Montrose was the name of a bay colt bred in Kentucky by Milton Young, and born in 1884. The horse was owned by the Labold brothers and trained for the racetrack by John McGinty, who had also trained Leonatus.1
In the spring of his third year, Montrose was one of seven horses entered in the thirteenth running of the Kentucky Derby. He carried 118 pounds, including African-American jockey Isaac Lewis.
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| | | Australian by West Australian
| | Waverly |
| | | Cicily Jopson
| Duke of Montrose | |
| | | Bonnie Scotland by Iago
| | Kelpie |
| | | Mare by Sovereign
Montrose -----------------------------------------------------------
| | | Voltigeur by Voltaire
| | Billet |
| | | Calcutta by Flatcatcher
| Patti | |
| | | Pat Malloy
| | Dora |
| | | Etta Jr by Bill Alexander
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Partly cloudy skies and a trace of precipitation made Derby Day 1887 hot (80 F) and humid.3 The track was rated fast as the seven contenters took their places. Fearless jockey Lewis (who would race in four consecutive Derbies, finishing 6th aboard Grimaldi in 1886, 5th on The Chevalier in 1888, and 6th on Sportsman in 1889) guided Montrose from the start, overtaking the leader, Jacobin, within the first quarter-mile of the race. Montrose lead the rest of the circuit and won by two lengths. Jim Gore (a son of Hindoo) placed second, and Jacobin finished third. The favorite, Banburg, managed a fourth-place finish, while the rest of the field (Clarion, Ban Yan, and Pendennis) hardly mattered. Montrose's time was 2:39.25 and he won $4200.4
Montrose's career was quite successful. Besides the Derby, he won the Great Western Handicap, the Free Handicap, the Cotton Exchange Stakes, the St. Leger Stakes, the Blue Ribbon Stakes, the Morrissey Stakes, the Kearney Stakes, the Distillers and Brewers Stakes, and the Cincinnati Hotel Handicap. He finished second in the Mechanics Stakes, Sheridan Stakes, Phoenix Stakes, Grand Prize of Saratoga, Boulevard Stakes, Merchants Stakes, and Kentucky Handicap. Also, he ran third in the Prospect Stakes, Moet and Chandon Stakes, Latonia Stakes, Excelsior Handicap, Free Handicap, Distillers and Brewers Stakes, and Latonia Derby. In a total of 51 races, Montrose accumulated 14 wins, 11 seconds, and 9 thirds, and he brought in $27,321.5
Notes:
1. The Blood Horse, http://tcm.bloodhorse.com
2. http://members.fortunecity.com/spiletta42/files2.html
3. NOAA, http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/climate/derby.txt
4. www.kentuckyderby.com
5. www.tbcprojects.com/career.php