Assagai (horse)

Assagai (1963–1986) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.

Assagai
Sire	Warfare
Grandsire	Determine
Dam	Primary
Damsire	Petition
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1963
Country	United States
Colour	Dark Bay
Breeder	Robin F. Scully
Owner	Cragwood Stable
Trainer	MacKenzie Miller
Record	30: 11-7-2
Earnings	$344,921
Major wins
Bernard Baruch Handicap (1966) Long Branch Stakes (1966) United Nations Handicap (1966) Tidal Handicap (1966) Man O' War Stakes (1966) Long Island Handicap (1967)
Awards
United States Champion Male Turf Horse (1966)
Last updated on July 3, 2007

Background

Assagai was a bay horse bred in Kentucky, he was sired by Warfare and out of the mare, Primary. Purchased by the international business tycoon Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., he was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, MacKenzie Miller.

Racing career

At age three, Assagai was the top turf horse in the U.S. whose wins in 1966 in the United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City Race Course^[1] and Man o' War Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack^[2] resulted in him being voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse.

Sent back to the track at age four, Assagai's most important win of 1967 came in the Long Island Handicap. He also finished second to Poker in the 1967 Bowling Green Handicap but ahead of the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion, Buckpasser.

Stud record

Retired to stud duty, Assagai met with some success. His son Big Whippendeal won the G1 Century Handicap at Hollywood Park and another of his colts, Almost Grown, won the Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap at Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago.

In 1986, at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, Louisiana, the twenty-three-year-old Assagai was humanely euthanized due to laminitis.

References

1. Hall, Bill (18 September 1966). "Assagai Wins by Head; Ginger Fizz Runs 2d; Atlantic City Charts (1966 United Nations Handicap – race 8: held 17 September 1966)". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 90. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
2. "Assagai Drifts, Then Rallies To Take Man O' War 'Cap – (race 7: held 22 October 1966)". Philadelphia Inquirer. The Associated Press. 23 October 1966. p. 82. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

• Assagai's pedigree and partial racing stats