Relic (USA)
1945 – December 1970
War Relic (USA) x Bridal Colors (USA), by Black Toney (USA)
Family 8-f
1945 – December 1970
War Relic (USA) x Bridal Colors (USA), by Black Toney (USA)
Family 8-f
A talented colt who had the misfortune to come along in the great Citation’s crop, Relic proved very speedy but was injured early in his 3-year-old season and did not get the chance to prove whether he would have stayed classic distances. After siring just 12 foals in the United States during his first season at stud, he was sent to France as a 5-year-old and became an important sire and champion broodmare sire there before transferring to England, where he also did well. His male line persisted in Europe, New Zealand, and Brazil for several generations, and he also sired the good American racehorse and sire Olden Times, sire in turn of the good racer and sire Hagley. Relic also had international influence through his daughters, especially Relance III, dam of Relko (a two-time champion in both England and France), Match II (1962 English Horse of the Year), and Reliance II (winner of the 1965 Prix du Jockey Club/French Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris).
Race record
7 starts, 5 wins, 2 seconds, 0 thirds, US$69,275
1947:
1948:
Assessments
Ranked second among American juvenile males of 1947 by The Blood-Horse.
Relic was co-second highweight with Better Self on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 1947 at 123 pounds, 3 pounds below divisional champion and highweight Citation.
As an individual
A handsome black horse standing 16.1 hands, Relic was short-coupled and powerful with a straight, strong hind leg, but was a bit light below the knee. He had the prominent withers of his paternal grandsire, Man o’ War. He was a front runner by preference. His career ended after he suffered a seriously wrenched back while training for the 1948 Everglades Stakes, which was to have been his first trial around two turns; he also had a history of hock problems.
As a stallion
According to statistics compiled by The Jockey Club, Relic sired 158 winners (40.8%) and 32 stakes winners (8.3%) from 387 named foals. The Australian reference work Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World credits him with 34 stakes winners. Relic was primarily noted as a source of speed, but a number of his daughters threw runners that stayed well. He was a Brilliant chef-de-race according to Franco Varola’s dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Notable progeny
Blockhaus (FR), Buisson Ardent (FR), Edellic (FR), Mincio (FR), Pieces of Eight II (IRE), Olden Times (USA), Relance III (GB), Tactic (FR), Texana (FR), Texanita (FR), Venture VII (GB)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bletchingly (AUS), Bushongo (USA), Endear (USA), Farmer’s Daughter (NZ), Fire Crest (FR), Fortino II (FR), Giolla Mear (IRE), Match II (FR), Rafina (MEX), Reliance (FR), Relko (GB), Tiller (USA), Tonnera (FR)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Relic was bred by Colonel E. R. Bradley’s Idle Hour Stock Farm. He was owned by Edward S. Moore, who raced Relic in the name of his Circle M Farm. The colt was trained by B. B. Williams, who considered Relic to be the fastest horse he ever trained. Relic stood in the United States in Ohio at Circle M Farm in 1950 after the failure of a year’s attempts at getting him back to the track but sired only 12 foals that season. He was then purchased by François Dupre and sent to his Haras d'Ouilly in France in late 1950. After six seasons in France, Relic was then sold to a syndicate and transferred to Longholes Stud near Newmarket, England, where he died in December 1970.
Pedigree notes
Relic is inbred 5x4 to two-time American Horse of the Year Commando. He is a half brother to Bright Blue (by Burgoo King), dam of stakes winner Sharbot (by Pavot). He is also a half brother to Big Doings (by Burgoo King), dam of 1952 Delaware Oaks winner Big Mo (by Fighting Fox) and stakes winner Best Doings (by Best Seller). In addition, he is a half brother to Flaming Arrow (by War Admiral), dam of juvenile stakes winner Heel Flame (by Heelfly).
Relic and his sisters are out of unraced Bridal Colors, whose full sister, 1919 American co-champion 2-year-old filly Miss Jemima, is the dam of 1933 Arlington Futurity winner Far Star (by North Star III) and minor stakes winner King’s Heir (by North Star III); the second dam of seven stakes winners including the good Midwestern stakes winner Star Reward, 1939 Washington Park Handicap winner Star Boarder, 1940 Classic Stakes winner Sirocco, and 1948 Arlington Matron Handicap winner Four Winds; and the third dam of 1949 Princess Pat Stakes winner Here’s Hoping, 1955 Santa Barbara Handicap winner Berseem, and 1959 Chicago Handicap winner Resolved. Bridal Colors is also a full sister to 1924 Latonia Oaks winner Befuddle, to 1925 Latonia Derby winner Broadway Jones, and to Blind Date, third dam of 1962 New York Handicap winner Honey Dear and 1969 Santa Ysabel Stakes winner Easter Junction. In addition, Bridal Colors is a half sister to 1922 Pimlico Futurity winner Blossom Time (by North Star III), dam of 1929 American Horse of the Year and important sire Blue Larkspur (by 1921 Blue Grass Stakes winner Black Servant, by Black Toney) and to Beelzebub (by Black Servant), winner of six steeplechase stakes.
Bridal Colors, in turn, is out of minor English stakes winner and 1913 Cheveley Park Stakes runner-up Vaila, who was sired by the good Irish juvenile and 1911 Irish champion sire Fariman. Vaila’s dam Padilla (by 1882 Middle Park Stakes winner Macheath x Padua, by Uncas or Thurio) is a half sister to Padula (by Laveno), dam of Black Servant.
Fun facts
Last updated: June 25, 2025
Race record
7 starts, 5 wins, 2 seconds, 0 thirds, US$69,275
1947:
- Won Hopeful Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Saratoga Special (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
1948:
- Won Bahamas Handicap (USA, 7FD, Hialeah)
- Won Hibiscus Stakes (USA, 6FD, Hialeah)
Assessments
Ranked second among American juvenile males of 1947 by The Blood-Horse.
Relic was co-second highweight with Better Self on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 1947 at 123 pounds, 3 pounds below divisional champion and highweight Citation.
As an individual
A handsome black horse standing 16.1 hands, Relic was short-coupled and powerful with a straight, strong hind leg, but was a bit light below the knee. He had the prominent withers of his paternal grandsire, Man o’ War. He was a front runner by preference. His career ended after he suffered a seriously wrenched back while training for the 1948 Everglades Stakes, which was to have been his first trial around two turns; he also had a history of hock problems.
As a stallion
According to statistics compiled by The Jockey Club, Relic sired 158 winners (40.8%) and 32 stakes winners (8.3%) from 387 named foals. The Australian reference work Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World credits him with 34 stakes winners. Relic was primarily noted as a source of speed, but a number of his daughters threw runners that stayed well. He was a Brilliant chef-de-race according to Franco Varola’s dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 3rd on the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1966.
- 9th on the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1963.
- 2nd on the French general sire list in 1957; 4th in 1956; 5th in 1960; 7th in 1958 and 1959; 10th in 1955.
- Led the French broodmare sire list in 1965; 2nd in 1964; 3rd in 1963; 4th in 1962; 6th in 1961 and 1966; 8th in 1969; 10th in 1971.
Notable progeny
Blockhaus (FR), Buisson Ardent (FR), Edellic (FR), Mincio (FR), Pieces of Eight II (IRE), Olden Times (USA), Relance III (GB), Tactic (FR), Texana (FR), Texanita (FR), Venture VII (GB)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bletchingly (AUS), Bushongo (USA), Endear (USA), Farmer’s Daughter (NZ), Fire Crest (FR), Fortino II (FR), Giolla Mear (IRE), Match II (FR), Rafina (MEX), Reliance (FR), Relko (GB), Tiller (USA), Tonnera (FR)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Relic was bred by Colonel E. R. Bradley’s Idle Hour Stock Farm. He was owned by Edward S. Moore, who raced Relic in the name of his Circle M Farm. The colt was trained by B. B. Williams, who considered Relic to be the fastest horse he ever trained. Relic stood in the United States in Ohio at Circle M Farm in 1950 after the failure of a year’s attempts at getting him back to the track but sired only 12 foals that season. He was then purchased by François Dupre and sent to his Haras d'Ouilly in France in late 1950. After six seasons in France, Relic was then sold to a syndicate and transferred to Longholes Stud near Newmarket, England, where he died in December 1970.
Pedigree notes
Relic is inbred 5x4 to two-time American Horse of the Year Commando. He is a half brother to Bright Blue (by Burgoo King), dam of stakes winner Sharbot (by Pavot). He is also a half brother to Big Doings (by Burgoo King), dam of 1952 Delaware Oaks winner Big Mo (by Fighting Fox) and stakes winner Best Doings (by Best Seller). In addition, he is a half brother to Flaming Arrow (by War Admiral), dam of juvenile stakes winner Heel Flame (by Heelfly).
Relic and his sisters are out of unraced Bridal Colors, whose full sister, 1919 American co-champion 2-year-old filly Miss Jemima, is the dam of 1933 Arlington Futurity winner Far Star (by North Star III) and minor stakes winner King’s Heir (by North Star III); the second dam of seven stakes winners including the good Midwestern stakes winner Star Reward, 1939 Washington Park Handicap winner Star Boarder, 1940 Classic Stakes winner Sirocco, and 1948 Arlington Matron Handicap winner Four Winds; and the third dam of 1949 Princess Pat Stakes winner Here’s Hoping, 1955 Santa Barbara Handicap winner Berseem, and 1959 Chicago Handicap winner Resolved. Bridal Colors is also a full sister to 1924 Latonia Oaks winner Befuddle, to 1925 Latonia Derby winner Broadway Jones, and to Blind Date, third dam of 1962 New York Handicap winner Honey Dear and 1969 Santa Ysabel Stakes winner Easter Junction. In addition, Bridal Colors is a half sister to 1922 Pimlico Futurity winner Blossom Time (by North Star III), dam of 1929 American Horse of the Year and important sire Blue Larkspur (by 1921 Blue Grass Stakes winner Black Servant, by Black Toney) and to Beelzebub (by Black Servant), winner of six steeplechase stakes.
Bridal Colors, in turn, is out of minor English stakes winner and 1913 Cheveley Park Stakes runner-up Vaila, who was sired by the good Irish juvenile and 1911 Irish champion sire Fariman. Vaila’s dam Padilla (by 1882 Middle Park Stakes winner Macheath x Padua, by Uncas or Thurio) is a half sister to Padula (by Laveno), dam of Black Servant.
Fun facts
- Relic was the first male-line descendant of Man o’ War to stand in Europe since the repeal of the infamous Jersey Act, which restricted entry to the General Stud Book to horses descending without flaw from animals registered in the GSB prior to the enactment of the Jersey Act by the keepers of the General Stud Book in 1913. The Jersey Act, which stigmatized most American Thoroughbreds as “half-bred” and also barred some notable French lines which incorporated American bloodlines, was repealed in June 1949 after a wave of victories by French and American “half-breds” in major English races convinced English breeders that they would no longer be competitive if they were unable to access high-quality bloodlines that lay outside the GSB’s restrictions. Under the provisions of the Jersey Act, Man o’ War had not been eligible for entry to the GSB because he was a fifth-generation descendant of the great 19th-century American sire Lexington (the broodmare sire of Man o’ War’s male-line great-grandsire, Spendthrift), whose pedigree contained animals not registered in the GSB.
- Relic’s male line dominated French racing over sprint distances during the mid-1950s through mid-1960s and included winners of seven editions France’s top sprint, the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (now Group 1), during that period.
Last updated: June 25, 2025