Behave Yourself (USA)
1918 – 1938
Marathon (USA) x Miss Ringlets (USA), by Handball (USA)
American Family 27
1918 – 1938
Marathon (USA) x Miss Ringlets (USA), by Handball (USA)
American Family 27
Behave Yourself was the first of four Kentucky Derby winners for Colonel Edward Riley Bradley and trainer “Derby Dick” Thompson, but he wasn't the horse the Colonel wanted to see win. Considered the weaker half of an entry with Black Servant, Behave Yourself went into an all-out drive in the stretch and nipped his stablemate at the wire. How it happened is the stuff of Derby legend: according to some accounts, Black Servant checked stride when someone threw a hat across the racetrack, while others claim that jockey Charles Thompson disobeyed orders to let Black Servant win if possible and caught Black Servant's jockey napping. Either way, Behave Yourself got the roses, but there is little question that Black Servant, who had beaten Behave Yourself handily in the Blue Grass Stakes, was the better horse. He went on to race well later in the year and became a useful sire, while Behave Yourself faded from the limelight and did nothing memorable at stud.
Race record
18 starts, 4 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third, US$58,772
1920:
1921:
As an individual
A bay horse, Behave Yourself was said to have had crooked legs.
As a stallion
Behave Yourself sired 19 winners and one stakes winner from 56 named foals according to Jockey Club records.
Connections
Behave Yourself was bred and owned by Colonel E. R. Bradley. He was trained by "Derby Dick" Thompson. After standing for a time at Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm, Behave Yourself was given away to become a sire of polo ponies. The New York Times reported December 11, 1930, that the horse had been donated to the Army Remount service.
Pedigree notes
Behave Yourself is inbred 5x5 to seven-time English champion sire Stockwell, winner of the 1852 Two Thousand Guineas and St. Leger Stakes. He is a half brother to stakes winners Gold Blade (by Cunard), Blushing Beauty (by Cunard) and Bob Tail (by Helmet). Blushing Beauty, in turn, produced 1926 Latonia Derby winner Baggenbaggage (by Under Fire) and stakes winners Boon Companion (by North Star III) and Bacon (by Épinard). Miss Ringlets' sire Handball (by Hanover) was a good stakes winner at 2 and 3, but her dam Bessie (by The Ill-Used), granddam Belle of Nantura (by Jils Johnson) and great-granddam Miss Helen (by Endorser) were all undistinguished as racers and producers.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: November 8, 2020
Race record
18 starts, 4 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third, US$58,772
1920:
- Won Queen City Handicap (USA, 8FD, Latonia)
- 3rd Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (USA, 8FD, Latonia)
1921:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Latonia Derby (USA, 12FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Blue Grass Stakes (USA, 9FD, Lexington)
As an individual
A bay horse, Behave Yourself was said to have had crooked legs.
As a stallion
Behave Yourself sired 19 winners and one stakes winner from 56 named foals according to Jockey Club records.
Connections
Behave Yourself was bred and owned by Colonel E. R. Bradley. He was trained by "Derby Dick" Thompson. After standing for a time at Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm, Behave Yourself was given away to become a sire of polo ponies. The New York Times reported December 11, 1930, that the horse had been donated to the Army Remount service.
Pedigree notes
Behave Yourself is inbred 5x5 to seven-time English champion sire Stockwell, winner of the 1852 Two Thousand Guineas and St. Leger Stakes. He is a half brother to stakes winners Gold Blade (by Cunard), Blushing Beauty (by Cunard) and Bob Tail (by Helmet). Blushing Beauty, in turn, produced 1926 Latonia Derby winner Baggenbaggage (by Under Fire) and stakes winners Boon Companion (by North Star III) and Bacon (by Épinard). Miss Ringlets' sire Handball (by Hanover) was a good stakes winner at 2 and 3, but her dam Bessie (by The Ill-Used), granddam Belle of Nantura (by Jils Johnson) and great-granddam Miss Helen (by Endorser) were all undistinguished as racers and producers.
Fun facts
- While rumor said that Colonel Bradley lost up to US$250,000 in potential winnings from winter book bets because of Behave Yourself's victory over Black Servant, Bradley's longtime farm manager Olin Gentry steadfastly denied that Bradley had any bets riding on the outcome. Nonetheless, many of Bradley's friends and employees lost money on the Derby by betting on Black Servant rather than the entry.
- Behave Yourself was the first Kentucky-owned horse to win the Kentucky Derby since Old Rosebud in 1914.
- Behave Yourself was the first of four Kentucky Derby winners for Colonel Bradley and trainer "Derby Dick" Thompson. The others were Bubbling Over (1926), Burgoo King (1932), and Brokers Tip (1933).
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: November 8, 2020