Hoist the Flag (USA)
March 31, 1968 – 1980
Tom Rolfe (USA) x Wavy Navy (USA), by War Admiral (USA)
Family 5-i
One of the most exciting youngsters seen in years, Hoist the Flag never finished a race anywhere but in front, acquiring the only blemish on his record by disqualification. He claimed the American juvenile crown at 2 but saw his Classic hopes shatter in the same training accident that shattered his right hind leg after he won first two races at 3. Saved for stud, he proved an excellent sire and broodmare sire but suffered another bone-fracturing accident—this one fatal—when only 12.
6 starts, 5 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$78,145
Won Cowdin Stakes (USA, 7FD, Belmont)
Finished first in the Champagne Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont) but disqualified for interference although clearly much the best.
Won Bay Shore Stakes (USA, 7FD, Aqueduct)
American champion 2-year-old male (1970)
Highweighted at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1970, 1 pound above second-rated Limit to Reason.
A bay standing 16.1 hands, Hoist the Flag was a well-made, muscular but not blocky horse with a deep girth and an exceptionally fluid gait. His temperament was described as "opinionated" and "studdish," and he had a particular distaste for lead ponies, particularly ones with odd markings. As a stallion, his disposition reportedly degenerated to a point called "fearsome" by one observer, although Sarah Whitelaw of The Sporting Post stated he was "not a mean horse by any means."
According to Jockey Club records, Hoist the Flag sired 152 winners (59.6%) and 51 stakes winners (20.0%) from 255 named foals. Many of his progeny improved when moved to turf. Hoist the Flag is a Brilliant/Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings:
Per the American Racing Manual series:
Led the American broodmare sire list in 1987
Led the American juvenile sire list in 1981
4th on the American general sire list in 1978
Led the American broodmare sire list in 1987; 4th in 1986; 5th in 1988 and 1989
Alleged (USA), Delta Flag (USA), Flying Partner (USA), Grecian Banner (USA), Linkage (USA), May Day Eighty (USA), Nalees Flying Flag (USA), Sensational (USA), Stalwart (USA), Up the Flagpole (USA)
Broad Brush (USA), Flagbird (USA), Minstrel Glory (USA), Personal Ensign (USA), Personal Flag (USA), Prospectors Delite (USA), Runup the Colors (USA), Sacahuista (USA)
Foaled in Kentucky, Hoist the Flag was bred by John M. Schiff. He was bought by John Gaines as a weanling and was resold to Jane Forbes Clark, who purchased the colt for US$37,000 at the 1969 Saratoga yearling sale. He was trained by Sid Watters, Jr. Hoist the Flag entered stud in 1972 in Kentucky at Claiborne Farm and died there in 1980.
Hoist the Flag is inbred 5x5 to Pharos. He is a half brother to multiple stakes winner Deck Hand (by Cohoes) and to Off Bounds (by Court Martial), second dam of Grade 3 winner Birthday Song and third dam of Brazilian Group 2 winner Moustaki. He is also a half brother to Trim and Tidy (by Sea-Bird), dam of stakes winners Bold Navy (by Tentam) and Trim Colony (by Pleasant Colony) and third dam of Grade 3 winner Dancing Rhythm.
Wavy Navy is out of the Tourbillon mare Triomphe, winner of the 1951 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap over the fences. The next dam in the tail-female line, the Firdaussi mare Melibee, is a half sister to French stakes winner Metayer (by Fair Copy) and to Merveilleuse (by Fair Copy), dam of 1949 Prix de Minerve winner Musette (by Norseman).
"Dr. Jenny's Masterpiece," the story of Hoist the Flag's fight for life after his career-ending accident, is the 13th chapter of Peter Chew's The Kentucky Derby Story: The First 100 Years (1974, Houghton Mifflin Company).
The time of 1:21 Hoist the Flag hung up in winning the 1971 Bay Shore Stakes represented the fastest 7 furlongs ever run by a 3-year-old at Aqueduct up to that time.
During the surgery that saved Hoist the Flag's life, veterinary surgeons Jacques Jenny and William Reed made use of newly developed techniques in bone grafting and the use of screws and plates. Following the surgery, Hoist the Flag's broken hind leg was protected by the first-ever fiberglass cast, an innovation introduced to reduce the cast's weight and its stress on the muscles of the horse's hindquarters.
Following Hoist the Flag's surgery, the colt received over 1,000 get-well cards and letters. Jane Clark answered each one, including a photo of the colt with each reply.
Interest in Hoist the Flag's progress following his surgery was so high that the legendary Walter Cronkite provided an update during his newscast.
In a 2011 interview with BRISnet, jockey Jean Cruguet (who had also been the regular rider for Seattle Slew during that colt's Triple Crown season) called Hoist the Flag the best horse he had ever ridden, stating that Flag would have been a 1-9 shot to win the Triple Crown had he remained healthy.