Sickle (horse)

Sickle

Sire	Phalaris
Grandsire	Polymelus
Dam	Selene
Damsire	Chaucer
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1924
Country	England
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Owner	1) 17th Earl of Derby 2) Joseph E. Widener (at stud)
Trainer	George Lambton
Record	10: 3-4-2
Earnings	US$24,122
Major wins
Mersey Stakes (1926) Goodwood Prince of Wales's Stakes (1926) Boscawen Post Stakes (1926)
Awards
Leading Sire in North America (1936, 1938)

Sickle (8 February 1924 – 26 December 1943) was a British-bred thoroughbred racehorse who was later exported to the U.S. where he was twice the leading sire in North America. He was bred by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby.

Sickle was a full brother to Pharamond, who also was a successful sire in the U.S.^[1] Their sire Phalaris, was twice the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland and a three-time leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland. His dam Selene produced 16 named foals including the leading Argentine and Brazilian sire Hunter's Moon, and Hyperion, the 1933 Epsom Derby and St Leger Stakes winner and a six-time leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland as well as a four-time leading broodmare sire in Great Britain and Ireland. Pharamond and Sickle were inbred to Cyllene in the third and fourth generation (3Sx4D) and St. Simon in the third and fourth generation (4Sx3D).

Sickle was raced by Lord Derby and trained by George Lambton. The colt met with some success in racing, winning three of his ten starts and notably finishing third in a field of 23 in the 2,000 Guineas Stakes in 1927.

Stud record

Retired to Lord Derby's stud for the 1929 breeding season, in a three-year lease agreement with American Joseph E. Widener that included a USD $100,000 option to purchase, Sickle was sent to the U.S. in time for the 1930 breeding season at Widener's Elmendorf Farm. In England, Sickle's first crop produced three stakes winners and in 1932 Widener exercised his option and purchased the horse. His first offspring in the U.S. also met with racing success and Sickle went on to become a two-time leading sire in the U.S. during his stud career, in 1936 and again in 1938. He was the sire of 297 foals, including 45 stakes winners. His progeny includes:

Cravat (US) H, 1935, who in 1939 won the Brooklyn Handicap, the Suburban Handicap, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and the San Juan Capistrano Handicap.
Silver Spear (US) H, 1935, who won the Durban July Handicap in 1937.
Stagehand (US) H, 1935, who was the American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse of 1938 and had wins in the Santa Anita Handicap, the Santa Anita Derby, and the Narragansett Special among others.
Star Pilot (US), H 1943, who was the 1945 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt whose wins in that year included the Hopeful Stakes and both the Pimlico Futurity and the Belmont Futurity Stakes.

Among Sickle's other progeny were numerous multiple stakes winners including:

Brevity (GB) H, 1933
Brownian (US) F, 1944
Chief Barker (US) H, 1942
Concordian (US) H, 1942
Director J E (US) H, 1941
Hindu Queen (US) F, 1931
Jabot (US) F, 1931
Misty Isle (GB) M, 1938
Price Level (US) F, 1942
Reaping Reward (US) H, 1934
Sickle T (US) G, 1935

Sickle's bloodline legacy came through his son Unbreakable who sired the 1945 Preakness Stakes winner and the 1947 American Champion Sprint Horse, Polynesian. Polynesian in turn sired the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Native Dancer who was rated No.7 in the Blood-Horse Magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. Native Dancer sired Raise A Native, and was the damsire of Northern Dancer. Polynesian also sired the 1956 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Barbizon, plus Imbros, a multiple stakes winner who set or equaled five track records including a world record for 7 furlongs, and the very good runner and important broodmare, Alanesian. Because of Polynesian, Sickle's sireline includes Sea Bird, the 1965 Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner whose Timeform rating is the second highest ever awarded in flat racing, and the very influential Mr. Prospector, a two-time leading sire in North America and nine-time leading broodmare sire in North America.^[2]

Sickle was the damsire of Kersala, the 1958 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, as well as the damsire of these four Champions:

Bornastar, the 1958 American Champion Older Female Horse ^[3]
But Why Not, the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and American Champion Older Female Horse of 1947 ^[4]
Counterpoint, who won the 1951 Belmont Stakes and was voted the American Horse of the Year and American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse of 1951 ^[5]
Oedipus, a three-time American Champion Steeplechase Horse (1950, 1951, 1952) and winner of the 1951 American Grand National ^[6]

At age nineteen, Sickle died unexpectedly on 26 December 1943 and was buried in the Elmendorf equine cemetery on acreage that was later subdivided and is now known as Normandy Farm.^[7]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Sickle (GB), brown stallion, 1924
Sire Phalaris (GB) 1913	Polymelus (GB) 1902	Cyllene	Bona Vista
		Cyllene	Arcadia
		Maid Marian	Hampton
		Maid Marian	Quiver
	Bromus (GB) 1905	Sainfoin	Springfield
		Sainfoin	Sanda
		Cheery	St. Simon
		Cheery	Sunrise
Dam Selene (GB) 1919	Chaucer 1900	St. Simon	Galopin
		St. Simon	St. Angela
		Canterbury Pilgrim	Tristan
		Canterbury Pilgrim	Pilgrimage
	Serenissima 1913	Minoru	Cyllene
		Minoru	Mother Siegel
		Gondolette	Loved One
		Gondolette	Dongola

References

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