By Tobi Lopez Taylor
An Arizona Horse History Project Essay
This essay is part of the ongoing Arizona Horse History Project series, which also includes posts on Penny Chenery and Secretariat, Hank the Cowdog, Major-General Jonathan Burton, and Doc Pardee.
Considered by many to be the best racehorse of the twentieth century, the colt christened Man O’ War was born in March 1917, days before America’s entry into World War I. The centennial of his birth has been celebrated this year in various ways, including the restoration of the larger-than-life bronze statue, sculpted by Herbert Haseltine, that marks his grave at the Kentucky Horse Park, near Lexington. Also at the park is the exhibit Man O’ War: The Mostest Horse That Ever Was. Other exhibits commemorating his life, career, and legacy opened this year at the Kentucky Derby Museum and the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Racing fans tend to associate this equine champion—known as Big Red—with two states: Kentucky, where he was born, stood at stud, and died, and New York, where the majority of his races were run. However, Man O’ War has some interesting connections to Arizona, which I’ll be discussing in a series of three blog posts as part of my ongoing Arizona Horse History Project.
The colt’s owner, Samuel D. Riddle, retired him in late 1920 after Big Red had compiled a record of 20 wins in 21 starts, including 14 straight victories. (For more on the colt’s career, check out Dorothy Ours’s wonderful book, Man O’ War: A Legend Like Lightning.) Hopes were high that Man O’ War would transmit at least some of his blazing speed to his offspring. Alas, his first two foals, a set of twin colts, were born dead on January 27, 1922. His next foal, a filly, died before she could be named. The first colt to survive and flourish was born on April 18 of that year to the mare *Colette II. The brown colt was named By Hisself in honor of an anecdote that Riddle loved to tell. Once, when Man O’ War was having his morning workout, an observer inquired about his sire: “Who’s he by?” And a groom retorted, “He’s by hisself and there ain’t nobody gonna get near him!”
By Hisself was bred by Walter M. Jeffords and raced in the colors of his wife, Riddle’s niece by marriage. Like many of the Man O’ War offspring, the colt wasn’t particularly precocious but came into his own as he grew into his large frame and began to run at longer distances. Over two seasons, he ran 33 times and won 8 races, including the Bayview Handicap.
Regarding his appearance, one newspaper writer noted that “By Hisself no more looks like Man O’ War than night resembles the day. In the first place, he is a brown in color—a solid color at that…and much heavier than Man O’ War was as a two-year-old.” A few years later, By Hisself was said to measure 16 hands and weigh 1,140 pounds.
By Hisself sired a total of 85 registered foals, including 31 race winners and 3 stakes winners. Breeding historian Rommy Faversham notes that By Hisself also became a “useful sire of steeplechasers,” such as Saluda and Yemasee; this is not surprising, given that a number of Man O’ War’s sons, like Battleship, Blockade, Holystone, and Annapolis, showed excellent jumping ability.
When he was 13 years old, By Hisself became the property of the U.S. Government, to be used as a Remount stallion to sire high-quality horses that could be used in the cavalry. (Presumably he was donated by the Jeffords family, but the record is unclear on this point.) By Hisself was not the only son of Big Red to be used as a Remount stallion; there were 10 in all, including Hard Tack, best known as the sire of Seabiscuit. As one reporter wrote in 1918, “Military opinion everywhere has decided that the only truly efficient military horse is the thoroughbred grade [i.e., half-Thoroughbred]. To get thoroughbred grades in serviceable numbers the Government must have at its disposal a vast number of good thoroughbred stallions.” A remount stallion was either housed at a breeding depot or shipped to a knowledgeable horseman, who not only bred his own stock to the stallion but also encouraged the surrounding community to send mares of any breed to him. If the resulting foals met army standards, the government would then have the option of buying them.
In 1935, By Hisself arrived in the tiny town of Coolidge, Arizona, home of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. He was installed at Rancho Loma Verde, owned by Major R. C. Woodruff, a racehorse breeder and owner dubbed “the Sage of Sacaton Mountain” for his success on California and Arizona tracks. The year before, Woodruff had stood the Remount stallion *Golden Boss, a 24-year-old Thoroughbred imported from Ireland. For Woodruff, *Golden Boss had sired 7 registered foals in 1935, including the stallion’s sole stakes winner, Boss Martin.
Woodruff’s co-owner in his horse-breeding operation was his good friend Martha Root White, of Santa Fe, New Mexico. White and her sister Amelia Elizabeth were wealthy transplants from New York; their father had been editor of the New York Evening Post and Chicago Tribune. The sisters’ home in Santa Fe, known as El Delirio—the madness—was the center of the nascent art and literature scene in the New Mexico capital. Today, the house is known as the headquarters of the School for Advanced Research. Both sisters raised Afghan Hounds and Irish Wolfhounds. Elizabeth was also involved in the establishment of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, the Wheelwright Museum, and the Laboratory of Anthropology. In 1934, an article about the sisters’ interest in dogs noted that “Miss Martha White is as interested in horses as in dogs, and is an excellent horsewoman. She is fond of jumping and can put a horse over the bars, whether using the saddle or not. She owns a half interest in a ranch near Coolidge, Arizona, where she has a large stable of thoroughbred breeding stock.”
Around the time that By Hisself was standing at Rancho Loma Verde, the White sisters decided to build themselves some guest quarters: a five-level, Spanish Colonial–style house of native stone, designed by well-known Italian architect Luigi Vietti, located within sight of the barn. Although they traveled to Coolidge a few times during the home’s construction, and filled it with furniture and artwork from their travels, the sisters never occupied it; Martha was not in good health, and died of cancer in 1937. The house was instead given as a wedding gift to Martha’s godson Julian Woodruff and his bride Mildred in June 1936.
During his single season in Coolidge, By Hisself sired 14 registered Thoroughbred foals. Of these 14, all but 2 were race winners and 1—a colt named One Shen—was a stakes winner and a durable performer. Over seven seasons, One Shen ran 144 times and won 24 of his starts, making him By Hisself’s highest earner. In fact, on September 5, 1938, One Shen was one of three starters to “romp to victory” in a single afternoon at Del Mar Racetrack for the “Arizona sportsman.” During that race, One Shen was so underestimated by bettors at Del Mar that he paid $79.80 to win—an enormous payoff during the Depression era.
For unknown reasons, in 1936 By Hisself was transferred by the government to rancher Floyd W. Lee, in San Mateo, New Mexico. Lee was a New Mexico state senator as well as county treasurer. Although his 300,000-acre ranch, originally part of a Spanish land grant, was known primarily for its cattle and sheep operations, Lee had stood the Remount stallions Gadar (an Arabian bred by W. R. Brown) from 1929 to 1931 and Gay Laddie (a Thoroughbred) for one year, 1935. Neither stallion appears to have sired any registered foals, but Gadar did sire at least one Palomino half-Arabian after leaving the Lee Ranch. Also around 1936, Lee is known to have built a 40-foot-tall barn and invited both locals and friends from elsewhere to attend the barn opening. One observer recalled that Lee had “some fine saddle as well as draft horses in stalls.”
By Hisself is recorded as standing at stud for Lee from 1937 to 1939. During this time, he sired only three Thoroughbred foals, including the race winner Bihigh. His last recorded Thoroughbred foal was born in 1939. Given the size of the ranch, and the number of saddle horses the operation would have required, it is likely that By Hisself sired a number of partbreds out of the ranch’s Quarter Horse mares. Man O’ War's oldest living son, By Hisself, died at age 22 in 1947—the same year as his celebrated sire.
In the next installment of this centennial tribute to Big Red, we’ll look at a legendary Arizona horseman—Doc Pardee—who was the only person, aside from jockeys and exercise boys, to sit on Man O’ War. And he even had his picture taken to prove it!
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