Bar Admiral was foaled on April 18th, 1957. He was bred by Sidney H. Vail of Temecula, California. Vail raised Bar Admiral to be a possible successor to his AQHA Hall of Fame sire, Three Bars. Bar Admiral was out of Epaulettes, a race-winning mare by Grand Admiral and out of Fair Brown, by Black Toney. Vail purchased the mare from Homer Pettigrew of Arizona. Over the course of a decade, Vail bred her to four of his Thoroughbred stallions – Three Bars, Lucky Bar, Norooz and Judge Hand. She produced race winners Bar Admiral, Lucky Paul, Bay Pigeon, Handettes and Judge Paul from those crosses. Epaulettes’ last foal, a chestnut stallion, was named Sid Vail after the great horseman himself. Out of her five sons, Bar Admiral was the most successful at stud.
In 1959, Bar Admiral made two starts and won one race. He made two more starts as a three-year-old but did not hit the board. In total, he won $1,485 on the track, which is equivalent to about $15,000 today. Although his race record was unremarkable, he was said to have been one of the fastest Thoroughbred sons of Three Bars. For that reason, Vail kept Bar Admiral in his breeding program for a few years. His first foals arrived in 1961. They possessed his speed, conformation, and athleticism. Thomasina Bar, the first filly by Bar Admiral, set a new track record at Pocatello Downs for 350 yards in 18.170 seconds. Snuffy Bar, a gelding from Bar Admiral’s first foal crop, earned halter and performance points.
A few years later, Red Bar Nellie, a sorrel mare by Bar Admiral and out of Silver Nell, by Silver King, became his top performer. She earned 33.0 halter points and 20.5 performance points. She also earned 8.0 youth halter points and 35.0 youth performance points. In 1968, Red Bar Nellie earned Performance ROMs in the Open and Youth divisions. She also earned an AQHA Champion title. Other performance ROM-earners by Bar Admiral included Duggie Bar, Miss Admiration, Bars of Leo, Squaw’s Admiral, Admiral’s Gay Bar, Sowega’s Admiral and Admirals Robin. His racing ROM-earners included Admiral Man, Lil Misty Bars, Admiral’s Tower, Juanita Nina, Bar Butler, Tay Rebel’s Jan, Bald Princess, Admiral Jo, Fleet Admiral, Exotic Bars and Jag’s Bar Admiral.
In 1965, Bar Admiral was sold to Ohio. He was later purchased by W. P. Steele to stand at Herb Monroe’s Training Center in Mocksville, North Carolina. His final move was to Gene and Gweneth McDonald’s ranch in Oregon. Throughout his 21 years at stud, Bar Admiral sired 94 registered Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals. They included 28 ROM-earners, 26 point-earners, 21 race winners, three stakes contenders, one Superior Race Award earner and one AQHA Champion. In total, his offspring earned $66,845 on the track and 338.0 points in the arena.
His sons Bar Bam, Boy Admiral and Rusty Bar Boy sired a handful of Quarter Horses. Daughters of Bar Admiral produced 112 registered Quarter Horse foals. They included 36 point-earners and 32 ROM-earners. Pagan Gold, a daughter of Bar Admiral, produced two stakes winners – Miss Rugged Nugget and Pagans Pride. Pagan Gold also produced Liberty Goldmine, a Performance Champion in the youth division. Miss Adoration, another outstanding mare by Bar Admiral, produced four performance ROM-earners, including Hotrodders Promise, a World Show qualifier, All-Around winner and NSBA money-earner. Other performance ROM-earners out of Bar Admiral mares included Walkers Singh and My Miser.
While Bar Admiral was not the most prolific Thoroughbred son of Three Bars, he was still significant in his ability to sire talented performers from a limited number of foals.
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, The Quarter Horse Journal, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 