy Lee had actually been draped with the winner's blanket of roses before Sword Dancer's jockey Bill Boland lodged his objection, and the blanket was removed until the outcome had been determined.
- Tomy Lee's sterility was due to an unusual condition: Although he produced an adequate quantity of sperm, for some reason his sperm usually did not live long enough after ejaculation to get a mare pregnant.
Last updated: August 10, 2021