Herbert Haseltine

(1877-1962)

Man O' War 14 1/2in high (36.8cm high), on a 7in high (17.78cm high) wooden base

Footnotes

Provenance
Graham Gallery, New York.
William W. and Jean W. Fetner, Dallas, Texas, acquired from the above, by 1992.
By descent to the present owner, son of the above, 2005.

Literature
H. Haseltine, Herbert Haseltine, New York, 1948, p. 56, another example illustrated.

Man O' War is widely considered one of the greatest racing horses of all time and in 1920 was The New York Times outstanding athlete of the year alongside Babe Ruth (1895-1948). The famous racing horse was foaled out of the thoroughbred Mahubah and sired by Fair Play at Nursery Stud near Lexington, Kentucky on March 29, 1917. Man O' War was bred by August Belmont, Jr. (1853-1924) of the famed racing family for whom Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes are named. Shortly after Man O' War was foaled, Belmont, Jr. enlisted in the United States Army to serve in France during World War I and while overseas, his wife named the foal Man O' War in honor of her husband. The Belmonts intended to race Man O' War themselves, but Belmont, Jr. was absorbed with his wartime tasks and was given the responsibility of supplying horses to the troops in Europe. Belmont, Jr. decided to offer most of his yearling crop for sale privately, but when he did not receive any offers he considered fair for the group, Belmont, Jr. sent their 21 yearlings to auction in Saratoga, New York and on August 17, 1918, Samuel D. Riddle (1861-1951) purchased Man O' War for the sum of $5,000. This was considered a fair sum given the average price for yearlings at the time was just over $1,000. Riddle bought Man O' War at the urging of his trainer Louis Feustel (1884-1970), who had worked for Belmont, Jr. before the War in the Belmont stable and wanted to train a Fair Play colt. Feustel did so at Glen Riddle Farm outside of Berlin, Maryland where Riddle brought Man O' War shortly after the auction.

Man O'War went on to become one of America's most beloved racehorses, winning 20 of 21 starts and setting numerous racing records. Following his inaugural triumph at Belmont Park on June 6, 1919 where he won by six lengths, Man O'War was odds on favorite at every one of his races, in three of which the odds were 1-100 on. His record over 1½ miles stood for 17 years. Joe H. Palmer (1904-1952), the legendary racing commentator, wrote of Man O'War, "He did not beat, he merely annihilated. He did not run to world records, he galloped to them. He was so far superior to his contemporaries that, except for one race against John P. Grier, they could not extend him. In 1920 he dominated racing as perhaps no athlete – not Tilden or Jones or Dempsey or Louis or Nurmi or Thorpe or any human athlete - had dominated his sport." (as quoted in K. Gatto, M. Blowen, Belmont Park: The Championship Track, Charleston, South Carolina, 2013)

Man O'War retired to Faraway Farm in Kentucky where he sired the legendary War Admiral, adversary of Seabiscuit and winner of the Triple Crown. Notably, Man O'War was also a grandfather of Seabiscuit. In 1940, the year that Haseltine moved to New York City to escape the onslaught of the Second World War, Mrs. Riddle commissioned him to memorialize the Horse of the Century in bronze. The resulting life-size monument, from which the present work is modeled, was completed in 1947, the same year that Man O' War died and the sculpture was placed over his grave. In 1977, both Man O' War's remains and the monument were moved to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky where it still stands today.