Summer Squall (March 12, 1987 – September 22, 2009) was an Americanthoroughbredracehorse andsire, best known for his win in the1990 Preakness Stakes, and his rivalry withUnbridled, whom he defeated in four of their six meetings. He later became a successful breeding stallion siring theKentucky Derby winnerCharismatic.

Summer Squall was sired byStorm Bird, a son of 1964Northern Dancer, "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history." His dam was Weekend Surprise, who was also the dam of 1992United States Horse of the YearA.P. Indy. Weekend Surprise's dam Lassie Dear was also the direct female-line ancestor ofDuke of Marmalade,Lemon Drop Kid andRuler of the World. Weekend Surprise is also the daughter of Triple Crown winner Secretariat.^[1]

Bred and born on the land that becameLane's End Farm inVersailles, Kentucky, byW.S. Farish III & W.S. Kilroy, Summer Squall was trained byNeil J. Howard and ridden byNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame jockeyPat Day.

Racing at age two, Summer Squall went undefeated in all five of his starts. As a three-year-old in 1990, he became known for his rivalry withUnbridled. They met six times at ages three and four, with Summer Squall winning three of those races, including theBlue Grass Stakes, and finished ahead of Unbridled in one other, the 1991Pimlico Special.^[2]

At Kentucky Derby post time, Summer Squall was sent off as thebettors' second choice behindMister Frisky, a colt fromPuerto Rico who had won a record sixteen straight races coming into the Derby including victories inCalifornia in theSan Rafael andSan Vicente Stakes and the importantGrade ISanta Anita Derby. Running six lengths back, Summer Squall made a move as the field turned into the stretch for home butUnbridled came with him, then pulled away to win.Pleasant Tap finished third with Mister Frisky eighth.

Summer Squall won thePreakness Stakes by 21⁄2 lengths. In beating Unbridled, his 18 seconds for the final 3/16 of a mile was the fastest in Preakness history. Summer Squall had bled quite a bit during his racing in Florida and requiredLasix to deal with the problem. However, Lasix was still banned inNew York in 1990, so he did not race in theBelmont Stakes, in which rival Unbridled finished fourth without the use of Lasix. Summer Squall went on to win the Grade IIPennsylvania Derby with the use of Lasix, but he bled again while finishing off the board and far back in theMeadowlands Cup.

Summer Squall competed at age four in 1991, and though he never won another Grade I, he won theFayette Handicap; then inChicago atArlington Park, he ran second toBlack Tie Affair in theWashington Park Handicap. He also finished second toFarma Way in the then-Grade IPimlico Special.

Summer Squall was aridgling, meaning that he had an undescended testicle. However, this did not preclude him being used at stud. He stood atLane's End Farm until he was pensioned in 2004 due to fertility problems. He was euthanized in September 2009 from infirmities of old age.^[3]

The sire of thirty-five stakes winners, Summer Squall produced offspring that included:

• Charismatic - 1999Kentucky Derby winner, 1999American Horse of the Year
• Storm Song - won 1996Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies,American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly
• Summer Colony - millionaire filly, multiple stakes winner including the Grade IPersonal Ensign Handicap
• Summer Mis - 2003 Illinois Horse of the Year

Summer Squall is also the damsire ofStevie Wonderboy and ofSummer Bird, winner of the 2009Belmont Stakes.

• 1987 racehorse births
• 2009 racehorse deaths
• Racehorses bred in Kentucky
• Preakness Stakes winners
• American Grade 1 Stakes winners
• Thoroughbred family 3-l

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata