Old Hat (USA)
May 4, 1959 – c. 1988
Boston Doge (USA) x Fine Feathers (USA), by Double Jay (USA)
Family 14-e
May 4, 1959 – c. 1988
Boston Doge (USA) x Fine Feathers (USA), by Double Jay (USA)
Family 14-e
Unfashionably bred and slow to develop her best form, Old Hat matured into the best American handicap mare of the mid-1960s. A speedy mare who could carry her speed better than her pedigree suggested, she had her finest moment in the 1965 Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap, when she staved off the closing run of 1965 American Horse of the Year Roman Brother to win by half a length. She was a much better racer than producer but in fairness was bred mostly to second- and third-tier stallions.
Race record
80 starts, 35 wins, 18 seconds, 9 thirds, US$556,401
1962:
1963:
1964:
1965:
1966:
Honors
American champion handicap female (1964, 1965; shared with 3-year-old Tosmah in 1964 and with Affectionately in 1965)
Assessments
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1963, 11 pounds below champion Cicada.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1964, 3 pounds above second-place Oil Royalty.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1965, 1 pound above second-rated Steeple Jill.
Rated at 124 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1966, 2 pounds below co-champions Open Fire and Summer Scandal.
As an individual
A compactly made bay mare standing about 15.3 hands, Old Hat was rather plain but was described as “a really superb physical specimen” by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton, with a nicely rounded barrel joining a perfectly angled shoulder and wide, powerful hips. Her legs were clean and correct, though the patches she wore on the inside of her hocks suggested that she was sometimes prone to interference in her gait. Her temperament was even when on the track and she was resolute during the course of a race; in the barn, she liked and demanded human attention. She was a front runner by preference but could stalk the pace if asked to do so and could carry her speed middle distances. She was a good weight carrier.
As a producer
Old Hat produced 15 named foals, of which 13 started and 12 won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Bred in Kentucky by W. A. Nelson, Old Hat raced for Breckenridge Stables during her juvenile season; she was then sold to Stanley Conrad. She was trained by C. C. Norman. Following her racing career, she bred her first five foals in Conrad’s name, and then produced two foals by champion turf horse and sire T. V. Lark in the names of Conrad and T. V. Lark’s owner, Preston Maddon, apparently in a foal sharing arrangement. Her remaining foals were all bred by Conrad alone. Old Hat last appears in produce records as barren in 1988.
Pedigree notes
Old Hat was sired by Boston Doge, a speedy son of The Doge who kicked off his racing career with 10 straight wins, five in sprint stakes races, before going down to injury. (He ended his career with 14 wins from 18 starts, taking his biggest win in the 1955 Governor’s Gold Cup at Bowie.) She is inbred 5x4x5 to Black Toney and 5x5 to North Star III. She is a full sister to Richalya, dam of the minor stakes winner Kentito (by Al Hattab). She is also a half sister to Raise a Ruckus (by Raise a Native), dam of the stakes-winning sprinter and 10-time Canadian champion sire Bold Ruckus (by Boldnesian), multiple Grade 3 winner Tarantara (by For the Moment), and multiple stakes winner Class Night (by Graustark).
Fine Feathers, the dam of Old Hat, won one of her 39 starts. She was produced from Rare Susan (by Agrarian, a stakes-placed son of Sickle), who is a winning half sister to 1938 Illinois Derby winner Gov. Chandler (by Reigh Count). Rare Susan is also a half sister to Spiteful Sue (by Heather Broom), dam of two-time Colonial Handicap winner Venomous (by Mel Hash) and 1959 Vagrancy Handicap winner Dandy Blitzer (by Bull Dandy) and second dam of 1968 Black Helen Handicap winner Treacherous and the good sprinter and sire Explodent.
Rare Susan, in turn, was produced from the winning Black Servant mare Saucy Sue, whose half brother Thibodaux (by Cunard) won the 1922 Latonia Derby. Also a half sister to Our Option (by Von Tromp), dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Proteus (by Infinite), Saucy Sue is out of Electro, by 1096 Futurity Stakes winner Electioneer (by Voter).
Fun facts:
Last updated: August 10, 2023
Race record
80 starts, 35 wins, 18 seconds, 9 thirds, US$556,401
1962:
- 2nd Falls City Handicap (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Yo Tambien Handicap (USA, 6.5FD, Hawthorne)
1963:
- Won Four Winds Stakes (USA, 6FD, Washington Park)
- Won Suwannee River Handicap (USA, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Black Helen Handicap (USA, 9FD, Hialeah)
- 3rd Columbiana Handicap (USA, 7FD, Hialeah)
1964:
- Won Spinster Stakes (USA, 9FD, Keeneland)
- Won Delaware Handicap (USA, 10FD, Delaware)
- Won Falls City Handicap (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Maskette Handicap (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Matron Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- 2nd New Castle Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Delaware)
- 3rd Molly Pitcher Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Monmouth)
1965:
- Won Fayette Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Keeneland)
- Won Black Helen Handicap (USA, 9FD, Hialeah)
- Won Suwannee River Handicap (USA, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Columbiana Handicap (USA, 7FD, Hialeah)
- Won Matron Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- Won Michigan Mile and One Eighth Handicap (USA, 9FD, Detroit)
- 2nd Appleton Handicap (USA, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 3rd Top Flight Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
1966:
- Won Sweet Patootie Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Detroit)
- Won Falls City Handicap (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Spinster Stakes (USA, 9FD, Keeneland)
- 3rd Bewitch Handicap (USA, 8FD, Arlington Park)
Honors
American champion handicap female (1964, 1965; shared with 3-year-old Tosmah in 1964 and with Affectionately in 1965)
Assessments
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1963, 11 pounds below champion Cicada.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1964, 3 pounds above second-place Oil Royalty.
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1965, 1 pound above second-rated Steeple Jill.
Rated at 124 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American older females of 1966, 2 pounds below co-champions Open Fire and Summer Scandal.
As an individual
A compactly made bay mare standing about 15.3 hands, Old Hat was rather plain but was described as “a really superb physical specimen” by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton, with a nicely rounded barrel joining a perfectly angled shoulder and wide, powerful hips. Her legs were clean and correct, though the patches she wore on the inside of her hocks suggested that she was sometimes prone to interference in her gait. Her temperament was even when on the track and she was resolute during the course of a race; in the barn, she liked and demanded human attention. She was a front runner by preference but could stalk the pace if asked to do so and could carry her speed middle distances. She was a good weight carrier.
As a producer
Old Hat produced 15 named foals, of which 13 started and 12 won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Rash (1975, by T. V. Lark) never raced but produced 1984 Violet Handicap (USA-G3) winner Rash but Royal (by Royal Ski).
- Beezie (1982, by Crimson Battle) won one of 18 starts and produced the minor stakes winner Hat Key (by Key to the Kingdom).
Connections
Bred in Kentucky by W. A. Nelson, Old Hat raced for Breckenridge Stables during her juvenile season; she was then sold to Stanley Conrad. She was trained by C. C. Norman. Following her racing career, she bred her first five foals in Conrad’s name, and then produced two foals by champion turf horse and sire T. V. Lark in the names of Conrad and T. V. Lark’s owner, Preston Maddon, apparently in a foal sharing arrangement. Her remaining foals were all bred by Conrad alone. Old Hat last appears in produce records as barren in 1988.
Pedigree notes
Old Hat was sired by Boston Doge, a speedy son of The Doge who kicked off his racing career with 10 straight wins, five in sprint stakes races, before going down to injury. (He ended his career with 14 wins from 18 starts, taking his biggest win in the 1955 Governor’s Gold Cup at Bowie.) She is inbred 5x4x5 to Black Toney and 5x5 to North Star III. She is a full sister to Richalya, dam of the minor stakes winner Kentito (by Al Hattab). She is also a half sister to Raise a Ruckus (by Raise a Native), dam of the stakes-winning sprinter and 10-time Canadian champion sire Bold Ruckus (by Boldnesian), multiple Grade 3 winner Tarantara (by For the Moment), and multiple stakes winner Class Night (by Graustark).
Fine Feathers, the dam of Old Hat, won one of her 39 starts. She was produced from Rare Susan (by Agrarian, a stakes-placed son of Sickle), who is a winning half sister to 1938 Illinois Derby winner Gov. Chandler (by Reigh Count). Rare Susan is also a half sister to Spiteful Sue (by Heather Broom), dam of two-time Colonial Handicap winner Venomous (by Mel Hash) and 1959 Vagrancy Handicap winner Dandy Blitzer (by Bull Dandy) and second dam of 1968 Black Helen Handicap winner Treacherous and the good sprinter and sire Explodent.
Rare Susan, in turn, was produced from the winning Black Servant mare Saucy Sue, whose half brother Thibodaux (by Cunard) won the 1922 Latonia Derby. Also a half sister to Our Option (by Von Tromp), dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Proteus (by Infinite), Saucy Sue is out of Electro, by 1096 Futurity Stakes winner Electioneer (by Voter).
Fun facts:
- “Old hat” is an idiom referring to something that is overly familiar or passé. It dates back to the early 20th century and probably alludes to the quick turnover in ladies’ hat fashions in that time period.
- Old Hat’s barn name was “Hattie.”
- Old Hat was the namesake for the Old Hat Stakes, an event for 3-year-old fillies run at Gulfstream Park in 1976-2017.
Last updated: August 10, 2023