Pedigree

Man o' War is a direct patrilineal descendant of the Godolphin Arabian, considered to be one of three foundation sires of the Thoroughbred breed of racehorses. Godolphin Arabian and the mare, Roxana whose dam was a daughter of Ankaster Turk, another foundation sire), produced Cade, who appears twice in Man o' War's lineage. Cade was bred to a "Mare-oo-Mare" by Ankaster Turk to produce Matchem, who also appears twice in the lineage. The "name" of the mare means she was out of a mare who had been sired by Ankaster Turk.

Matchem was bred to Diana, who produced Snap Mare. Matchem was later mated with Snap Mare, his own daughter. He was also bred to Molly Long legs, producing Giantess, contributing to the matrilineal side.

Man o' War is 16 generations down sire to sire, from the Godolphin Arabian, in a direct line. In fact, all the foundation sires are in his lineage. One of his most notable ancestors was Spendthrift. Spendthrift was noted for producing a great number of fast runners. One of those runners was Hastings. Hastings had lightning speed, but his energy was directed at attempting to attack the other horses in the races. He hated people as well. He was retired early and sent to stud where he became the top sire in America. Hastings' son, out of Fairy Gold, was Fair Play.

Not vicious, like his sire, he was moody. When he felt like it, he had great speed, but he hated the track and eventually just refused to race.

Hoping to temper the hot blood of Hastings and Fair Play, August Belmont bred Fair Play to a mare named Mahubah, sired by a mild-tempered stallion named Rock Sand. Their first pairing produced a speedy filly named Masda, who earned a reputation for being extremely difficult to handle. The second pairing produced Man o' War.

To browse through Man o' War's extensive lineage, you can view it at Horse Racing Nation.