Champions of the 1920s Kentucky Derby
Paul Jones Beats Upset, Man o' War's Only Conqueror, in 1920 Derby
Apr 23, 2009
Paul Jones, a son of foreign Thoroughbred stock, was sired by Sea King, who was sired by Persimmon. This lineage led Paul Jones to the 1920 Kentucky Derby where he defeated the infamous Upset, a colt aptly named, for he had been the only horse to upset the growing legacy of Man o' War, later named No. 1 Horse of the Twentieth Century by The Blood-Horse magazine.
Jockey Ted Rice pushed Paul Jones to the front of the 1920 Derby field of seventeen, intent on staying there. Before Paul Jones carried Rice, he hadn't won in six starts. In the Derby, Paul Jones huffed and puffed and held off Upset by a head.
Previous to Paul Jones' Derby, the son of Sea King had twice lost to Man o' War.
Man o' War's owner, Samuel Riddle, didn't approve of pushing three-year-old colts to the Derby distance of 1-1/4 miles so early in their careers. So Man o' War, Horse of the Century, did not ship to 1920 Churchill Downs.
Kentucky Derby Champions 1920s
- 1920 --- Paul Jones ----- trainer, William Garth; jockey, Ted Rice
- 1921 --- Behave Yourself ----- H.J. Thompson --- Charles Thompson
- 1922 --- Morvich ----- Fred Burlew --- Albert Johnson
- 1923 --- Zev ----- D.J. Leary --- Earl Sande
- 1924 --- Black Gold ----- Hanly Webb --- J.D. Mooney
- 1925 --- Flying Ebony ----- W.B. Duke --- Earl Sande
- 1926 --- Bubbling Over ----- H.J. Thompson --- Albert Johnson
- 1927 --- Whiskery ----- F. Hopkins --- L. McAtee
- 1928 --- Reigh Count ----- Barney Mitchell --- Chick Lang
- 1929 --- Clyde Van Dusen ----- Clyde "Keys" Van Dusen --- L. McAtee
1920s Kentucky Derby Stories
By the time Man o' War's son, Clyde Van Dusen, came along in 1926, Samual Riddle had changed his tune about running in the Kentucky Derby. Clyde Van Dusen, named for his trainer, went to Churchill Downs in 1929 and claimed the roses with a two-length victory over the favorite, Blue Larkspur.
In 1928, Reigh Count started what would be a three-generation Derby championship. His son, Count Fleet, also won the Derby and sired another Derby champion, Count Turf.
Earl Sande, jockey on top of the heap in the 1920s and 1930s, wanted the mount on favorite Quatrain in the 1925 Derby, but didn't get it. He settled for mudder Flying Ebony, of little note, and won aboard the brother of Zev, with whom he had won in 1923.
The 1922 Derby featured a brother to Man o' War, My Play, who disappointed with a fifth place finish. The winner, Morvich, literally gave his all. He never ran another race.
Behave Yourself and Black Servant both charged to the finish in the 1921 Derby representing the powerful stable of owner-breeder Colonel Edward R. Bradley. A nostril separated them in reverse order of their finish in the Blue Grass Stakes several weeks earlier.
Bubbling Over made Colonel Bradley a three-time Derby winner in 1926. The son of North Star III scored over betting favorite Pompey, who finished fifth.
In the second most famous jockey-lock stretch run in the history of the Derby, Sande and McAtee went at each other aboard Whiskery and Osmand, respectively, in 1927, with Whiskery prevailing by a head as McAtee held on for dear life.
