Vigil (foaled 1920) was an AmericanThoroughbredracehorse best known for winning the 1923Preakness Stakes in a performance theLos Angeles Times called "the most brilliant victory in the history of the Preakness."^[1]

Bred byArthur B. Hancock,^[2] Vigil was a bay horse sired by theHopeful Stakes winner Jim Gaffney.^[3] His dam, Vignola, was a great-granddaughter of the British mare Thoughtless, whose other descendants included the2000 Guineas winnerAdam's Apple.^[4] Vigil was purchased and raced byWalter J. Salmon, Sr. His trainer was futureU.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee,Thomas "T.J." Healey

Racing at age two, Vigil won for the first time on July 10, 1922, atEmpire City Race Track when he captured the Debut Purse for maidens under jockeyJames Butwell.^[5] He went on to win other minor races including a division of the Baldwin Purse atSaratoga Race Course under jockeyLavelle Ensor.

Overshadowed byRancocas Stable's Champion colt,Zev, Vigil entered 1923 well down the list of important three-year-old prospects. On April 30, 1923, he ran second toH. P. Whitney's filly, Enchantment, in the Carolina Purse atMaryland'sHavre de Grace Racetrack.

In the 1923U.S. Triple Crown series, thePreakness Stakes was run first and Vigil easily defeated Zev to win the May 13 race in a performance theLos Angeles Times called "the most brilliant victory in the history of the Preakness."^[1] The great Zev finished in twelfth place, more than twenty-five lengths behind Vigil. Zev was so soundly beaten that his trainerSam Hildreth decided not to run him in the upcoming May 19Kentucky Derby.^[6] However, Hildreth changed his mind and Zev won the Derby with Vigil finishing third behind runner-up, Martingale.

During the remainder of his three-year-old campaign, Vigil never returned to the form he had shown in the Preakness. Among his significant races, he finished third in theHavre de Grace Handicap and fourth in both theMerchants and Citizens Handicap and theLawrence Realization Stakes. Vigil returned to race at age four and five with little success.

• 1920 racehorse births
• Racehorses bred in Kentucky
• Racehorses trained in the United States
• Preakness Stakes winners
• Thoroughbred family 27-a

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata