Owned
by Bob Kleberg, patriarch of the King Ranch, and of straight
King Ranch Thoroughbred breeding, Woven Web was by Bold Venture,
the stallion which won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
in 1936. Woven Web, aka Miss Princess, was a highly
efficient racing machine, who began her racing career at Mexico
City in March 1945. Winning four of six starts, from
a quarter mile to five furlongs, Woven Web equaled the world
record of :27.2 at 550 yards while south of the Rio Grande.
Later running under the name “Miss Princess” on
tracks sanctioned by the American Quarter Racing Association,
she won 10 of 10 official outs and set a world record of :22
flat that stood for 33 years as the track mark at Del Rio,
Texas.
Perhaps
though her most famous race was against a seemingly unstoppable
Shue Fly, who throughout the 1940s nothing on the Quarter
tracks could touch her. A three-time world champion, she met
and defeated all who tried. On October 27, 1946 Woven
Web won a decisive victory in the Eagle Pass Championship,
clocking a :22.6 over a track no better than good. However,
so as far as Kleberg was concerned, nothing would be proven
until Woven Web ran at Shue Fly. That match took place on
May 3, 1947 and was one of the most anticipated races of the
time. Miss Princess was ridden by Pat Castile of Rayne,
and Earl Southern of California rode Shue Fly, both packing
111 pounds. Miss Princess pranced up the track and circled
in front of the packed grandstand in the post parade, while
Shue Fly strode with confidence under the talented hands of
a California jockey. From the time the gates flew open,
the Texas mare bolted to the front, with the New Mexico mare
a wink behind. Miss Princess was ahead at each of the
distances and and equaled Shue Fly’s record of :22.3,
winning by half-a-length of daylight.
Miss Princess was kept
at the King Ranch and was run against anything that was brought
in, and won everytime she was sent with Castile to the post.
She finally retired in mid-1948 when there was simply nothing
else to conquer or prove.*
*The
Quarter Racing Journal, April 1991
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