The origins of the ghost

The gray mare Molly J was 3/4 thoroughbred, but her daughter Mary Bales was a trotter like her sire Montjoy. In fact, Mary Bales turned out to be one of the best trotters in Circleville, Ohio for her owner Jesse Jones. When her racing career was over, Jones gave the mare to Zack Brewer. The new owner bred her to Zombro and in 1905 she gave birth to the pacing mare Zombrewer. The grey mare was an excellent racehorse and an even better broodmare.

Zombrewer raced at 3 but without success. In fact, she didn’t win a race until her final test as a four-year-old, pacing in 2:14 1/4 (1.23,4). The following year she found her groove, won a few races and reduced her record to 2:10 1/2 (1.21,1). That caused Aaron Williams to open his wallet and buy the mare from breeder Zack Brewer. The mare was then moved to trainer William L Snow, one of the top drivers at the time.

The move paid off. At 6, in 1911, Zombrewer completely ruled the roast. She swept all three heats of the Grand Circuit race at Indianapolis, winning the second in p2:04 1/4 (1.17,2), her record. In a race in Grand Rapids, MI, that year she won the first heat before her luck ran out. In the second heat, Zombrewer suffered an injury when a rival fell against her. Despite being in obvious pain, the grey mare finished admirably to finish third, but had to be withdrawn from the third heat.

In her comeback the following year she won her only race before she struggled a lot of on the track for two seasons. Zombrewer was then permanently retired to the broodmare ranks. At that time, she had a really good sister on the track. Interestingly enough, Mary Bales turned out to be a really good broodmare, because in addition to the pacing Zombrewer she also produced the very good trotting mare Wilkes Brewer 2:04 1/2 (1.17,4), by Nutwood Wilkes, born 1911.

A super broodmare

Zombrewer would also turn out to be an truly outstanding broodmare. She produced eight foals in 2:10 (1.20,8) list. Her best foal was the 2:02 1/2 (1.16,1) trotter Peter the Brewer, a son of Peter the Great, born 1918. Peter the Brewer was a good stallion and is found in many good trotters. He has still a tiny surviving sire-line in France through his son Calumet Delco, and the Spanish star Trebol hails from this line. Peter the Brewer is also the sire of the excellent Warwell Worthy, second in the 1935 Hambletonian and dam of Worthy Boy, the sire of Star’s Pride. Peter the Brewer is furthermore the sire of Lydia Knight and thus damsire to Little Brown Jug winner Knight Dream. Through another daughter, Tisma Hanover, he is also damsire to Hambo winner Titan Hanover. Many other daughters could be mentioned as well.

It was a full sister to Peter the Brewer that immortalized Zombrewer, though. From Peter the Great’s final crop in 1923, which counted 22 foals, Elizabeth was a broodmare at Almahurst Farm until her death in August 1945. She is a member of a very exclusive group of broodmares who has produced more than one Hambletonian-winning foals. According to Daniel J. McConville, in an article in the March 1983 edition of Hoof Beats, Elizabeth was “herself too unruly ever to get to the races. Henry Knight bought her from Walter Candler (she was named after Candler’s mother) for $2,500.” In 1932 Elizabeth gave birth to Greyhound, who beat the above-mentioned Warwell Worthy in the 1935 Hambletonian, and is one of the world’s best trotters of all time. Nine years later she gave birth to Yankee Maid, winner of the 1944 Hambletonian.

Getting old at Calumet

A few years after giving birth to Elizabeth, Zombrewer was sold. In 1924 William M Wright, having made his fortune on the Calumet Baking Powder Company, transferred his business to his son Warren to focus on his passion for horses. He purchased Fairland Farm and renamed it Calumet Farm. He also purchased the stallions Belwin, Justice Brooke and Peter the Brewer, plus numerous broodmares. One of these was Zombrewer, who was bought at the Laurel Hall Farm dispersal sale in 1925.

At Calumet, Zombrewer she gave birth to Justice Brewer, born 1927, and in the following two years the mares Calumet Brewer pT2:06 1/2 (1.18,6) and the double-gaited Calumet Cream 2:07 pT2:14 (1.18,9 pT1.23,3), both by Truax. Calumet Cream was a prolific broodmare with 11 foals and with a lasting impression. Numerous good trotters and pacers go back to her, including Dream of Glory and Not Afraid on the trotting side plus Santanna Blue Chip, Electric Stena and Moving Pictures on the pacing side.

Zombrewer and Elizabeth’s grey-white colors are still alive in trotting. Miss Greyhound, a full sister to Greyhound. She had a grey son, Silver Way by Dean Hanover, who was exported to Italy where he was a good aged trotter and stood stud for many years. Although he did not have a huge impact Silver Way got almost 400 foals here. Even today there are a few grey trotters in Europe whose coat color trace to Silver Way and further back to Zombrewer.

In addition to being a really good racehorse and a legendary broodmare, Zombrewer was also long-lasting, The mare was agile, irritable and sound well into mid-1941. When Warren Wright converted Calumet Farm to a thoroughbred farm, he sold off all trotters except three: the old spectacular broodmare trio Nervolo Belle, Sienna and Zombrewer, who were allowed to live out their life at the famed farm. In an article from January 1941, Calumet Farm manager Dan Mahany told how Zombrewer was doing at the tender age of 36, and it’s hard to not smile at his words: “We put the old gal in the field with some thoroughbred fillies and you ought to see her – she runs them around the paddock, snaps at them and scares them to death. (…) If they’d give her a special race for 36-year-olds, she’d win it easy, cause this old gal is in a class by herself.” Old age didn’t slow down Zombrewer, who clearly wasn’t the most pleasant to other horses. According to Mahany, “we had a racing filly almost develop into a jumper a couple of years ago. She was dead scared of Zombie and every time we’d put the old gal in the a field with her the young filly would head for the fence. She got to the point where she could almost jump it. She just doesn’t like runners, I guess.”

Nothing last forever, though. Her age caught up with her that fall, and Zombrewer died at Calumet Farm on Oct 6, 1941, 36 years old.

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