Three-time World Champion Go Man Go died on October 14 [1983] at Buena
Suerte Ranch, Roswell, New Mexico at the age of thirty. The strawberry roan
stallion was sensational on the track, and he proved to be just as great a
sire as he was a runner. For several years he was the leading sire of money
earners, and he is the all time leading maternal grandsire [November 1983].
Go Man Go was bred by J.B. Ferguson of Wharton,
Texas. He was by the Thoroughbred Top Deck out of Lightfoot Sis, a daughter of
the Thoroughbred Very Wise.
As a two-year-old in 1955, he won nine times
and ran second once from 10 outs, earning $16,121 and taking the first of his
three consecutive World Champion titles. At three, he won 10 of 13 outs,
earning $29,431. At four, he had five firsts and three seconds from eight
tries, worth $26,821. At five he compiled a 1-4-2 record in 10 races for
$10,615. In his final season on the trrack as a six-year-old, he went 2-1-1
from six starts for $3,160.
In 47 lifetime starts, he put together a record
of 27 wins, nine seconds and three thirds, with earnings of $86,151, to be
leader of his day.
Jockey
Robert Strauss, who rode Go Man Go during most of his career, was
quoted in the April 1958 issue of the Quarter Horse Journal, "Go Man Go is in
my heart," he said. "He is a good natural horse. He loves to run at all times,
and I always get a thrill when riding him. But he does have funny ways. It is
terribly hard to gallop him with a grey pony because when he was a
three-year-old he fell in love with a grey pony and still remembers it."
Go Man Go did double duty, in the stud and on
the track after his four-year-old campaign. In 1959, before his small, first
crop had competed, Frank Vessels, Sr. and W.H. Peckham bought the young
stallion for the unheard of price of $125,000. Eventually Harriet Peckham
became the sole owner, and the horse stood at Buena Suerte Ranch during he
early seventies.
Go Man Go sired World Champions Goetta and
Go Josie Go
as well
as Dynago Miss, Miss Steam to Go, Whataway to Go, Go Derussa Go and Duplicate
Copy, who were all named Quarter Running Horse Champions. All-American
Futurity winners Hustling Man in 1962 and Goetta in 1963 were both sired by Go
Man Go.
From 942 foals and 778 starters, Go Man Go saw
555 of his babies reach Register of Merit standard. Among them were 83 stakes
winners and 63 stakes placed. Forty ran AAAT times, 272 ran AAA and 236 ran
AA. They had combined earnings of $7,629,895. Only Easy Jet and Dash For Cash,
whose babies .whose babies are running after today's much larger purses, have
sired with greater total earnings.
