A member of a family noted for its consistent production of winners, Two Bob was sound and hardy but not particularly classy, scoring her one major victory in the Kentucky Oaks after having raced in claiming company as a juvenile. As a broodmare for Calumet Farm, she produced three fine daughters (including Hall of Fame member Two Lea) and established a solid branch of the so-called “Dance Family.”
Race record
94 starts, 12 wins, 14 seconds, 16 thirds, US$22,170
1936:
1937:
1938:
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Two Bob was tough and durable but was said to have had a nasty disposition. She would not stand being hit hard with the whip, particularly on the right side, and passed this quirk to her daughters.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Two Bob produced seven named foals, all of which started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Two Bob was bred and owned by C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. She was trained by James W. Healy and was ridden to her Oaks win by Sonny Workman. Four months after her Oaks victory, she was claimed for US$4,500 for Mrs. Emil Denemark, who campaigned Two Bob for the rest of her racing career. In 1940, Two Bob again changed hands as she was purchased for US$4,500 by Warren Wright, Sr., for his Calumet Farm. Two Bob died soon after foaling in 1953, and her Bull Lea colt (later named Captain Morgan) was placed on a nurse mare.
Pedigree notes
Two Bob is inbred 3x5 to two-time American champion and 1909 American champion sire Ben Brush and 5x5 to 1877 American co-champion juvenile male and 1893 American champion sire Himyar. She is a half sister to 1943 Governor's Handicap winner Kingfisher (by Halcyon) and to stakes-placed Piety (by Pennant), second dam of 1955 Mexican Horse of the Year Scriptwriter and third dam of 1978 Mexican champion 3-year-old filly Karina and 1966 Christiana Stakes winner Hermogenes.
Two Bob's dam Blessings is a half sister to Grief (by Polymelian), dam of Cuban stakes winner Lucille K. (by Whiskalong), and to Evening Bells (by St. Germans), dam of Canadian stakes winner Avona (by Four Freedoms). Blessings and her sisters are out of the Friar Rock mare Mission Bells, whose half sister Vesper Hour (by Star Shoot) produced the minor stakes winner Chantry (by Bud Lerner). The next dam in Two Bob's tail-female line, Sanctuary, is a half sister to multiple stakes winner Angelus (by Sandringham) and is out of Vespers, by Himyar.
Books and media
Two Bob is one of 24 prominent American broodmares profiled in Edward Bowen's Matriarchs: Great Mares of the 20th Century (1999, 2000, The Blood-Horse, Inc.).
Fun facts
Last updated: November 17, 2022
Race record
94 starts, 12 wins, 14 seconds, 16 thirds, US$22,170
1936:
- Won Kentucky Oaks (USA, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Christmas Handicap (USA, 8FD, Tropical Park)
1937:
- 3rd Miami Beach Handicap (USA, 8FD, Hialeah)
- 3rd Lady Baltimore Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd E. Phocion Howard Memorial Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Tropical Park)
1938:
- 2nd Governor's Handicap (USA, 9FD, Narragansett Park)
- 3rd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Two Bob was tough and durable but was said to have had a nasty disposition. She would not stand being hit hard with the whip, particularly on the right side, and passed this quirk to her daughters.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Two Bob produced seven named foals, all of which started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Twosy (1942, by by Bull Lea) was a stakes winner at 2, 4 and 5. Her daughter Twice Over (by Ponder) produced stakes winner Two Relics (by War Relic) and Miss Carmie (by T. V. Lark), in turn the dam of 1974 American champion 3-year-old filly Chris Evert (by Swoon's Son) and of multiple stakes winner All Rainbows (by Bold Hour), dam of 1988 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner and American champion 3-year-old filly Winning Colors (by Caro). Twice Over is also the second dam of 1988 G.P.A. National Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Classic Fame.
- Two Lea (1946, by Bull Lea) was the American co-champion 3-year-old filly of 1949 and the American champion handicap female of 1951. A member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, she is the dam of another Hall of Famer in Tim Tam (by Tom Fool), the 1958 American champion 3-year-old male. Two Lea also produced 1960 Brooklyn Handicap winner On-and-On (by Nasrullah) and multiple stakes winner Pied d'Or (by Nasrullah) and is the second dam of four stakes winners.
- Miz Clementine (1951, by Bull Lea) won 11 stakes races, including the 1954 California Derby, and was controversially disqualified from a victory over 1954 Kentucky Derby winner Determine in the 1955 Santa Anita Maturity. She produced only two foals, but her daughter Sweet Clementine (by Swaps) is the dam of 1970 Vosburgh Handicap winner Best Turn (by Turn-to), a good sire for Calumet Farm, and the second dam of Grade 3 winner Miss Tokyo.
Connections
Two Bob was bred and owned by C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. She was trained by James W. Healy and was ridden to her Oaks win by Sonny Workman. Four months after her Oaks victory, she was claimed for US$4,500 for Mrs. Emil Denemark, who campaigned Two Bob for the rest of her racing career. In 1940, Two Bob again changed hands as she was purchased for US$4,500 by Warren Wright, Sr., for his Calumet Farm. Two Bob died soon after foaling in 1953, and her Bull Lea colt (later named Captain Morgan) was placed on a nurse mare.
Pedigree notes
Two Bob is inbred 3x5 to two-time American champion and 1909 American champion sire Ben Brush and 5x5 to 1877 American co-champion juvenile male and 1893 American champion sire Himyar. She is a half sister to 1943 Governor's Handicap winner Kingfisher (by Halcyon) and to stakes-placed Piety (by Pennant), second dam of 1955 Mexican Horse of the Year Scriptwriter and third dam of 1978 Mexican champion 3-year-old filly Karina and 1966 Christiana Stakes winner Hermogenes.
Two Bob's dam Blessings is a half sister to Grief (by Polymelian), dam of Cuban stakes winner Lucille K. (by Whiskalong), and to Evening Bells (by St. Germans), dam of Canadian stakes winner Avona (by Four Freedoms). Blessings and her sisters are out of the Friar Rock mare Mission Bells, whose half sister Vesper Hour (by Star Shoot) produced the minor stakes winner Chantry (by Bud Lerner). The next dam in Two Bob's tail-female line, Sanctuary, is a half sister to multiple stakes winner Angelus (by Sandringham) and is out of Vespers, by Himyar.
Books and media
Two Bob is one of 24 prominent American broodmares profiled in Edward Bowen's Matriarchs: Great Mares of the 20th Century (1999, 2000, The Blood-Horse, Inc.).
Fun facts
- “Two bob” was American slang for a quarter (also called “two bits,” alluding to the Spanish dollar or real which was sometimes sliced into eight pieces or “bits” to make small change), a coin worth one-quarter of an American dollar and the normal tip for a railroad porter's baggage-handling services in the 1930s. The amount in question was fairly similar in value to the British "two bob," two shillings or one-tenth of a pound sterling.
- Two Bob was the first of four Kentucky Oaks winners for C. V. “Sonny” Whitney. The others were Bug Brush (1958), Bag of Tunes (1973) and Sun and Snow (1975).
Last updated: November 17, 2022