Imp (horse)

Imp
Imp (foreground) running with Ethelbert in the 1900 Brighton Cup as painted by Henry Stull.
Sire	Wagner
Grandsire	Prince Charlie
Dam	Fondling
Damsire	Fonso
Sex	Filly
Foaled	March 5, 1894
Country	United States
Colour	Black
Breeder	Daniel R. Harness
Owner	1. Daniel R. Harness 2. John E. Madden
Trainer	Charles E. Brossman & Peter Wimmer
Record	171: 62-35-29
Earnings	$70,069
Major wins
Brighton Handicap (1899) Suburban Handicap (1899) Advance Stakes (1900) Monadnock Stakes Memorial Day Handicap Turf Handicap Austin Stakes
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1965) United States Horse of the Year (1899) U.S. Champion Female Handicap Horse (1899, 1900)
Last updated on April 12, 2010

Imp (1894–1909) was a pure black Thoroughbred racing filly with a white, diamond-shaped star between her eyes. She was sired by Wagner (GB) out of Foundling (by Fonso) and was foaled on March 5, 1894. Owned and bred by Daniel R. Harness of Chillicothe, Ohio, and trained by both Charles E. Brossman and Peter Wimmer (when she was seven), Imp's male line of descent was the great Eclipse. Imp, nicknamed "My Coal Black Lady" after a popular song of the day, was a bit of a homely-looking thing, the daughter of parents who each raced only once. Her sire won the Wilton Park Stakes in England but her dam was injured in her only start.

Imp, who began racing in Ohio and Kentucky, started out inauspiciously, winning four of eleven starts as a two-year-old. But by her second season she became the talk of the racing world by making fifty starts. She won only 14 of them, but was in the money 33 times. In her fourth season she was shipped to New York to challenge the big-name horses in the Suburban Handicap. She lost that first time, but returned the following year, 1899, and took the race. She was the first mare to ever win the $10,000 Suburban. All in all, Imp started in a grueling 171 races, coming in the money in 126 of them. She won 62 times, placed 35 times, and came in third 29 times. A sprinter as well as a stayer, My Coal Black Lady defeated the best males of her times. She also won the Brighton Handicap while giving nine pounds to champion Ethelbert. At six, she won the Advance Stakes by 30 lengths and set an American record for 1¾ miles.

Ridden in many of her races by future Hall of Fame jockey, Nash Turner, Imp's best races included:

When Imp returned to Chillicothe, Ohio for a visit, there was a band and a parade. The town declared it a public holiday. Of course the band placed My Coal Black Lady.

When Harness died in 1902, she was sold to John E. Madden. She produced five foals under his care, among them the stakes winner Faust and the winning colt Devilkin.

Extremely popular in the Gay Nineties, she retired at seven years of age, having set records at 1 1/16, 1¼, 1½ and 1¾ mile.