Royal Tourist

Royal Tourist
Royal Tourist
Sire	Sandringham
Grandsire	St. Simon
Dam	Leisure
Damsire	Meddler
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1905
Country	United States
Color	Bay
Breeder	Harry Payne Whitney
Owner	1) Harry Payne Whitney; 2) ; 3) H. Guy Bedwell; 4) G. F. Calmbach
Trainer	1) ; 2) A. Jack Joyner
Earnings	US$ not found
Major wins
	(1907); Oakdale Handicap (1907); Loantaka Stakes (1908); Winters Handicap (1908) American Classics wins:; Preakness Stakes (1908)

Royal Tourist (1905–1909) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Classic Preakness Stakes in 1908 and who later that year set a World Record time in winning the Winters Handicap at in Oakland, California.

Background[]

Bred and raced by Harry Payne Whitney, Royal Tourist's sire was the unraced British import, Sandringham, a son of the outstanding runner and nine-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland, St. Simon. His dam was Leisure, who was also the dam of the 1914 Preakness Stakes winner, Holiday. Leisure's sire was Meddler, the leading sire in North America in 1904 and 1906.^[1]

Racing career[]

Racing at age two under trainer , on September 10, 1907 Royal Tourist earned his first win in the at Sheepshead Bay Race Track with a stakes record time of 1:11 flat for six furlongs.^[2] He went on that year to win the Oakdale Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack. As a three-year-old in 1908, Royal Tourist's race conditioning was handled by Jack Joyner who took over as trainer of the Whitney racing stable on the death of John Rogers in February. In the pre U.S. Triple Crown era, Royal Tourist was not entered in the Kentucky Derby but on June 2, 1908, under jockey Eddie Dugan, he won what is now the second leg of the Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes,^[3] contested at the time at a distance of 1¹/16 miles at Gravesend Race Track.

Harry Whitney sold Royal Tourist in the early fall of 1908 to Chicagoan . The owner of a number of successful horses, Ellison had won the 1903 Kentucky Derby with Judge Himes and finished second in 1906 with the very good filly, Lady Navarre. Ellison sent Royal Tourist to race in California where in November he set a new World Record of 1:44 1/5 for 1¹/16 miles on dirt in the Winters Handicap at Emeryville Race Track in Oakland, California.^[4] The colt wintered in California and continued to race there in 1909.

Royal Tourist died of a fever while still in training at the Hamilton (Ont.) racetrack stables on September 27, 1909.^[5]

Pedigree[]

Pedigree of Royal Tourist (USA), bay stallion, 1905
Sire Sandringham (GB) 1896	St Simon (GB) 1881	Galopin	Vedette
		Galopin	Flying Duchess
		St Angela	King Tom
		St Angela	Adeline
	Perdita (GB) 1881	Hampton	Lord Clifden
		Hampton	Lady Langden
		Hermione	Young Melbourne
		Hermione	La Belle Helene
Dam Leisure (USA) 1900	Meddler (GB) 1890	St. Gatien	The Rover
		St. Gatien	Saint Editha
		Busybody	Petrarch
		Busybody	Spinaway
	(USA) 1889	Miser	Australian (GB)
		Miser	Aerolite
		Thora	Longfellow
		Thora	Susan Ann

References[]

^ "Royal Tourist pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
^ "ROYAL TOURIST'S AUTUMN STAKES". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
^ "ROYAL TOURIST LED ALL THE WAY". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
^ "NEW WORLD'S TURF RECORD". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
^ "The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, October 02, 1909, Page 19, Image 19 -". Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[1] "Royal Tourist pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[2] "ROYAL TOURIST'S AUTUMN STAKES". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[3] "ROYAL TOURIST LED ALL THE WAY". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[4] "NEW WORLD'S TURF RECORD". New York Times. 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[5] "The San Francisco call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, October 02, 1909, Page 19, Image 19 -". Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Retrieved 2012-08-04.

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