Troubled by spavins as a juvenile, Tracery was unable to make his racing debut until age 3, and he made it in the toughest place possible—the Derby Stakes. His third-place finish would have been creditable even without considering his inexperience and the fact that he was only half fit, and it marked him as an extremely promising colt. He went on to fulfill that promise by winning the St. Leger Stakes and being acknowledged the best English-based sophomore of his year. At 4, an attempt to win the Ascot Gold Cup failed when a madman ran onto the course and brought him down, but he won both the Eclipse Stakes and the Champion Stakes that year and retired with a high reputation. His stud career was hampered by subfertility, but he made some important contributions nonetheless.
Race record
9 starts, 6 wins, 1 second, 1 third, £19,717
1912:
1913:
Honors
English champion 3-year-old male (1912)
Assessments
In their book A Century of Champions (1999, Portland Press Ltd.), British experts John Randall and Tony Morris rated Tracery as a “superior” winner of the St. Leger Stakes and the best British-trained racehorse of his generation.
As an individual
A handsome, lengthy, elegant bay horse, Tracery was noted for his gameness and versatility as a racehorse. A photograph of him published in Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines suggests that he had an excellent shoulder and a deep girth but was somewhat upright in his front pasterns. The noted bloodstock agent William Allison described him as difficult to fault other than being slightly long in the back. In Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World, Robert Keck described him as . slightly ewe-necked with a deep girth, a powerful shoulder, and a strong, straight hind leg, but noted that he also had a rather weakly constructed back and that his fore cannons were somewhat long.
As a stallion
Although Tracery sired a number of high-quality staying offspring, most of his runners were at their best from 9 to 10 furlongs. Tracery is a Classic chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Per The Great Stallion Book (1986, Richard Ulbrich):
Notable progeny
Abbots Trace (GB), Copyright (GB), Cottage (GB), Flamboyant (GB), Gothic (GB), Nera da Bicci (GB), Papyrus (GB), Teresina (GB), The Panther (GB), Transvaal (GB), Traverse (GB)
Notable progeny of daughters
Alibhai (GB), Bromazo (ARG), Nanoccia (ITY), Neroccia (ITY), Requiebro (ARG), Scuttle (GB), Theresina (GB)
Connections
Tracery was bred and owned by August Belmont II, who sent him to England to race because of the shutdown of racing in New York. He was trained by John Watson. After Belmont had refused an offer of £40,000 for him, Tracery entered stud in England in 1914 at Baron Leopold de Rothschild's stud at Southcourt, Leighton. He was purchased by Saturnino J. Unzue for £53,000 and sent to Argentina following the 1920 breeding season. He was repurchased to England for £36,000 after the 1923 Derby Stakes victory of his son Papyrus by a syndicate of leading English and French breeders (with Unzue retaining a 25 percent interest) but died of colic at Cobham Stud in 1924. He was apparently somewhat subfertile.
Pedigree notes
Tracery is inbred 4x4 to 1875 Derby Stakes winner and three-time English leading sire Galopin and to St. Angela through the full brother and sister St. Simon and Angelica. He is a full brother to multiple juvenile stakes winner Trap Rock, a useful sire. His dam Topiary was not much of a racehorse but is a half sister to Cesarewitch Stakes winner Childwick, an important sire in France, and 1894 Dewhurst Stakes winner Raconteur, both by St. Simon. Tracery's second dam Plaisanterie (by Wellingtonia) was a first-class mare who in 1885 won the Grosser Preis von Baden-Baden in Germany and swept the “Great Autumn Double” of the Cesarewitch Stakes and Cambridgeshire Stakes.
Books and media
Tracery is profiled in Chapter 2 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released in 2006 by Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: February 20, 2022
Race record
9 starts, 6 wins, 1 second, 1 third, £19,717
1912:
- Won St. James's Palace Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Ascot)
- Won Sussex Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Goodwood)
- Won St. Leger Stakes (ENG, about 14.5FT, Doncaster)
- 3rd Derby Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Newmarket)
1913:
- Won Burwell Plate (ENG, 12FT, Newmarket)
- Won Eclipse Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Sandown)
- Won Champion Stakes (ENG, 10FT, Newmarket)
- 2nd Jockey Club Stakes (ENG, 14FT, Newmarket)
Honors
English champion 3-year-old male (1912)
Assessments
In their book A Century of Champions (1999, Portland Press Ltd.), British experts John Randall and Tony Morris rated Tracery as a “superior” winner of the St. Leger Stakes and the best British-trained racehorse of his generation.
As an individual
A handsome, lengthy, elegant bay horse, Tracery was noted for his gameness and versatility as a racehorse. A photograph of him published in Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines suggests that he had an excellent shoulder and a deep girth but was somewhat upright in his front pasterns. The noted bloodstock agent William Allison described him as difficult to fault other than being slightly long in the back. In Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World, Robert Keck described him as . slightly ewe-necked with a deep girth, a powerful shoulder, and a strong, straight hind leg, but noted that he also had a rather weakly constructed back and that his fore cannons were somewhat long.
As a stallion
Although Tracery sired a number of high-quality staying offspring, most of his runners were at their best from 9 to 10 furlongs. Tracery is a Classic chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 2nd on the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1923; 3rd in 1923; 4th in 1920; 6th in 1921; 7th in 1922.
- 7th on the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1928.
- 10th on the French general sire list in 1924.
Per The Great Stallion Book (1986, Richard Ulbrich):
- 2nd on the English general sire list in 1923; 3rd in 1924; 5th in 1921; 7th in 1922.
- 7th on the English broodmare sire list in 1928.
- Led the English juvenile sire list in 1920.
- 10th on the French general sire list in 1924.
Notable progeny
Abbots Trace (GB), Copyright (GB), Cottage (GB), Flamboyant (GB), Gothic (GB), Nera da Bicci (GB), Papyrus (GB), Teresina (GB), The Panther (GB), Transvaal (GB), Traverse (GB)
Notable progeny of daughters
Alibhai (GB), Bromazo (ARG), Nanoccia (ITY), Neroccia (ITY), Requiebro (ARG), Scuttle (GB), Theresina (GB)
Connections
Tracery was bred and owned by August Belmont II, who sent him to England to race because of the shutdown of racing in New York. He was trained by John Watson. After Belmont had refused an offer of £40,000 for him, Tracery entered stud in England in 1914 at Baron Leopold de Rothschild's stud at Southcourt, Leighton. He was purchased by Saturnino J. Unzue for £53,000 and sent to Argentina following the 1920 breeding season. He was repurchased to England for £36,000 after the 1923 Derby Stakes victory of his son Papyrus by a syndicate of leading English and French breeders (with Unzue retaining a 25 percent interest) but died of colic at Cobham Stud in 1924. He was apparently somewhat subfertile.
Pedigree notes
Tracery is inbred 4x4 to 1875 Derby Stakes winner and three-time English leading sire Galopin and to St. Angela through the full brother and sister St. Simon and Angelica. He is a full brother to multiple juvenile stakes winner Trap Rock, a useful sire. His dam Topiary was not much of a racehorse but is a half sister to Cesarewitch Stakes winner Childwick, an important sire in France, and 1894 Dewhurst Stakes winner Raconteur, both by St. Simon. Tracery's second dam Plaisanterie (by Wellingtonia) was a first-class mare who in 1885 won the Grosser Preis von Baden-Baden in Germany and swept the “Great Autumn Double” of the Cesarewitch Stakes and Cambridgeshire Stakes.
Books and media
Tracery is profiled in Chapter 2 of Abram S. Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and re-released in 2006 by Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Tracery's sire, Rock Sand, and dam, Topiary, were imported to the United States aboard the same ship.
- Tracery was the second American-bred horse to win the St. Leger Stakes, following in the footsteps of Iroquois in 1881.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: February 20, 2022