At her best, Quick Touch was not far off stakes class, but she never advanced beyond the allowance ranks and spent much of her career in claiming races. She was far better in the breeding shed, where she revived her branch of one of the Whitney family’s top female families and became the ancestress of multiple champions and Classic winners.
Race record
27 starts, 5 wins, 5 seconds, 3 thirds, US$14,950
As an individual
Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form described Quick Touch as an unattractive mare, weak through the coupling and with "ragged hips" and "bowed legs." On the other hand, Marian Davis, whose husband Dr. Horace Davis had been the mare's last owner, described her as a large, tall, correct mare who was highly intelligent. Quick Touch showed decent form in her one try on turf. She typically came from off the pace as a racer.
As a producer
Quick Touch produced 10 named foals, of which nine started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Quick Touch was bred and owned by Greentree Stud. She was trained by John Gaver. As a 3-year-old, Quick Touch was claimed by trainer Lucien Laurin on behalf of Reginald Webster out of a US$5,000 claiming race at Pimlico and was trained by Laurin thereafter. She remained Webster’s property until 1971, when Webster gave Quick Touch to Dr. Horace Davis, owner of Bluegrass Heights Farm, where the mare had been boarded.
Pedigree notes
Quick Touch is outcrossed through five generations. She is out of 1939 Pimlico Oaks winner Alms (by 1931 Whitney Stakes winner St. Brideaux), a half sister to 1931 American Horse of the Year Twenty Grand (by St. Brideaux’s sire St. Germans).
Alms, in turn, is out of Bonus (by the Persimmon horse All Gold), a stakes-placed half sister to 1930 Clark Handicap winner Stars and Bars (by Pennant) and Canadian stakes winner Token (by Pennant). Bonus is also a half sister to Wendy (by Peter Pan), dam of 1929 Gazelle Stakes winner March Hare (by Mad Hatter), multiple stakes winner Elf (by Chicle), and juvenile stakes winner Zelide (by Mad Hatter); second dam of six stakes winners including 1929 Hopeful Stakes winner Boojum, 1936 Potomac Handicap winner Tatterdemalion, 1952 Black Helen Handicap winner Roman Miss, and 1941 Gazelle Stakes and Top Flight Handicap winner Tangled; and third dam of 1966 Mexican champion sprinter Monte Blanco, 1961 Ladies Handicap winner Mighty Fair, 1943 Champagne Stakes winner Pukka Gin, and 1947 Peter Pan Handicap winner Tailspin. In addition, Bonus is a half sister to Memento (by Pennant), dam of 1931 New Orleans Handicap winner Jimmy Moran (by Lucky Hour), 1937 Rockingham Park Handicap winner Memory Book (by St. Germans), and stakes winner Bring Back (by Memory Lane) and third dam of 1967 John B. Campbell Handicap winner Quinta, 1957 Arlington Futurity and Washington Park Futurity winner Restless Wind, and 1969 Arcadia Handicap winner Rivet. Finally, Bonus is a half sister to Afterthought (by Mad Hatter), dam of claiming stakes winner Reminding (by St. Germans).
Bonus and her siblings were produced from Remembrance (by Hamburg or Broomstick), whose dam Forget was one of the best hurdlers of the 1890s. By Exile out of the Forester mare Forever, Forget is also the dam of Borrow (by Hamburg), a major stakes winner in both England and the United States; Dreamer (by Hamburg), a good stakes winner at 2, 3, 5, and 6; Dinna Ken (by Yankee), winner of the 1907 Lawrence Realization Stakes; Delirium (by Sandringham), winner of the 1908 Manhattan Handicap; and Slumber II (by Hamburg), a multiple stakes winner at 4.
Books and media
Quick Touch is profiled in Chapter 5 of John Sparkman’s Foundation Mares: How Oustanding Female Families Shaped America’s Breeding Industry (2008, Thoroughbred Times Books).
Fun facts
Last updated: September 4, 2021
Race record
27 starts, 5 wins, 5 seconds, 3 thirds, US$14,950
As an individual
Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form described Quick Touch as an unattractive mare, weak through the coupling and with "ragged hips" and "bowed legs." On the other hand, Marian Davis, whose husband Dr. Horace Davis had been the mare's last owner, described her as a large, tall, correct mare who was highly intelligent. Quick Touch showed decent form in her one try on turf. She typically came from off the pace as a racer.
As a producer
Quick Touch produced 10 named foals, of which nine started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Sorceress (1952, by Slide Rule) won a division of the 1954 Polly Drummond Stakes and placed in seven other stakes races. She was a disappointing broodmare.
- Capelet (1954, by Bolero) won the 1956 Frizette Stakes. She is the dam of 1963 Hopeful Stakes winner Traffic (by Traffic Judge) and the second dam of 1975 Santa Barbara Handicap (USA-G1) winner Gay Style, 1992 Oak Leaf Stakes (USA-G1) winner Zoonaqua, and Grade 3 winner Royal Suite. Capelet is also the third dam of 1993 Panamanian Horse of the Year El Catedratico; 1983 Alabama Stakes (USA-G1) winner Spit Curl; Group 2 winners Air Marshall, Secret Haunt, and Tokai Trick; and Grade/Group 3 winners Break Bread, Diver, Elegance, and Smart Style.
- Quill (1956, by Princequillo) was the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1958 and a major stakes winner at 3 and 4. She is the dam of 1971 Canadian champion turf horse One for All (by Northern Dancer); multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Caucasus (by Nijinsky II), whose victories included the 1975 Irish St. Leger (IRE-G1); and Last Feather (by Vaguely Noble), who won the 1982 Musidora Stakes (ENG-G3) and ran third in that year’s Oaks Stakes (ENG-G1). She is the second dam of 1976 Japanese champion 2-year-old male Maruzensky, 1971 American champion turf horse Run the Gantlet, 1972 Everglades Stakes winner Head of the River, Grade 2 winner Barkerville, and Grade/Group 3 winners Air Distingue, Eastern Dawn, and Music of Time. Quill is also the third dam of 2010 American champion 2-year-old filly Awesome Feather, 1995 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, FR-G1) winner Vettori, 1986 Man o’ War Stakes (USA-G1) winner Dance of Life, 1986 Arlington Classic Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sumptious, and Grade/Group 2 winners English Spring and Hero’s Tribute.
- Count Amber (1957, by Ambiorix) won the 1961 Narragansett Special Handicap and placed in six other stakes races. He sired six stakes winners from 114 named foals, headed by 1966 Belmont Stakes winner Amberoid.
- Quilting (1961, by Princequillo) won two of her nine starts. She is the dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Hunka Papa (by Dr. Fager) and the second dam of 1990 Donn Handicap (USA-G1) winner Primal.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Quick Touch was bred and owned by Greentree Stud. She was trained by John Gaver. As a 3-year-old, Quick Touch was claimed by trainer Lucien Laurin on behalf of Reginald Webster out of a US$5,000 claiming race at Pimlico and was trained by Laurin thereafter. She remained Webster’s property until 1971, when Webster gave Quick Touch to Dr. Horace Davis, owner of Bluegrass Heights Farm, where the mare had been boarded.
Pedigree notes
Quick Touch is outcrossed through five generations. She is out of 1939 Pimlico Oaks winner Alms (by 1931 Whitney Stakes winner St. Brideaux), a half sister to 1931 American Horse of the Year Twenty Grand (by St. Brideaux’s sire St. Germans).
Alms, in turn, is out of Bonus (by the Persimmon horse All Gold), a stakes-placed half sister to 1930 Clark Handicap winner Stars and Bars (by Pennant) and Canadian stakes winner Token (by Pennant). Bonus is also a half sister to Wendy (by Peter Pan), dam of 1929 Gazelle Stakes winner March Hare (by Mad Hatter), multiple stakes winner Elf (by Chicle), and juvenile stakes winner Zelide (by Mad Hatter); second dam of six stakes winners including 1929 Hopeful Stakes winner Boojum, 1936 Potomac Handicap winner Tatterdemalion, 1952 Black Helen Handicap winner Roman Miss, and 1941 Gazelle Stakes and Top Flight Handicap winner Tangled; and third dam of 1966 Mexican champion sprinter Monte Blanco, 1961 Ladies Handicap winner Mighty Fair, 1943 Champagne Stakes winner Pukka Gin, and 1947 Peter Pan Handicap winner Tailspin. In addition, Bonus is a half sister to Memento (by Pennant), dam of 1931 New Orleans Handicap winner Jimmy Moran (by Lucky Hour), 1937 Rockingham Park Handicap winner Memory Book (by St. Germans), and stakes winner Bring Back (by Memory Lane) and third dam of 1967 John B. Campbell Handicap winner Quinta, 1957 Arlington Futurity and Washington Park Futurity winner Restless Wind, and 1969 Arcadia Handicap winner Rivet. Finally, Bonus is a half sister to Afterthought (by Mad Hatter), dam of claiming stakes winner Reminding (by St. Germans).
Bonus and her siblings were produced from Remembrance (by Hamburg or Broomstick), whose dam Forget was one of the best hurdlers of the 1890s. By Exile out of the Forester mare Forever, Forget is also the dam of Borrow (by Hamburg), a major stakes winner in both England and the United States; Dreamer (by Hamburg), a good stakes winner at 2, 3, 5, and 6; Dinna Ken (by Yankee), winner of the 1907 Lawrence Realization Stakes; Delirium (by Sandringham), winner of the 1908 Manhattan Handicap; and Slumber II (by Hamburg), a multiple stakes winner at 4.
Books and media
Quick Touch is profiled in Chapter 5 of John Sparkman’s Foundation Mares: How Oustanding Female Families Shaped America’s Breeding Industry (2008, Thoroughbred Times Books).
Fun facts
- Reginald Webster was lucky to keep Quick Touch, as she had been claimed away from him in a race. The claim was disallowed by the racing secretary on the grounds that the claim slip had been improperly filled out, and Webster retained the mare. Later, Lucien Laurin had to plead with Webster to try Quick Touch as a broodmare, as Webster had not been interested in getting into breeding.
Last updated: September 4, 2021