Description:

Henry Stull Finish of the Sea Gate Stakes, 1901 Gold Heels First and Bonibert Second Oil on canvas 20 x 30 in Signed. Provenance: The costly furnishings and embellishments removed from the residence of the late James Buchanan Brady, widely known as “Diamond Jim” Brady Public Auction 1917, American Art Association, Lot 1280: Finish of the Sea Gate Stakes, 1901, Gold Heels First and Bonibert Second Gold Heels was an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse who, in a two-year period, set one new stakes record and four track records, including a world record. Gold Heels was purchased by William C. Whitney but after racing for a short time at age 2, the colt was deemed to have limited potential and, in June 1900, was sold for $1,500 to trainer David Sloan, a cousin of future Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Sloan raced the colt during the remainder of 1900 in mainly lower-class races, finishing the year with five wins from 24 starts, including the Chappaqua Handicap at Empire City Race Track. Facing financial problems, Sloan put Gold Heels up for sale and, on the advice of trainer Matthew Allen, the horse was purchased for $7,000 by the racing partnership of Fred C. McLewee and Diamond Jim Brady. In 1901, under the conditioning of Matthew Allen, 3-year- old Gold Heels won seven of his 12 starts while setting three track records. On June 27, he won the Spindrift Stakes, in which he set a new Sheepshead Bay Race Track record for one mile and one furlong on dirt. On July 2, he won the Long Island Handicap at Sheepshead Bay, and then on July 25 won the richest race for 3-year-olds at Brighton Beach Race Course, the mile and one furlong Seagate Stakes. He followed this up with a 10-length victory on September 25, 1901, in the one mile and one furlong Monarch Stakes at Gravesend Race Track. In winning the October 5 Oriental Handicap at Gravesend, he set a new track record time for a mile and a quarter on dirt. On October 26, at Morris Park Racecourse, Gold Heels showed that he was not only capable at longer distances but a truly outstanding stayer when he won the 21⁄4-mile Woodlawn Vase in a track-record time of 3:56.00. At age 4 in 1902, Gold Heels won four of his five starts, setting a stakes record and a world record. With jockey Otto Wonderly aboard, Gold Heels won the June 14 Suburban Handicap at Sheepshead Bay. Not only did he win what was then America’s most prestigious race, he broke the stakes record on an off track while carrying top weight. On June 28, Gold Heels won the 11⁄2-mile Advance Stakes at Sheepshead Bay and was top-weighted again when he won the July 5 Brighton Handicap at Brighton Beach Race Course in a world-record time of 2:03.80 for a mile and a quarter on dirt. For the July 26 Brighton Cup, Gold Heels was again given high weight but still earned the win in the 21⁄4-mile endurance test. Even though he still won by 20 lengths, near the finish jockey George Odom slowed Gold Heels to a canter due to an injury that ended his racing career. The New York Times wrote on October 5, 1902, that Gold Heels was the “accepted champion of the year,” and Thoroughbred Heritage selected him as the retrospective American champion older male horse for that year.

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November 15, 2024 2:00 PM EST
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