Noble Kingdom was foaled in 1970. He was bred by Mrs. Mary Robertson in Oklahoma. Noble Kingdom was by Three Kingdoms, an unraced son of Princequillo. Three Kings sired stakes winners Pura U. P. R. and King Hoss in the United States. He was later exported to South America. Three Kings was the damsire of Peruvian graded stakes winners Kissing and Slovenia. He was also the damsire of Uruguayan stakes winner Tres y Dos.
Jeffs Jet, the dam of Noble Kingdom, was bred by Leslie Combs II in Kentucky. Jeffs Jet was by Jet Master, a multiple stakes winning son of Jet Pilot. Jet Master sired Thoroughbred stakes winners Sky Country and Mr. Clubhouse. He also sired 28 AQHA recognized foals. Jeffs Jet had formidable sprinters on both sides of her pedigree. Her dam, Require, was a race-winning daughter of Requested, the sire of Custus Rastus, Little Request and Suggested. Jeffs Jet made 78 starts and won 15 races. She produced four Thoroughbred foals for Thompson Bros. in Kentucky. Her foals This Little Piggy and Hey Hurry were race winners. Noble Kingdom was her fifth and final foal.
Noble Kingdom raced for his breeder under trainer Bob E. Arnett. As a two-year-old, he made three starts and won one race. At three, he won four starts and placed third in the Albuquerque Tribune Handicap in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1976, at age six, Noble Kingdom won five straight races at Sunland Park. On February 22nd, he won a 1 1/16-mile Allowance race. Seven days later, he won an 870-yard sprint against Quarter Horse company. At the time, he was the only Thoroughbred known to have won at those drastically different distances within a short timeframe. After that display of versatility, Noble Kingdom scored his first stakes victory in the 1976 Sunland Park Handicap. He was unanimously chosen as the Champion Horse of the Meet.
Later that year, Noble Kingdom moved to Ruidoso Downs where he won the Ruidoso Mile Handicap and placed second in the Ruidoso Sprint Championship Handicap. He was also named the Champion Thoroughbred of that meet. In 1977, Noble Kingdom was victorious in the Ruidoso Sprint Championship Handicap. He retired from racing that fall. His final race record was 55 starts, 19 wins, 8 seconds and six thirds, with $66,875 in earnings, which is the equivalent of about $360,000 today.
Noble Kingdom stood at Six R Farms in Odessa, Texas. His fee was $1,000 with special considerations to stakes winners and AAA producers. In his prime, Noble Kingdom stood 16 hands and weighed 1,250 pounds. His first foals were born in 1978. They shared his size and soundness.
Bryants Noble, a sorrel stallion bred by Lon Felts Jr., was Noble Kingdom’s first Quarter Horse stakes winner. He won the 1982 Villa Olds 870 Classic Stakes. Like his sire, Bryants Noble was versatile. He set new track records at Lubbock Downs for 330 yards and 870 yards. He also set a new track record at Rimrock Downs for 550 yards in 27.6 seconds. In total, Bryants Noble made 33 starts and won 15 races. He earned a Superior Race Horse award. Bryants Noble only sired 26 AQHA registered foals, but through his daughter Barbaras Mimi Doll, he appears in the pedigrees of 1D barrel horses Famous For Streakin, Jesscallmethefireman and Perk N Firewater.
King Afton Bar, a brown Quarter Horse stallion, was Noble Kingdom’s chief earner on the track. King Afton Bar won sixteen races, including the 1984 Savannah Swinger Handicap Series #1. He also earned a Superior Race Horse award. Other Racing Register of Merit earners by Noble Kingdom included Noble Hi, Bar Kingdom, Quick N Noble, Ethels Physique and Noble Starter. His best Thoroughbred runners were William and Mary and Kingdom’s Bet.
Meggies Bucks, a sorrel mare by Noble Kingdom, placed in the Top Ten in Stake Racing with Jennifer Brazil at the 2004 AQHA Youth World Show. None of his offspring earned a Performance ROM, but Twenty To Noble, Miss Mega Charge, Noble Starter, Quick Pursuit, Noble Mission, Colorado Countess and Noble Deck earned performance points.
In total, Noble Kingdom sired 238 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in 18 foal crops. They included 55 race winners, 36 ROM earners, three stakes finalists, two Superior Race Horse award earners and two stakes winners. They earned $362,202 on the track and earned 47.0 points in the arena. Those statistics do not include his Appaloosa offspring. His Appaloosa son Time Table was his most decorated runner. Time Table was the 1982 ApHC Champion Two-Year-Old Distance Colt, 1983 Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and 1984 Champion Four-Year-Old Colt!
Sons of Noble Kingdom only sired 32 AQHA registered foals. His daughters produced 183 AQHA registered foals that earned $186,105 on the track and 14.5 points in the arena. The Wicker Finn, a bay stallion by Sitting On Go and out of Battling Becky, was the highest earner out of a Noble Kingdom mare. The Wicker Finn won nine races and was the 1993 Texas Hi Point Three-Year-Old.
Noble Kingdom remained under the ownership of Mrs. Mary Robertson for the entirety of his life. His last foals were born in 1996 when he would have been 26 years old. Although he has few descendants alive today, Noble Kingdom’s toughness on the track makes him a Thoroughbred worth remembering!
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 