Remembering another great TB -- Noor, "The Best Horse No One Remembers"

[Kwill]

Because of a ridiculous Craigslist ad posted on Off Course, I found some fascinating history on Noor, who did not win the Triple Crown but did beat two triple crown winners, and was inducted into the racing hall of fame. Thought I would post it here.

*Noor: In Memory of a Champion

What amazing story and an amazing horse! I once owned a mare descended from Nasrullah, she was beautiful (also pure black). Noor was apparently a great sire, too.

It was commented that Noor might have been as famous as Seabiscuit, if Charles Howard hadn’t passed away.

Milton C. Toby wrote in his book about Noor:

*Noor, a member of the Racing Hall of Fame, was an Irish-bred son of *Nasrullah who was imported to the U.S. by Seabiscuit’s owner, Charles S. Howard, after the colt’s 3-year-old season in 1948.

“I think of Noor as the best horse no one remembers,” Toby said. "He defeated Triple Crown winner Citation four times and set world records in the process; became the first horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners when he beat Assault; won the rich Hollywood Gold Cup at the expense of Horse of the Year Hill Prince; and was voted champion handicap horse of the year. Amazingly, considering his record in 1950, hardly anyone remembers the horse.

“My book is really two stories, one about a very good race horse and another about a remarkable woman named Charlotte Farmer, who almost single-handedly rescued Noor’s forgotten remains from obscurity.”

In 1974, 29-year-old Noor died at Loma Rica Ranch in Grass Valley, California, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the infield of the race track on the property. When the land went under development for residential and commercial use, Farmer raised $8,000 to exhume Noor’s remains and have them re-interred at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 2011.

Thank you to Charlotte Farmer for all her work to preserve the memory of this wonderful horse!

[SportArab]

Ah, Noor. He figures in the Affirmed story to a certain extent because he was trained by Burley Parke, the first trainer hired by Louis Wolfson (and perhaps more importantly, the one who recommended Wolfson buy Raise a Native at auction). Parke is the one who found the key to focusing Noor’s energies on the track.

[Kwill]

So what do you think of him, SportArab? Unrecognized greatness, or just another good racehorse?

Also your book looks very interesting.

[SportArab]

Sounds like he was very talented, but had a difficult temperament. Fortunately for him, Parke figured out how to get him to run. Just like Jimmy Jones figured out Whirlaway’s quirks and got him to win - big.

I think the story of Affirmed and Alydar was compelling and exceptional. I hope we did it justice. It certainly wouldn’t have been possible to tell without the help of Patrice Wolfson (Affirmed’s co-owner) and John Veitch (Alydar’s trainer). Not to mention all the wonderful stories written by the race writers of the day

[Kwill]

I was just remembering that the Nasrullah line was difficult, so that makes sense that Noor was a tough one. There’s one comment where the jockey jerked his head in the air to slow him down at one point.

"Nasrullah sired Bold Ruler, sire of Secretariat. He sired Nashua, maternal grandsire of Mr. Prospector. He sired Never Bend, grandsire of the two top Australian gold medal team eventers at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

…He was a brilliant racehorse, but he was considered tough, stubborn and obstinate."

Sporthorses line-bred to Bold Ruler are often considered a pro ride because they are tough.

[SportArab]

Apparently Noor needed to be treated with kid gloves and turned around when Parke told everyone to ask him to do things rather than command it. Some horses are just that way. Ask nice and they’ll jump the moon for you. Demand that they do and they’ll slam on the brakes.

[axl]

Not to hijack, but SportArab’s book was excellent, I highly recommend it. And now I guess I’ll have to find this book about Noor…racehorse biographies are a particular weakness of mine so thanks for that one, SportArab!

[RPM]

[QUOTE=Kwill;8184866]
I was just remembering that the Nasrullah line was difficult, so that makes sense that Noor was a tough one. There’s one comment where the jockey jerked his head in the air to slow him down at one point.

"Nasrullah sired Bold Ruler, sire of Secretariat. He sired Nashua, maternal grandsire of Mr. Prospector. He sired Never Bend, grandsire of the two top Australian gold medal team eventers at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

…He was a brilliant racehorse, but he was considered tough, stubborn and obstinate."

Sporthorses line-bred to Bold Ruler are often considered a pro ride because they are tough.[/QUOTE]

Never Bend was also the sire of the great Mill Reef, who won the Derby in 1971 and went on to sire Shirley Heights, who won in 1978.