View source for Archworth

{{Short description|Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}}
{{Infobox racehorse
| horsename = Archworth
| image     = Archworth.tif
| caption   = Racehorse Archworth, 26 April 1939
| sire      = Worthmore
| grandsire = Thunderer
| dam       = Archipelago
| damsire   = Samoa
| sex       = [[Stallion (horse)|Stallion]]
| foaled    = 1936
| country   = [[Canada]]
| colour    = Chestnut
| breeder   = [[William Henry Wright]]
| owner     = [[George McCullagh]]
| trainer   = [[Mark Cowell]]
| record    = 47: 15-9-7
| earnings  = $31,234<ref name="EquibaseProfile">{{cite web|title=Archworth Profile|url=http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=17372&registry=T|website=www.equibase.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
| race      = [[Clarendon Stakes]] (1938)<br> [[Cup and Saucer Stakes]] (1938)
'''Canadian Triple Crown wins''':<br> [[King's Plate]] (1939) <br>[[Prince of Wales Stakes]] (1939)<br> [[Breeders' Stakes]] (1939)
| awards    = Champion 2 and 3 Year-Old Colt in Canada <br>[[Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|2nd Canadian Triple Crown Champion]] (1939 - retroactive)
| honours   = [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] (2014)
| updated   =
}}
'''Archworth''' (foaled 1936) was a Thoroughbred racehorse owned by ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' publisher [[George McCullagh]] that won the 1939 [[King's Plate]], [[Prince of Wales Stakes|Prince of Wales Plate]], and [[Breeders' Stakes]], races that were later designated as the [[Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Canadian Triple Crown]]. Archworth was inducted into the [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] in 2014.
==Background==
Archworth was a chestnut stallion bred in Ontario by [[William Henry Wright]].<ref name=CHoF /> His sire was the American stakes winner Worthmore,<ref>{{cite web|title=Worthmore Horse Pedigree|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/worthmore2 |website=www.pedigreequery.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref> who proved only moderately successful as a sire. Archworth's dam Archipelego was by Samoa, who was imported from Britain and became a moderately successful sire.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archworth Pedigree |url=http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Archworth?page_state=DISPLAY_REPORT&reference_number=17372&registry=T&horse_name=Archworth&dam_name=Archipelago&foaling_year=1936&include_sire_line=Y|website=www.equineline.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
Archworth was purchased as a yearling in 1937 by [[George McCullagh]], the publisher of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', for $500. He was trained by Mark Cowell.<ref name="CHoF">{{cite web|title=Archworth {{!}} Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame|url=http://horseracinghalloffame.com/2014/05/29/archworth/|website=horseracinghalloffame.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
==Racing career==
Archworth raced nine times at age two, with four wins<ref name=EquibaseProfile /> including the [[Cup and Saucer Stakes]] and [[Clarendon Stakes]]. He was named the Canadian champion two-year-old of 1938.<ref name=CHoF />
At age three, Archworth raced 16 times with five wins and three second-place finishes<ref name=EquibaseProfile /> and was named the Canadian champion three-year-old of 1939. He is best known for winning the [[King's Plate]] (known as the Queen's Plate when the sovereign is a female) in the first year in which the race was restricted to three-year-olds. It was the first time the Plate had been attended by the ruling monarch, [[King George VI]]. Archworth won in a "runaway affair" by ten lengths, and King George presented 60 gold-plated sovereigns and a gold-plated trophy to McCullagh. [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]] was impressed by the colt's front-running style, saying "Never have I seen a horse go out and take such a long lead and hold it." McCullagh gave credit to the colt's breeder, William Wright, saying: "It's a great day for me, but I am only the stuffed shirt who bought him for $500. My thrill is nothing at all compared to the joy in Bill Wright's heart. It's been a lifelong dream. When he came to this country from England he used to watch the races at Woodbine from a knothole in the fence. Standing there, he vowed that if he ever struck it rich, he would try to breed a winner of the Plate. The dream came true today. All the credit goes to Bill, to trainer Mark Cowell, and to jockey Denny Birley."<ref name=CHoF />
In 1939, Archworth also won the [[Prince of Wales Stakes|Prince of Wales Plate]] and [[Breeders' Stakes]]. In 1959, the [[Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing]] was formed using these races and the King/Queen's Plate, but only horses that won the races from 1959 onward were recognized as Triple Crown winners. It was not until 2014 that the early winners of the three races were retroactively acknowledged. Archworth then became known as Canada's second Triple Crown winner.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian Hall of Fame Honors Early TC Winners|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/113306/canadian-hall-of-fame-honors-early-tc-winners|website=BloodHorse.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
Archworth's later career was undistinguished, with only 1 win from 9 starts in 1940 and 5 wins from 13 starts in 1941.<ref name=EquibaseProfile /> In October 1940, he ran second in the Sennings Park Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. Similar to his performance in the King's Plate the year before, he opened a large lead down the backstretch. This time however he was caught in the stretch and lost by a head.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robert L, 17 to 5, Beats Archworth|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/10/16/issue.html|website=Times Machine - New York Times|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref> In 1941, he finished third in the Hendrie Memorial Handicap and Queen’s Cup Handicap and won the Maple Leaf Hockey Club handicap, an overnight night stakes.<ref name=CHoF />
==Retirement==
Archworth was retired to stud where he had an undistinguished career. Jockey Club statistics show he had 45 foals of whom 39 became runners with 24 winning at least one race. His most successful offspring was Victory Arch, who won 14 races from 38 starts, including the Prince of Wales Plate.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archworth Offspring|url=http://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/archworth|website=www.pedigreequery.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Victory Arch's pedigree, with stallion statistics|url=http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Victory%20Arch?page_state=DISPLAY_REPORT&reference_number=532370&registry=T&horse_name=Victory%20Arch&dam_name=Spion%20Crest&foaling_year=1946&include_sire_line=Y|website=www.equineline.com|accessdate=14 December 2016}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*  [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/the-1939-kings-plate-is-granted-a-royal-audience The 1939 King's Plate (includes link to radio broadcast covering the royal visit)]
[[Category:1936 racehorse births]]
[[Category:Racehorses bred in Canada]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in Canada]]
[[Category:Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winners]]
[[Category:King's Plate winners]]
[[Category:Thoroughbred family 10-d]]