Charismatic (horse)

American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

For more uses of the term "Charismatic", see Charisma (disambiguation).

Charismatic

Sire| Summer Squall
Grandsire| Storm Bird
Dam| Bali Babe
Damsire| Drone
Sex| Stallion
Foaled| (1996-03-13)March 13, 1996
Died| February 19, 2017(2017-02-19) (aged 20)
Country| United States
Color| Chestnut
Breeder| Parrish Hill Farm &
William S. Farish
Owner| Bob and Beverly Lewis
Trainer| D. Wayne Lukas
Record| 17: 5-2-4
Earnings| $2,038,064[1]
Major wins
Lexington Stakes (1999)
U.S. Triple Crown wins:
Kentucky Derby (1999)
Preakness Stakes (1999)
Awards
U.S. Champion 3-Year-Old Colt (1999)
American Horse of the Year (1999)
NTRA "Moment of the Year" (1999)

Charismatic (March 13, 1996 – February 19, 2017) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1999.

Early in his career, Charismatic was entered in claiming races but he improved rapidly during his three-year-old year. After winning the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Charismatic had the lead in the stretch of the Belmont Stakes before suddenly falling back and finishing third. He was quickly pulled up by jockey Chris Antley, who dismounted and cradled the horse's fractured foreleg to prevent further injury. The aftermath of the Belmont was later named the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year.

Charismatic never raced again, but was still voted 1999 Horse of the Year. He successfully recovered from his injuries to become a stallion, first in the United States and then in Japan. On October 26, 2016, it was announced that Charismatic was being retired from stud to live at Old Friends Equine near Lexington, Kentucky. He died just over two months after arriving.

## Background

[edit]

Charismatic was a chestnut horse with four white stockings on his legs and a white stripe on his forehead. He was bred under a foal-sharing arrangement between William S. Farish and the Parrish Hill Farm of Dr. Ben and Tom Roach.[2] His sire was Summer Squall, who had won the 1990 Preakness Stakes. Summer Squall was a half-brother to leading sire A.P. Indy as both were out of the outstanding broodmare Weekend Surprise by Secretariat. Summer Squall's sire Storm Bird, by Northern Dancer, was also the sire of Storm Cat, another leading sire.[3] Charismatic's dam was Bali Babe, by Drone. Bali Babe, winless in two starts, was 16 when she foaled Charismatic, a fairly advanced age for a broodmare.[2]

Charismatic was purchased as a weanling by Bob and Beverly Lewis for $200,000.[4] He was trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden in the Triple Crown races by Chris Antley.

## Racing career

[edit]

Charismatic lost his first five starts as a two-year-old. Lukas then took a calculated risk by entering him in a maiden claiming race on November 21, 1998, with a "tag" of $62,500. Lukas later commented, "I don't think I've ever been fooled so much by a horse... I felt I wasn't pushing the right buttons. But I felt he hadn't won a race and needed some confidence." The gamble paid off when the colt went unclaimed and then won the race.[4]

Charismatic raced once more as a two-year-old, losing in allowance company, and then started his three-year-old season the same way, finishing fifth in both an allowance race and the Santa Catalina Stakes.[1] Lukas decided to again roll the dice, entering the colt in another claiming race on February 11, 1999. "Quite frankly I had given up on the horse," said Bob Lewis. "I wanted to get back as much of that $200,000 (purchase price) as I could. The reason he was in that race was because Wayne wanted him to see what it was like on the front end instead of the back end." Again unclaimed, Charismatic finished second but was given the win when the first-place finisher was disqualified.[5]

Lukas then put the colt on a demanding schedule, racing him eight days later on February 19 in an allowance race, followed by a start on March 6 in the El Camino Real Derby. Charismatic finished second in both those races, but could only manage a fourth in the Santa Anita Derby on April 6.[1] Lukas shipped the horse to Keeneland for the Lexington Stakes on April 18, the last chance for a win on the Kentucky Derby trail. Charismatic responded with a record setting performance in his first stakes victory.[6]

Charismatic was a 31-1 longshot in the 125th Kentucky Derby on May 1, facing a field of 18 other horses. Valhol set a slow early pace tracked by Cat Thief, who took over the lead rounding the final turn. Charismatic raced in mid-pack for the first three-quarters of a mile, then started closing ground rapidly on the leaders. He passed Cat Thief in deep stretch, then withstood a late charge from Menifee to win by a head. Cat Thief, also trained by Lukas, was third.[1] The time for 1+1⁄4 miles was a slow 2:03.29 The win denied trainer Bob Baffert his third straight Derby victory. His three entries, two of which were co-favorites at 9-2 odds, failed to make the top three.[7]

Charismatic also won the 124th Preakness Stakes on May 15 with a time of 1:55.20 for the 1+3⁄16-mile distance. He was 1½ lengths ahead of Menifee, again second, with Badge finishing third. Despite the Kentucky Derby win, Charismatic was not the Preakness favorite, posting 8-1 odds. Menifee was the favorite at 5–2.[8]

At the 131st Belmont Stakes on June 5, Charismatic was a 2-1 favorite, with Menifee second in odds at 7–2. The rivalry between Charismatic and Menifee was compared to Affirmed and Alydar in 1978. Charismatic looked like he would become the first horse in 21 years to win the Triple Crown, taking the lead at the 3/16ths pole. However, the horse abruptly slowed down and lost the lead to eventual winner Lemon Drop Kid with 1/8 mile to go, ultimately finishing third behind second-place Vision and Verse.[6]

Sensing that something was wrong with the horse, jockey Chris Antley eased Charismatic up in the final furlong, jumped off right after the finish line and then held up the colt's left front leg. Charismatic's foreleg had fractured in multiple places involving the cannon bone and sesamoids, and Antley's actions probably saved his life by avoiding a more catastrophic injury. As it was, the horse was taken off the track in a van and underwent surgery the next day.[6] His surgeon Stephen Selway said, "The fracture [of the cannon bone] happened first. As the horse went on, the damaged piece hit the sesamoids and caused them to fracture." The damaged area of the cannon bone extended about six inches: four screws were inserted to provide stability. There was no sign of pre-existing injury.[9]

The footage of a tearful Antley holding Charismatic was selected by racing fans as the 1999 National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year.[10]

Charismatic finished his career with 5 wins, 2 places and 4 shows in 17 career starts, for total earnings of $2,038,064. He won the Eclipse Awards for 3-year-old Colt of the Year and Overall Horse of the Year for 1999.[1]

## Retirement

[edit]

In 2000, Charismatic entered stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.[11] After the 2002 season, he was shipped to Japan, where he stood at the JBBA's Shizunai Stallion Station. His fee was ¥500,000 (about $5,000) for a live foal.[12] At the time of his retirement from stud in October 2016, Charismatic had sired 371 starters from 424 foals of racing age and 263 winners who had combined earnings of more than $44.5 million. His best runner in the United States was Sun King, who won four graded stakes and earned more than $2.2 million. In Japan, his most successful offspring was Wonder Acute, a multiple group stakes winner.[13]

On October 26, 2016, it was announced that Charismatic would be retired from stud and would reside at Old Friends Equine near Lexington, Kentucky. The costs of transporting the horse were covered by a fund set up by his former owners and additional donations from Tito's Handmade Vodka. "We are ecstatic that we are able to participate in bringing horse racing stars like Charismatic back home, where they can be revered by the public and help raise awareness for the cause," said Eric Barlund, Tito's vice president of sales. "Charismatic's star shone very brightly, though only for a few weeks in 1999," said Beverly Lewis. "We are all looking forward to visiting him when he arrives."[11] Charismatic died on the morning of February 19, 2017 at Old Friends due to severe bleeding caused by a pelvic fracture. He was thought to have sustained the injury during the night without sounding alarm, and did not appear to have been in distress when he was found. The cause of the fracture was unknown.

Shortly after his passing, Charismatic's best son, Sun King, arrived at Old Friends to live out his retirement.

A film about Charismatic and Chris Antley was produced by Asylum Entertainment and directed by Steven Michaels, Joel Surnow, and Jonathan Kochas for ESPN's 30 for 30 series. It aired on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, at 8 p.m.[14]

## Pedigree

[edit]

Pedigree of Charismatic, chestnut horse, 1996[15] Sire
Summer Squall

bay 1987

| Storm Bird

bay 1978

| Northern Dancer
bay 1961  | Nearctic

|
|
|

Natalma
South Ocean
bay 1967  | New Providence
Shining Sun
Weekend Surprise

bay 1980

| Secretariat
chestnut 1970  | Bold Ruler
Somethingroyal
Lassie Dear
bay 1974  | Buckpasser
Gay Missile
Dam
Bali Babe

chestnut 1980

| Drone

gray 1966

| Sir Gaylord
dark brown 1959  | Turn-To
Somethingroyal
Cap and Bells
gray 1958  | Tom Fool
Ghazni
Polynesian Charm

bay 1972

| What a Pleasure
chestnut 1965  | Bold Ruler
Grey Flight
Grass Shack
black 1951  | Polynesian
Good Example

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Summer Squall Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
2. ^ a b Christine, Bill (2 June 1999). "From Claim To Fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
3. ^ Hunter, Avalyn. "Summer Squall (horse)". American Classic Pedigrees. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
4. ^ a b Durso, Joseph (28 May 1999). "From a Claimer to Acclaimed: The Saga of Charismatic". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
5. ^ Milbert, Neil. "Next, A Claim For Fame". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
6. ^ a b c Durso, Joseph (6 June 1999). "Charismatic's Bid Ends in Injury and Defeat". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
7. ^ "CNN/SI - 1999 Kentucky Derby - Charismatic wins Kentucky Derby - Sunday May 09, 1999 11:11 AM". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 1999-05-09. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
8. ^ "CNN/SI - 1999 Preakness". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2000. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
9. ^ Gildea, William. "Charismatic Surgery Termed Successful". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
10. ^ Langley, William. "Riding for a fall". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
11. ^ a b "Charismatic Moving to Old Friends". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
12. ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System". Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
13. ^ Russo, Nicole. "Charismatic to reside at Old Friends". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
14. ^ "ESPN Films: Charismatic - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
15. ^ "Charismatic pedigree". www.equineline.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Charismatic at the JBBA website (in Japanese)
* Charismatic Archived 2021-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at the Japan Bloodstock Information System (in English)
* Charismatic's Kentucky Derby
* Preakness winners
* Charismatic: Three-year-old Male of the Year

* v
* t
* e

Kentucky Derby winners

* 1875 Aristides
* 1876 Vagrant
* 1877 Baden-Baden
* 1878 Day Star
* 1879 Lord Murphy
* 1880 Fonso
* 1881 Hindoo
* 1882 Apollo
* 1883 Leonatus
* 1884 Buchanan
* 1885 Joe Cotton
* 1886 Ben Ali
* 1887 Montrose
* 1888 Macbeth II
* 1889 Spokane
* 1890 Riley
* 1891 Kingman
* 1892 Azra
* 1893 Lookout
* 1894 Chant
* 1895 Halma
* 1896 Ben Brush
* 1897 Typhoon II
* 1898 Plaudit
* 1899 Manuel
* 1900 Lieut. Gibson
* 1901 His Eminence
* 1902 Alan-a-Dale
* 1903 Judge Himes
* 1904 Elwood
* 1905 Agile
* 1906 Sir Huon
* 1907 Pink Star
* 1908 Stone Street
* 1909 Wintergreen
* 1910 Donau
* 1911 Meridian
* 1912 Worth
* 1913 Donerail
* 1914 Old Rosebud
* 1915 Regret ♥
* 1916 George Smith
* 1917 Omar Khayyam
* 1918 Exterminator
* 1919 Sir Barton ₩
* 1920 Paul Jones
* 1921 Behave Yourself
* 1922 Morvich
* 1923 Zev
* 1924 Black Gold
* 1925 Flying Ebony
* 1926 Bubbling Over
* 1927 Whiskery
* 1928 Reigh Count
* 1929 Clyde Van Dusen
* 1930 Gallant Fox ₩
* 1931 Twenty Grand
* 1932 Burgoo King
* 1933 Brokers Tip
* 1934 Cavalcade
* 1935 Omaha ₩
* 1936 Bold Venture
* 1937 War Admiral ₩
* 1938 Lawrin
* 1939 Johnstown
* 1940 Gallahadion
* 1941 Whirlaway ₩
* 1942 Shut Out
* 1943 Count Fleet ₩
* 1944 Pensive
* 1945 Hoop Jr.
* 1946 Assault ₩
* 1947 Jet Pilot
* 1948 Citation ₩
* 1949 Ponder
* 1950 Middleground
* 1951 Count Turf
* 1952 Hill Gail
* 1953 Dark Star
* 1954 Determine
* 1955 Swaps
* 1956 Needles
* 1957 Iron Liege
* 1958 Tim Tam
* 1959 Tomy Lee
* 1960 Venetian Way
* 1961 Carry Back
* 1962 Decidedly
* 1963 Chateaugay
* 1964 Northern Dancer
* 1965 Lucky Debonair
* 1966 Kauai King
* 1967 Proud Clarion
* 1968 Forward Pass (Dancer's Image disqualified)
* 1969 Majestic Prince
* 1970 Dust Commander
* 1971 Canonero II
* 1972 Riva Ridge
* 1973 Secretariat ₩
* 1974 Cannonade
* 1975 Foolish Pleasure
* 1976 Bold Forbes
* 1977 Seattle Slew ₩
* 1978 Affirmed ₩
* 1979 Spectacular Bid
* 1980 Genuine Risk ♥
* 1981 Pleasant Colony
* 1982 Gato Del Sol
* 1983 Sunny's Halo
* 1984 Swale
* 1985 Spend a Buck
* 1986 Ferdinand
* 1987 Alysheba
* 1988 Winning Colors ♥
* 1989 Sunday Silence
* 1990 Unbridled
* 1991 Strike the Gold
* 1992 Lil E. Tee
* 1993 Sea Hero
* 1994 Go for Gin
* 1995 Thunder Gulch
* 1996 Grindstone
* 1997 Silver Charm
* 1998 Real Quiet
* 1999 Charismatic
* 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus
* 2001 Monarchos
* 2002 War Emblem
* 2003 Funny Cide
* 2004 Smarty Jones
* 2005 Giacomo
* 2006 Barbaro
* 2007 Street Sense
* 2008 Big Brown
* 2009 Mine That Bird
* 2010 Super Saver
* 2011 Animal Kingdom
* 2012 I'll Have Another
* 2013 Orb
* 2014 California Chrome
* 2015 American Pharoah ₩
* 2016 Nyquist
* 2017 Always Dreaming
* 2018 Justify ₩
* 2019 Country House (Maximum Security disqualified)
* 2020 Authentic
* 2021 Mandaloun (Medina Spirit disqualified)
* 2022 Rich Strike
* 2023 Mage
* 2024 Mystik Dan

Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown winners, ♥ = Filly

* v
* t
* e

Preakness Stakes winners

* 1873 Survivor
* 1874 Culpepper
* 1875 Tom Ochiltree
* 1876 Shirley
* 1877 Cloverbrook
* 1878 Duke of Magenta
* 1879 Harold
* 1880 Grenada
* 1881 Saunterer
* 1882 Vanguard
* 1883 Jacobus
* 1884 Knight of Ellerslie
* 1885 Tecumseh
* 1886 The Bard
* 1887 Dunboyne
* 1888 Refund
* 1889 Buddhist
* 1890 Montague
* 1894 Assignee
* 1895 Belmar
* 1896 Margrave
* 1897 Paul Kauvar
* 1898 Sly Fox
* 1899 Half Time
* 1900 Hindus
* 1901 The Parader
* 1902 Old England
* 1903 Flocarline ♥
* 1904 Bryn Mawr
* 1905 Cairngorm
* 1906 Whimsical ♥
* 1907 Don Enrique
* 1908 Royal Tourist
* 1909 Effendi
* 1910 Layminster
* 1911 Watervale
* 1912 Colonel Holloway
* 1913 Buskin
* 1914 Holiday
* 1915 Rhine Maiden ♥
* 1916 Damrosch
* 1917 Kalitan
* 1918 War Cloud
* 1918 Jack Hare Jr.
* 1919 Sir Barton ₩
* 1920 Man o' War
* 1921 Broomspun
* 1922 Pillory
* 1923 Vigil
* 1924 Nellie Morse ♥
* 1925 Coventry
* 1926 Display
* 1927 Bostonian
* 1928 Victorian
* 1929 Dr. Freeland
* 1930 Gallant Fox ₩
* 1931 Mate
* 1932 Burgoo King
* 1933 Head Play
* 1934 High Quest
* 1935 Omaha ₩
* 1936 Bold Venture
* 1937 War Admiral ₩
* 1938 Dauber
* 1939 Challedon
* 1940 Bimelech
* 1941 Whirlaway ₩
* 1942 Alsab
* 1943 Count Fleet ₩
* 1944 Pensive
* 1945 Polynesian
* 1946 Assault ₩
* 1947 Faultless
* 1948 Citation ₩
* 1949 Capot
* 1950 Hill Prince
* 1951 Bold
* 1952 Blue Man
* 1953 Native Dancer
* 1954 Hasty Road
* 1955 Nashua
* 1956 Fabius
* 1957 Bold Ruler
* 1958 Tim Tam
* 1959 Royal Orbit
* 1960 Bally Ache
* 1961 Carry Back
* 1962 Greek Money
* 1963 Candy Spots
* 1964 Northern Dancer
* 1965 Tom Rolfe
* 1966 Kauai King
* 1967 Damascus
* 1968 Forward Pass
* 1969 Majestic Prince
* 1970 Personality
* 1971 Canonero II
* 1972 Bee Bee Bee
* 1973 Secretariat ₩
* 1974 Little Current
* 1975 Master Derby
* 1976 Elocutionist
* 1977 Seattle Slew ₩
* 1978 Affirmed ₩
* 1979 Spectacular Bid
* 1980 Codex
* 1981 Pleasant Colony
* 1982 Aloma's Ruler
* 1983 Deputed Testamony
* 1984 Gate Dancer
* 1985 Tank's Prospect
* 1986 Snow Chief
* 1987 Alysheba
* 1988 Risen Star
* 1989 Sunday Silence
* 1990 Summer Squall
* 1991 Hansel
* 1992 Pine Bluff
* 1993 Prairie Bayou
* 1994 Tabasco Cat
* 1995 Timber Country
* 1996 Louis Quatorze
* 1997 Silver Charm
* 1998 Real Quiet
* 1999 Charismatic
* 2000 Red Bullet
* 2001 Point Given
* 2002 War Emblem
* 2003 Funny Cide
* 2004 Smarty Jones
* 2005 Afleet Alex
* 2006 Bernardini
* 2007 Curlin
* 2008 Big Brown
* 2009 Rachel Alexandra ♥
* 2010 Lookin At Lucky
* 2011 Shackleford
* 2012 I'll Have Another
* 2013 Oxbow
* 2014 California Chrome
* 2015 American Pharoah ₩
* 2016 Exaggerator
* 2017 Cloud Computing
* 2018 Justify ₩
* 2019 War of Will
* 2020 Swiss Skydiver ♥
* 2021 Rombauer
* 2022 Early Voting
* 2023 National Treasure
* 2024 Seize the Grey

Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly

* v
* t
* e

American Horse of the Year winners

DRF denotes Daily Racing Form, TSD denotes Turf & Sports Digest, and TRA denotes Thoroughbred Racing Associations

The Blood-Horse
retrospective winners
(1887–1935)|

* 1887: Hanover
* 1888: Emperor of Norfolk
* 1889–90: Salvator
* 1891: Longstreet
* 1892: Tammany
* 1893: Domino
* 1894–95: Henry of Navarre
* 1896: Requital
* 1897: Ornament
* 1898: Hamburg
* 1899: Imp
* 1900–01: Commando
* 1902–03: Hermis
* 1904: Beldame
* 1905: Sysonby
* 1906: Burgomaster
* 1907–08: Colin
* 1909–10: Fitz Herbert
* 1911: Meridian
* 1912: The Manager
* 1913: Whisk Broom II
* 1914: Roamer
* 1915: Regret
* 1916: Friar Rock
* 1917: Old Rosebud
* 1918: Johren
* 1919: Sir Barton
* 1920: Man o' War
* 1921: Grey Lag
* 1922: Exterminator
* 1923: Zev
* 1924–25: Sarazen
* 1926: Crusader
* 1927: Chance Play
* 1928: Reigh Count
* 1929: Blue Larkspur
* 1930: Gallant Fox
* 1931: Twenty Grand
* 1932–33: Equipoise
* 1934: Cavalcade
* 1935: Discovery

DRF &TSD era
(1936–1949)|

* 1936: Granville
* 1937: War Admiral
* 1938: Seabiscuit
* 1939–40: Challedon
* 1941–42: Whirlaway
* 1943: Count Fleet
* 1944: Twilight Tear
* 1945: Busher
* 1946: Assault
* 1947: Armed
* 1948: Citation
* 1949: Coaltown (TSD) / Capot (DRF)

DRF, TSD & TRA era
(1950–1970)|

* 1950: Hill Prince
* 1951: Counterpoint
* 1952: One Count (DRF) / Native Dancer (TRA & TSD)
* 1953: Tom Fool
* 1954: Native Dancer
* 1955: Nashua
* 1956: Swap
* 1957: Bold Ruler (DRF & TSD) / Dedicate (TRA)
* 1958: Round Table
* 1959: Sword Dancer
* 1960–64: Kelso
* 1965: Moccasin (TRA, TSD) / Roman Brother (DRF)
* 1966: Buckpasser
* 1967: Damascus
* 1968: Dr. Fager
* 1969: Arts and Letters
* 1970: Fort Marcy (DRF) / Personality (TRA)

Eclipse Awards winners
(since 1971)|

* 1971: Ack Ack
* 1972–73: Secretariat
* 1974–76: Forego
* 1977: Seattle Slew
* 1978–79: Affirmed
* 1980: Spectacular Bid
* 1981: John Henry
* 1982: Conquistador Cielo
* 1983: All Along
* 1984: John Henry
* 1985: Spend A Buck
* 1986: Lady's Secret
* 1987: Ferdinand
* 1988: Alysheba
* 1989: Sunday Silence
* 1990: Criminal Type
* 1991: Black Tie Affair
* 1992: A.P. Indy
* 1993: Kotashaan
* 1994: Holy Bull
* 1995–96: Cigar
* 1997: Favorite Trick
* 1998: Skip Away
* 1999: Charismatic
* 2000: Tiznow
* 2001: Point Given
* 2002: Azeri
* 2003: Mineshaft
* 2004: Ghostzapper
* 2005: Saint Liam
* 2006: Invasor
* 2007–08: Curlin
* 2009: Rachel Alexandra
* 2010: Zenyatta
* 2011: Havre de Grace
* 2012–13: Wise Dan
* 2014: California Chrome
* 2015: American Pharoah
* 2016: California Chrome
* 2017: Gun Runner
* 2018: Justify
* 2019: Bricks and Mortar
* 2020: Authentic
* 2021: Knicks Go
* 2022: Flightline
* 2023: Cody's Wish

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template