Inferno (horse)
| Inferno | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Havoc |
| Grandsire | Himyar |
| Dam | Bon Ino |
| Damsire | Marauder |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1902 |
| Country | Canada  |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Joseph E. Seagram |
| Owner | Joseph E. Seagram |
| Trainer | Barry Littlefield |
| Record | Not found |
| Earnings | Not found |
| Major wins | |
| King Edward Gold Cup (1906, 1907, 1908) Durham Cup Handicap (1906, 1908) Toronto Autumn Cup (1907) Canadian Classic Race wins: King's Plate (1905) | |
| Honours | |
| Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1976) | |
| Last updated on 15:32, Saturday November 30 2024 (UTC) | |
Inferno (1902-1919) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned and bred by distilling magnate Joseph E. Seagram who in 1906 was voted president of the Ontario Jockey Club.
Inferno was out of the mare, Bon Ino, who was owned and raced by Seagram and who had won the 1898 Queen's Plate with her. Inferno's sire was Havoc, a stallion who ended his career as the sire of four King's Plate winners. Havoc was a son of Himyar, the Champion Sire in North American in 1893 who notably also produced U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Domino.
Called "Canada's first great racehorse" by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Inferno was a very raucous horse all his life and was a danger to his handlers. He was conditioned for racing by New Jersey-born trainer, Barry Littlefield. In 1905 the three-year-old Inferno won Canada's most prestigious race, the King's Plate. That year he also finished second in both the Toronto Autumn Cup and the King Edward Gold Cup. In 1906 he was again second in the Toronto Autumn Cup but won the Durham Cup Handicap and the first of three consecutive King Edward Gold Cups. The following year Inferno won his second King Edward Cup plus the Toronto Autumn Cup and in 1908 he won his second Durham Cup and made it three wins in a row in the King Edward Gold Cup. In addition, his owner joined the Whitney family and other wealthy American elite in bringing horses to compete during the fashionable summer racing season at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inferno would race until age six and would be part of Joseph Seagram's stable to race at Saratoga where he won two important handicaps.
Retired to stud duty at Seagram's stud farm in Waterloo, Ontario but was not successful as a sire.
On its formation in 1976, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inducted Inferno as part of its inaugural class.