Summing

For other uses, see Sum.

Summing (April 16, 1978 – October 10, 2008) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire.

Summing
Sire	Verbatim
Grandsire	Speak John
Dam	Sumatra
Damsire	Groton
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	April 16, 1978
Country	United States
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Charles T. Wilson Jr.
Owner	Charles T. Wilson Jr.
Trainer	Luis S. Barrera
Record	23: 7-5-1
Earnings	$615,096
Major wins
Pennsylvania Derby (1981) Hill Prince Stakes (1981) Pegasus Stakes (1981) Triple Crown race wins: Belmont Stakes (1981)
Last updated on September 28, 2007

Background

Summing was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by his owner Charles T. Wilson Jr. He was sired by Verbatim, a leading dirt performer whose wins included the 1969 Whitney Stakes. The best of his other progeny included Alphabatim and Princess Rooney. Summing's dam Sumatra was a high-class racemare whose wins included a division of the Santa Ysabel Stakes.

Racing career

Until the detection of a blood infection, Summing performed so poorly that he was dropped from graded stakes races and entered in an allowance race. Once the infection was found, he was unable to compete in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, although two weeks before the Belmont he was well enough to win the Pennsylvania Derby.

Trained by Luis Barrera, brother of American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer Laz Barrera, Summing is best known for his upset over U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt Pleasant Colony in the Belmont Stakes with George Martens aboard. He won the race in a time of 2:29, spoiling Pleasant Colony's bid for the Triple Crown, as Pleasant Colony ran wide in the turn and placed third, behind Highland Blade.

In the fall, Summing won the Pegasus Stakes, then finished second in the Super Derby.

Stud record

Summing was retired to Jonabell Farm, where he stood at stud until from 1982 to 1991. He was then sent to Getaway Farm in California. Summing was pensioned from study duties in September 2003 due to declining fertility and stood at the farm until he died in his sleep of natural causes at 30 years old in October, 2008.

His graded stakes race progeny include Epitome, Summer Matinee, and Matthews Keep.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Summing (USA), bay stallion, 1979

Sire Verbatim (USA) 1965	Speak John (USA) 1958	Prince John	Princequillo
			Not Afraid
		Nuit de Folies (FR)	Tornado
			Polle Nuit
	Well Kept (USA) 1958	Never Say Die	Nasrullah (GB)
			Singing Grass
		Bed O Roses (IRE)	Preciptic (GB)
			Pasquinade (GB)
Dam Sumatra (USA) 1969	Groton (USA) 1962	Nashua	Nasrullah (GB)
			Segula
		Register	Bimelech
			Expression
	Sunda Strait (USA) 1961	Aboukir (NZ)	Gold Nib (GB)
			Egyptian Rose
		Djambi	Djeddah (FR)
			Fairy Day (Family: 1-g)

• Summing was inbred 4 × 4 to Nasrullah, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.