Ben Brush (USA)
1893 – June 8, 1918
Bramble (USA) x Roseville (USA), by Reform (USA)
American Family 1
1893 – June 8, 1918
Bramble (USA) x Roseville (USA), by Reform (USA)
American Family 1
A tough, game little horse, Ben Brush was a champion at 2 and 4 and not far from the top of his class at 3. He went on to become an important sire whose male line persisted well into the 20th century.
Race record
40 starts, 24 wins, 5 seconds, 5 thirds, US$65,217
1895:
1896:
1897:
Honors
As an individual
Ben Brush was a small, plain, long-bodied horse, somewhat over at the knee and short-legged for his height. He was a good horse on any surface but had a marked liking for heavy going.
As a stallion
Ben Brush's progeny were typically plain but combined speed, precocity, and durability. Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits him with 17 stakes winners, while his page in the National Museum of Racing Hall of fame states that he sired 20 added-money winners. Ben Brush is an Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny
Broomstick (USA), Delhi (USA), Lorraine (USA), Pebbles (USA), Sweep (USA)
Connections
Ben Brush was bred by Colonel Ezekiel Clay and Colonel Catesby Woodford at their Runnymede Farm. He was owned by Hall of Fame trainer Ed Brown (by some accounts in partnership with Eugene Leigh, who owned the colt's sire, Bramble), who purchased the colt for US$1,200 as a yearling. Brown, in turn, sold the colt to Mike Dwyer for a sum variously reported from US$12,000 to US$18,000 as a 2-year-old. While owned by Dwyer, Ben Brush was trained by Hardy Campbell. The horse was sold to James R. Keene as a stallion prospect at the conclusion of his racing career. Following Keene's death in 1913, Ben Brush was sold to J. N. Camden. He died at Camden's Hartland Stud near Versailles, KY, on June 8, 1918.
Pedigree notes
Ben Brush is inbred 3x5 to Iago, a good stakes winner and second in the 1846 St. Leger Stakes. He is a half brother to Ahom (by Sir Dixon), winner of the 1899 Brooklyn Derby. His dam Roseville is a full sister to 1892 Kentucky Derby winner Azra. His granddam Albia (by Alarm) is a full sister to Nora, second dam of Canadian stakes winner Picaroon, and a half sister to Elizabeth (by Strachino), second dam of juvenile stakes winner Uncas Chief and third dam of 1914 Kentucky Oaks winner Bronzewing.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: November 15, 2024
Race record
40 starts, 24 wins, 5 seconds, 5 thirds, US$65,217
1895:
- Won Cadet Stakes (USA, 4.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Harold Stakes (USA, 5FD, Latonia)
- Won Emerald Stakes (USA, 5FD, Oakley)
- Won Diamond Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Oakley)
- Won Holly Handicap (USA, 5FD, Gravesend)
- Won Prospect Handicap (USA, 6FD, Gravesend)
- Won Nursery Handicap (USA, 6FD, Morris Park)
- Won Albany Stakes (USA, 6FD, Morris Park)
- Won Champagne Stakes (USA, 7FD, Morris Park)
- 2nd Flatbush Stakes (USA, 7FD, Sheepshead Bay)
- Also won a 6-furlong overnight handicap at Gravesend over older horses while conceding them actual weight.
1896:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Schulte Stakes (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Buckeye Stakes (USA, 9FD, Oakley)
- Won Latonia Derby (USA, 12FD, Latonia)
- 2nd National Derby (USA, 12FD, St. Louis)
- 3rd Oakley Derby (USA, 10FD, Oakley)
1897:
- Won Suburban Handicap (USA, 10FD, Sheepshead Bay)
- Won Brighton Handicap (USA, 10FD, Brighton Beach)
- Won Citizens' Handicap (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Omnium Handicap (USA, 9FD, Sheepshead Bay)
- Won First Special (USA, 8.5FD, Gravesend)
- Won Second Special (USA, 10FD, Gravesend)
- 2nd Oriental Handicap (USA, 10FD, Gravesend)
- 3rd Midsummer Handicap (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Brighton Cup (USA, 18FD, Brighton Beach)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in the inaugural class of 1955)
- American co-champion 2-year-old male (1895)
- American champion older male (1897)
As an individual
Ben Brush was a small, plain, long-bodied horse, somewhat over at the knee and short-legged for his height. He was a good horse on any surface but had a marked liking for heavy going.
As a stallion
Ben Brush's progeny were typically plain but combined speed, precocity, and durability. Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits him with 17 stakes winners, while his page in the National Museum of Racing Hall of fame states that he sired 20 added-money winners. Ben Brush is an Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
- Led the US general sire list in 1909; 2nd in 1904; 5th in 1903; 6th in 1910; 8th in 1908.
- 10th on the American broodmare sire list in 1924.
Notable progeny
Broomstick (USA), Delhi (USA), Lorraine (USA), Pebbles (USA), Sweep (USA)
Connections
Ben Brush was bred by Colonel Ezekiel Clay and Colonel Catesby Woodford at their Runnymede Farm. He was owned by Hall of Fame trainer Ed Brown (by some accounts in partnership with Eugene Leigh, who owned the colt's sire, Bramble), who purchased the colt for US$1,200 as a yearling. Brown, in turn, sold the colt to Mike Dwyer for a sum variously reported from US$12,000 to US$18,000 as a 2-year-old. While owned by Dwyer, Ben Brush was trained by Hardy Campbell. The horse was sold to James R. Keene as a stallion prospect at the conclusion of his racing career. Following Keene's death in 1913, Ben Brush was sold to J. N. Camden. He died at Camden's Hartland Stud near Versailles, KY, on June 8, 1918.
Pedigree notes
Ben Brush is inbred 3x5 to Iago, a good stakes winner and second in the 1846 St. Leger Stakes. He is a half brother to Ahom (by Sir Dixon), winner of the 1899 Brooklyn Derby. His dam Roseville is a full sister to 1892 Kentucky Derby winner Azra. His granddam Albia (by Alarm) is a full sister to Nora, second dam of Canadian stakes winner Picaroon, and a half sister to Elizabeth (by Strachino), second dam of juvenile stakes winner Uncas Chief and third dam of 1914 Kentucky Oaks winner Bronzewing.
Fun facts
- The mating that produced Ben Brush was actually planned by Eugene Leigh, who sold the colt's dam Roseville to Clay and Woodford while she was carrying the future champion.
- Ben Brush was named for a track superintendent at the now-defunct Gravesend track in New York (according to sportswriter Joe Palmer, the human Ben Brush worked at Sheepshead Bay instead).
- Veteran handicapper Walter Vosburgh expressed the opinion that at the end of 1895, Ben Brush (then a 2-year-old) could have beaten any 3-year-old then in training.
- Ben Brush's Kentucky Derby was the first in which the winner received the now-traditional blanket of roses. It was also the first run at the modern distance of 10 furlongs.
- The last-place horse in Ben Brush's Derby was Ulysses, owned by Ben Brush's former owner-trainer, Ed Brown.
- The Dill starting machine, invented by a Louisville resident, was used for all races in Churchill Downs in 1896 except for the Derby, which was given a traditional walk-up start. It was not until 1930 that the Derby field was sent away from a starting gate.
- Ben Brush was the last champion to run in the silks of Mike Dwyer, who went broke in 1898 and died in 1906.
- Ben Brush's total earnings are a matter of some dispute, with the reported sum ranging from US$65,208 to US$66,902.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: November 15, 2024