Canadian Champ: The People’s Horse

Some time before the very first Thoroughbred yearling sale at Windfields Farm in 1954, a prominent Canadian owner named Bill Beasley arrived to inspect the youngsters on offer. While running his eyes over numerous well-pedigreed horses, a sturdy bay colt suddenly caught his attention. Later, when the little yearling was led into the auction ring, Beasley was quick to signal his interest. After a brief round of bidding, his offer stood as the final one.

In that moment, Beasley was filled with a sense of inevitability. “The first thought that came to my mind,” he had remarked, “was that I had bought a champ.” Inspired by his new horse’s regal bearing, Beasley bestowed a mighty name upon the unproven colt: Canadian Champ.

Born on May 15th, 1953, at E.P. Taylor’s National Stud, Canadian Champ appeared to have a great life ahead of him. His sire, Windfields, was swift enough to win the 1946 Breeders’ Stakes, prompting horsepeople to laud him as “the fastest horse ever bred in Canada.” The colt ’s dam, Bolesteo, was relatively undistinguished as a racehorse – over 15 starts she earned just one win – but she was the daughter of stakes-winning Argentinian import Filisteo.

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Initially, it seemed that Canadian Champ would wear the colours of his legendary breeder. A brilliant entrepreneur, financier, and inventor, Taylor had been involved in the husbandry industry since the age of 12, when he had started to breed and sell rabbits. After graduating to the thoroughbred industry, he quickly achieved success when his homebred, Epic, captured the 1949 King’s Plate (now the Queen’s Plate).

For reasons unknown, Taylor consigned Canadian Champ to a public yearling auction where Bill Beasley snatched him up for a mere $7,500. A businessman who accumulated a fortune through bingo games and children’s rides at midways, carnivals and amusement parks, Beasley immediately spied promise in the Champ and sent him to John Passero, a future Hall of Fame trainer, to prepare for the races.

Even before Canadian Champ made his first start, he endeared himself to the stablehands at Passero’s barn. Evidently impressed by the young colt, they began referring to him as “George.”

He didn’t disappoint. On June 21st, 1955, Canadian Champ made his first start in a five-furlong sprint at Old Woodbine. Forty minutes before the race, heavy rains drenched the track, but George wasn’t deterred by the difficult conditions. After streaking to the front at the outset, he humiliated his opponents to win by ten lengths, missing the Canadian record by just 1/5 of a second.

In a telling tribute, one writer remarked that Canadian Champ might be the best runner ever foaled in Canada. Eleven days later, the colt earned another victory at Fort Erie Racetrack, prompting Passero and Beasley to aim him at New York’s Troy Stakes. Despite racing at his third track in three weeks, George acquitted himself well, finishing a hard-fought second to Reneged, who himself had tied the four-furlong world record earlier that year.

Soon after the Troy, George narrowly missed winning Saratoga’s historic United States Hotel Stakes. Disappointingly, his luck temporarily deserted him. Two weeks later, Canadian Champ was entered into the lucrative Grand Union Hotel Stakes. After grabbing the lead in the early stages of the race, George faltered and was overtaken by several horses, causing him to finish outside the money.

Bill Beasley didn’t worry about Canadian Champ’s future for long. Following his third consecutive loss, George returned to Old Woodbine for the Coronation Stakes. Proving his racing prowess, Canadian Champ won by two lengths, barely missing the stakes record. Next, the colt was transported to Long Branch Racetrack, where he reeled off three stakes victories in the space of fourteen days.

After his exceptional 1955 season, George was recognized as Canada’s Champion Two-Year-Old (and the winter book Queen’s Plate favorite). Additionally, his year’s earnings of $51,480 were the greatest amount ever earned by a two-year-old in Canada. In the wake of the colt’s latest accomplishments, the stablehands felt compelled to revise his nickname. From then on, the grooms decided, they would call Canadian Champ “King George.”

After enjoying several months of rest, King George made his three-year-old debut in Old Woodbine’s Silver Strike Purse. Restrained during the early stages, the colt quickly bounded away to triumph by almost four lengths. His victory was achieved with breathtaking ease: “Canadian Champ,” one writer declared, “… beat four other three-year-olds without turning a hair.” King George quickly followed up this impressive race with another win.

With Canadian Champ in splendid condition, Beasley and Passero opted to send him to New Woodbine Racetrack, a magnificent $13-million racing facility that would host the Queen’s Plate. To prepare, the colt was entered into the Queen’s Plate Trial, which was held on the opening day of Woodbine’s inaugural meeting. The colt won easily, justifying his status as the prohibitive Plate favorite.

On June 16th, 1956, Canadian Champ, along with nine other horses, strode to the post for the Queen’s Plate. Sent off at 3-10 odds, the colt stalked the pace before seizing the lead after the first turn. None of the other horses stood a chance. Despite appearing, “to loaf a bit in the homestretch,” the champion effortlessly extended his advantage and won by 3-1/2 lengths. Better still, the victory represented Bill Beasley’s first Plate triumph – as well as the first for Canadian Champ’s teenaged jockey, David Stevenson.

(CHRHOF photo)

Two weeks later, King George thrilled his fans by establishing a new track record to win the Prince of Wales Stakes. With the Breeders’ Stakes still several months away, the colt continued to compete, racking up two more stakes victories before returning to Woodbine for the final leg of the Triple Crown. In a brilliant display of speed, Canadian Champ streaked to the front and held the lead to the wire, posting another track record. Although the Canadian Triple Crown wouldn’t become official until 1959, the star’s victory made him only the fifth horse in history to sweep the series.

Due to his outstanding campaign– capped off by a win in the Bunty Lawless Stakes– Canadian Champ was unanimously named the 1956 Horse of the Year. Although the star was less successful during his four-year-old season, he still managed to win three more stakes events before being permanently retired. Fittingly, his career total of $151,705 was the greatest amount ever earned by a Canadian racehorse.

The next chapter of Canadian Champ’s story returned to the place where it began. Five years after selling the champion to Beasley, E.P. Taylor repurchased him for $150,000 and brought him back to his thoroughbred operation (which had since been renamed Windfields Farm). To Taylor’s delight, Canadian Champ proved to be a sensational stallion after he sired Canebora, the winner of the 1963 Canadian Triple Crown, in his first crop. In addition, he fathered Titled Hero (a Queen’s Plate winner and champion); Canadillis (a winner of the Prince of Wales Stakes); and Des Erables (a multiple-stakes-winner).

In 1969, Canadian Champ was transferred to a stud operation in Japan, where he lived out the remainder of his life. Twenty-five years after his birth in Canada, King George passed away, leaving the memory of his incredible accomplishments and as the sire of champions.

His legacy was perhaps best explained by Beasley’s son, Warren. “He was the ‘people’s horse,’” he once said. “I remember the afternoon at the CNE when my dad was calling out the bingo numbers. In the middle of the game he got a call from the track saying that Canadian Champ had won a big stakes race. All the bingo players stood up, clapping and cheering. The people loved this horse.”