Spokane (USA)
1886 – 1916?
Hyder Ali (USA) x Interpose (USA), by Intruder (GB)
Family 9-a
1886 – 1916?
Hyder Ali (USA) x Interpose (USA), by Intruder (GB)
Family 9-a
Conceived in Illinois and foaled in the Northwest Territory in what became the state of Montana in 1889, Spokane could hardly have had a background further removed from Bluegrass royalty, though a news reporter's fanciful account of his surviving a mountain lion attack as a youngster appears to have been a pure fabrication. Another story of similar veracity had it that the colt owed his strength and speed to a special tea made from a flower used by a medicine man of the Flathead tribe to cure equine ailments and give his people's mounts vigor.
Regardless of where he came from, Spokane had a knack for winning when big money was on the line and became the first horse to win both of the West's biggest 3-year-old races, the Kentucky Derby and the American Derby. After the latter race, Spokane's owner set a valuation of US$50,000 on him, but Spokane failed to win any further races and was not a success at stud.
Race record
17 starts, 5 wins, 4 seconds, 2 thirds, US$26,805
1888:
1889:
As an individual
A chestnut horse who stood some 15.3 hands at the time of his Kentucky Derby win (he later grew to just under 16.1 hands), Spokane was strong and muscular and was said to be a very good mover. At age 4, he suffered a stall injury that ended his racing career.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits Spokane with only one stakes winner, the filly Spirituelle, who won the 1899 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal's review of Spokane's Kentucky Derby (published on May 1, 1989), Spokane suffered from subnormal fertility.
Connections
Spokane was bred and owned by Noah Armstrong, who purchased his dam Interpose in 1885 as part of a US$1,000 package deal. The mating that produced the colt was planned by Interpose's previous owner, General Richard Rowett, who was standing Spokane's sire Hyder Ali at his farm The Meadows near Collinsville, Illinois. While the seventh volume of the American Stud Book lists Armstrong as the breeder of Spokane's year-older sister, Helena, the Chicago Tribune of June 23, 1889, reported that Armstrong himself had said that he purchased Interpose and her suckling filly of 1885 in the fall of that year with Spokane in utero and shipped the mare and filly to his new Doncaster Ranch. Armstrong also stated that his purchase of the mare was motivated by his having previously owned Spokane's older full brother, the gelded Grey Cloud (or Greycloud), who won a number of races for him.
Spokane was trained by John Rodegap. Following his racing career, he initially stood at Fairhaven Stock Farm in Kentucky, later moving to Niddervale Stock Farm and to Elmendorf Farm. In December 1898, he was sold for US$170 to W. H. May & Sons of Lexington, Kentucky. There is no certain record of his death, but according to at least one account, he died of natural causes near Ennis, Montana, at the advanced age of 30.
Pedigree notes
Spokane is inbred 3x4 to 16-time American champion sire Lexington. Sired by 1874 Champagne Stakes winner Hyder Ali, a son of Leamington, he is a full brother to Grey Cloud, who won the 1886 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap.
Interpose, the dam of Spokane, is a half sister to Etta Powell (by Voucher), second dam of 1893 Kentucky Oaks winner Monrovia. The sisters are out of Lilac (Lightning—Dolly Carter, by Glencoe), a half sister to 1872 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner Joe Daniels (by Australian) and to stakes winners Sanford (by Uncle Vic) and Pride of the Village (by Australian). Lilac is also a half sister to Miss Carter (by Sovereign), dam of 1876 Preakness Stakes winner Shirley (by Lexington), 1882 Ashland Oaks winner Issie (by King Alfonso) and stakes winner Poteen (by Powhattan).
Fun facts
Regardless of where he came from, Spokane had a knack for winning when big money was on the line and became the first horse to win both of the West's biggest 3-year-old races, the Kentucky Derby and the American Derby. After the latter race, Spokane's owner set a valuation of US$50,000 on him, but Spokane failed to win any further races and was not a success at stud.
Race record
17 starts, 5 wins, 4 seconds, 2 thirds, US$26,805
1888:
- Won Maiden Stakes (USA, 6FD, Latonia)
1889:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Clark Stakes (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won American Derby (USA, 12FD, Washington Park)
- 2nd Sheridan Stakes (USA, 10FD, Washington Park)
- 2nd Peabody Hotel Handicap (USA, 9FD, Memphis)
- 3rd Pelham Bay Handicap (USA, 10FD, Westchester)
As an individual
A chestnut horse who stood some 15.3 hands at the time of his Kentucky Derby win (he later grew to just under 16.1 hands), Spokane was strong and muscular and was said to be a very good mover. At age 4, he suffered a stall injury that ended his racing career.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits Spokane with only one stakes winner, the filly Spirituelle, who won the 1899 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal's review of Spokane's Kentucky Derby (published on May 1, 1989), Spokane suffered from subnormal fertility.
Connections
Spokane was bred and owned by Noah Armstrong, who purchased his dam Interpose in 1885 as part of a US$1,000 package deal. The mating that produced the colt was planned by Interpose's previous owner, General Richard Rowett, who was standing Spokane's sire Hyder Ali at his farm The Meadows near Collinsville, Illinois. While the seventh volume of the American Stud Book lists Armstrong as the breeder of Spokane's year-older sister, Helena, the Chicago Tribune of June 23, 1889, reported that Armstrong himself had said that he purchased Interpose and her suckling filly of 1885 in the fall of that year with Spokane in utero and shipped the mare and filly to his new Doncaster Ranch. Armstrong also stated that his purchase of the mare was motivated by his having previously owned Spokane's older full brother, the gelded Grey Cloud (or Greycloud), who won a number of races for him.
Spokane was trained by John Rodegap. Following his racing career, he initially stood at Fairhaven Stock Farm in Kentucky, later moving to Niddervale Stock Farm and to Elmendorf Farm. In December 1898, he was sold for US$170 to W. H. May & Sons of Lexington, Kentucky. There is no certain record of his death, but according to at least one account, he died of natural causes near Ennis, Montana, at the advanced age of 30.
Pedigree notes
Spokane is inbred 3x4 to 16-time American champion sire Lexington. Sired by 1874 Champagne Stakes winner Hyder Ali, a son of Leamington, he is a full brother to Grey Cloud, who won the 1886 Cincinnati Hotel Handicap.
Interpose, the dam of Spokane, is a half sister to Etta Powell (by Voucher), second dam of 1893 Kentucky Oaks winner Monrovia. The sisters are out of Lilac (Lightning—Dolly Carter, by Glencoe), a half sister to 1872 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner Joe Daniels (by Australian) and to stakes winners Sanford (by Uncle Vic) and Pride of the Village (by Australian). Lilac is also a half sister to Miss Carter (by Sovereign), dam of 1876 Preakness Stakes winner Shirley (by Lexington), 1882 Ashland Oaks winner Issie (by King Alfonso) and stakes winner Poteen (by Powhattan).
Fun facts
- The finish of Spokane's Kentucky Derby was one of the most controversial ever. Favored Proctor Knott had been nearly ungovernable at the barrier, breaking through twice before the actual start, and was rank during the running. As the favorite blew the far turn and ended up running down the outside rail, Spokane skimmed the inside rail. Separated by the width of the track, the two horses hit the finish line as one, and opinions were bitterly divided as to which had won. The official verdict of the three placing judges was Spokane by a nose. The time of 2:34-1/2 was a new stakes record and remains the fastest time for the Kentucky Derby at its original 12-furlong distance.
- According to Brownie Leach in The Kentucky Derby Diamond Jubilee 1875-1949 (1949, Dial Press), one Churchill Downs bookmaker was approached by a man who wanted to know how big a bet he could make on Spokane at the 10-1 odds being quoted. The bookie replied, “The sky's the limit!” The bettor, who turned out to be the former outlaw Frank James (brother to the more famous—or infamous—Jesse James), plopped down a bankroll. The bookie counted the money, found that it amounted to US$5,000, and said, “As far as I'm concerned, that's the sky.”
- Spokane reportedly received his name because his owner-breeder was on a business trip to Spokane Falls at the time of his birth. Later, the citizens of Spokane Falls (now the city of Spokane, Washington) were so pleased by their namesake's Kentucky Derby win that they sent his owner a gold brocade blanket in honor of the colt's triumph. According to the Great Falls Tribune of May 7, 1977, the blanket was valued at US$5,000.
- The barn where Spokane was born, the Doncaster Round Barn, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located about two miles north of Twin Bridges, Montana, and is known for its unique architecture; three stories high, it is shaped like a wedding cake with three circular stories that increase in size from top to bottom. Now restored after years of neglect and deterioration, it is being used as a wedding venue and event center.
- In Montana folklore, Spokane became known as the “Spirit Horse of the Rockies.”
- Spokane was shown in an in-hand class for Thoroughbred stallions at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in November 1901. Then 16, he took third place, winning a prize of US$50.