Fonso (USA)
1877 – September 3, 1900
King Alfonso (USA) x Weatherwitch II (GB), by Weatherbit (GB)
Family 24
1877 – September 3, 1900
King Alfonso (USA) x Weatherwitch II (GB), by Weatherbit (GB)
Family 24
Little remembered today, 1880 Kentucky Derby winner Fonso was a good racehorse on the Western circuit, which lacked the prestige of the major Eastern tracks. His racing career was brief by the standards of his day as he made only one more start following the Derby and entered stud as a 4-year-old. He was a good but unexceptional stallion.
Race record
12 starts, 5 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, US$8,175
1879:
1880:
As an individual
A lengthy dark chestnut horse, Fonso is described in John O'Connor's History of the Kentucky Derby 1875-1921 as “a very neat, wiry colt.” He had a rather short neck, a good shoulder, and a deep girth. A photograph taken of the horse during his stud career suggests that he had a dipped top line and an unusually straight hind leg. He stood 15.3 hands at the time of his Kentucky Derby win. He was good-natured but inclined to be lazy.
As a stallion
Fonso was a successful sire who begot 18 stakes winners according to Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967. He ranked three times among the top five American sires according to Thoroughbred Heritage. He sired some good horses but none that were unquestionably top-class.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny of daughters
Imp (USA), The Manager (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Fonso was bred by A. J. Alexander. He was owned by J. S. Shawhan, who purchased the colt for US$200 at the 1878 Woodburn Farm yearling sale. Shawhan reportedly sold a half interest in the colt for US$2,500 after the 1880 summer Lexington meeting, but the putative buyer was never named although the colt later raced as the property of “J. S. Shawhan & Co.” Fonso was trained by Tice Hutsell. He was engaged for several stakes events at the beginning of his 4-year-old season but does not appear to have started in any before entering stud in 1881. He was sold to the partnership of Colonel William Cassius Goodloe and R. A. Swigert for US$7,800 at the American Horse and Cattle Exchange sale of December 1886 at Lexington. Goodloe later bought out his partner, paying US$5,000 for the half interest. In 1891, Goodloe's widow sold the horse to Applegate & McMeckin for US$10,000 in a private transaction. According to the Baltimore Sun of September 4, 1900, Fonso died September 3, 1900, at Oakwood Stud Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.
Pedigree notes
Fonso is inbred 5x5 to the influential 19th-century sire Muley. He is a half brother to juvenile stakes winner Weathercock (by Australian) and to Florence, dam of the great Hindoo (by Virgil), whose 30 victories from 35 starts included the 1881 Kentucky Derby. Through Hindoo's full sister Florida, Florence is the second dam of the great mare Firenze, a four-time American champion. Another daughter of Florence, Lilly R. (by Glenelg), produced 1889 Futurity Stakes winner Chaos and 1894 Jerome Handicap winner Rubicon (both by Rayon d'Or) and is the second dam of 1899 Kentucky Oaks winner Rush and multiple stakes winner Grenade. A third daughter of Florence, Floss (by Mortemer), is the second dam of 1903 Carter Handicap winner Ahumada and of Race King, who dead-heated with Sysonby for the 1905 Metropolitan Handicap.
Fonso's dam, Weatherwitch II, was imported to the United States by the Kentucky Importing Company. She was produced from an unnamed daughter of two-time English champion sire Birdcatcher out of Colocynth, by Physician.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: December 22, 2021
Race record
12 starts, 5 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, US$8,175
1879:
- Won Maiden Stakes (USA, 6FD, Nashville)
- Won Colt Stakes (USA, 6FD, Lexington)
- 2nd Tennessee Stakes (USA)
- 3rd Belle Meade Stakes (USA, 6FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Colt and Filly Stakes (USA, Lexngton)
1880:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Phoenix Stakes (USA, 10FD, Lexington)
- 2nd Viley Stakes (USA, Lexington)
As an individual
A lengthy dark chestnut horse, Fonso is described in John O'Connor's History of the Kentucky Derby 1875-1921 as “a very neat, wiry colt.” He had a rather short neck, a good shoulder, and a deep girth. A photograph taken of the horse during his stud career suggests that he had a dipped top line and an unusually straight hind leg. He stood 15.3 hands at the time of his Kentucky Derby win. He was good-natured but inclined to be lazy.
As a stallion
Fonso was a successful sire who begot 18 stakes winners according to Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967. He ranked three times among the top five American sires according to Thoroughbred Heritage. He sired some good horses but none that were unquestionably top-class.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
- 3rd on the US general sire list in 1896; 6th in 1898; 7th in 1893.
Notable progeny of daughters
Imp (USA), The Manager (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Fonso was bred by A. J. Alexander. He was owned by J. S. Shawhan, who purchased the colt for US$200 at the 1878 Woodburn Farm yearling sale. Shawhan reportedly sold a half interest in the colt for US$2,500 after the 1880 summer Lexington meeting, but the putative buyer was never named although the colt later raced as the property of “J. S. Shawhan & Co.” Fonso was trained by Tice Hutsell. He was engaged for several stakes events at the beginning of his 4-year-old season but does not appear to have started in any before entering stud in 1881. He was sold to the partnership of Colonel William Cassius Goodloe and R. A. Swigert for US$7,800 at the American Horse and Cattle Exchange sale of December 1886 at Lexington. Goodloe later bought out his partner, paying US$5,000 for the half interest. In 1891, Goodloe's widow sold the horse to Applegate & McMeckin for US$10,000 in a private transaction. According to the Baltimore Sun of September 4, 1900, Fonso died September 3, 1900, at Oakwood Stud Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.
Pedigree notes
Fonso is inbred 5x5 to the influential 19th-century sire Muley. He is a half brother to juvenile stakes winner Weathercock (by Australian) and to Florence, dam of the great Hindoo (by Virgil), whose 30 victories from 35 starts included the 1881 Kentucky Derby. Through Hindoo's full sister Florida, Florence is the second dam of the great mare Firenze, a four-time American champion. Another daughter of Florence, Lilly R. (by Glenelg), produced 1889 Futurity Stakes winner Chaos and 1894 Jerome Handicap winner Rubicon (both by Rayon d'Or) and is the second dam of 1899 Kentucky Oaks winner Rush and multiple stakes winner Grenade. A third daughter of Florence, Floss (by Mortemer), is the second dam of 1903 Carter Handicap winner Ahumada and of Race King, who dead-heated with Sysonby for the 1905 Metropolitan Handicap.
Fonso's dam, Weatherwitch II, was imported to the United States by the Kentucky Importing Company. She was produced from an unnamed daughter of two-time English champion sire Birdcatcher out of Colocynth, by Physician.
Fun facts
- Fonso's Kentucky Derby was run over a track so dusty that the horses immediately trailing the leader could scarcely be seen from the stands. Fonso escaped most of the dust as he broke on top and stayed there. He also survived the first-ever stewards' inquiry in the Derby, keeping his victory in spite of a foul claim by Billy Lakeland on second-place Kimball.
- Fonso's Kentucky Derby win was the highlight of the brief riding career of George Garret Lewis. Only two months later, the 18-year-old jockey succumbed to internal injuries from a June 1880 spill at St. Louis.
- Fonso was the second of four Kentucky Derby winners bred by A. J. Alexander. The others were Baden-Baden (1877), Joe Cotton (1885) and Chant (1894); a fifth, His Eminence (1901), was bred from a mating planned by Alexander but was purchased in utero by Overton Cheault, his breeder of record. All raced for owners other than Alexander, who never had a Derby starter.
- Fonso's lifetime earnings of US$8,175 were the lowest ever for a Kentucky Derby winner until 1907 winner Pink Star set a new low of US$5,750.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: December 22, 2021