| Grecian Queen | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Heliopolis |
| Grandsire | Hyperion |
| Dam | Qbania |
| Damsire | Questionnaire |
| Sex | Filly |
| Foaled | 1950 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Dark Bay/Brown |
| Breeder | Ben F. Whitaker |
| Owner | Florence Whitaker |
| Trainer | James P. Conway |
| Record | 53: 12-8-8 |
| Earnings | US$323,575 |
| Major wins | |
| Astarita Stakes (1952) Demoiselle Stakes (1952) Marguerite Stakes (1952) Schuylerville Stakes (1952) Coaching Club American Oaks (1953) Gazelle Handicap (1953) Monmouth Oaks (1953) New Castle Handicap (1953) Prioress Stakes (1953) | |
| Awards | |
| American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (1953) | |
Grecian Queen (foaled in 1950) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by Dallas, Texas businessman Ben Whitaker and raced under the name of his wife Florence. A consistently good and durable runner at age two and three, she won at distances from five and one half furlongs to a mile and three eighths.
Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Conway, Grecian Queen made her racing debut as a 2-year-old at Fair Grounds Race CourseinNew Orleans with a fourth-place finish in a maiden special weight event. She went on to considerable success that year, winning the 1952 Demoiselle Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth,[1] the six furlong Astarita Stakes,[2] and the five and one half furlong Schuylerville Purse at racetracks in New York[3] as well as the mile and a sixteenth Marguerite StakesatPimlico Race Course.[4] Grecian Queen finished behind Sweet Patootie in the balloting for 1952 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors.
Grecian Queen was voted the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 1953 [5] in a year in which she won seven of twelve starts with wins in major races for fillies such as the Prioress Stakes.[6] Gazelle Stakes,[7] New Castle Handicap[8] and Monmouth Oaks,[9]AtBelmont Park she won the mile and three-eighths Coaching Club American Oaks, at the time the most important race in the United States for three-year-old fillies that was often called the fillies derby.[10]
Grecian Queen raced again at age four and five but could not win at the top levels with her best result a second-place finish in the 1954 Maskette HandicapatSaratoga Race CourseinNew York state.
Bred to stallions such as Royal Charger, Tudor Minstrel, Nashua, and Raise a Native, Grecian Queen's offspring had only limited success in racing.[11]
