Tom Be Wise was foaled on March 23rd, 1968. He was bred by Mrs. Pamela Firman and G. M. Humphrey in Kentucky. Tom Be Wise was by Tom Fool, one of the best sons of Menow. Tom Fool won 21 of his 31 starts. His biggest wins were in the Metropolitan Handicap, Suburban Handicap, Brooklyn Handicap, Whitney Handicap and Carter Handicap. He was the 1951 Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. In 1953, he swept the titles of Champion Older Horse, Champion Sprint Horse and Horse of the Year. Tom Fool sired more than thirty stakes winners, including Buckpasser, Silly Season, Tim Tam and Tompion. His sons Are You Foolin’ Me, Lord Tomboy, Motor City, Saltville, Tom Pippin, Tomoy, Venetian Jester and What’s Cookin sired Quarter Horses.
Mumtaz, the dam of Tom Be Wise, was bred by North Cliff Farm in Virginia. She was by Mahmoud, the 1936 English Champion Three-Year-Old Colt. Mumtaz made 15 starts and won 6 races. She produced eleven Thoroughbred foals for Firman and Humphrey. Her first foal, Dancing Dervish, defeated Gun Bow by nearly five lengths in his only start at Hialeah. Dancing Dervish went on to sire 208 AQHA recognized foals, including stakes winners Dancing Butler, Native Empress, and Gray Dancer. Mumtaz’s foals Come Hither Look and Indian Sunlite were stakes winners. Come Hither Look later produced multiple graded stakes winner Prize Spot. Mumtaz’s daughter Indian Queen produced multiple graded stakes winner Screen King. Mumtaz produced her final foal in 1971 at the age of 17. She is still prominent in the pedigrees of Thoroughbred racehorses today.
As a two-year-old, Tom Be Wise made seven starts and was never better than third. He won one race at three. He made 29 starts during his four-year-old campaign. His final race record was 48 starts, 2 wins, 7 seconds and 6 thirds, with $24,228 in earnings, which is the equivalent of about $190,000 today.
Despite his mediocre record, Tom Be Wise still garnered attention from Quarter Horse breeders. His half-brother, Dancing Dervish, had already established himself as a sire of Quarter Horse stakes winners. Tom Be Wise was well-made and, unlike his brother, sound. He was purchased by Jack Stowers and stood at the Cimarron Ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma. His first foal crop included Racing Register of Merit earners Head of the Class and Wise Johnny.
Jack Byers saw so much promise in Tom Be Wise that he took Possumjet, winner of the 1972 All American Futurity, to the junior stallion. The resulting foal, Wisejet, made seven starts and won one race. Wisejet was later purchased by Jeffery T. Rutland. She produced twelve foals, including Pacs Miss Possumjet, a Racing ROM earner. Pacs Miss Possumjet was the dam of Dealing An Ace, a stallion that sired 1D barrel horse Blondies Dy Na Mite and AQHA Breakaway Roping World Champion CH Talent. Pacs Miss Possumjet was also the dam of graded stakes contender Pacs Miss Driver.
In 1978, Missle Shot, a Quarter Horse mare by Tom Be Wise, ran second in the Boomer Sooner Futurity at Blue Ribbon Downs. Missle Shot went on to produce six AQHA registered foals, including Victory Shot, the 1986 Mexico Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. Her foals Big Shot Bug and Shot From the Sky were Racing ROM earners. Wise Or Knott, another Quarter Horse mare by Tom Be Wise, placed third in the 1981 Kansas Bred Futurity at Gateway Downs. Wise Or Knott went on to have two Quarter Horse foals, of which, Knott Chromed was a Racing ROM earner. Walkawise Lass, a Thoroughbred mare, was the only stakes winner by Tom Be Wise. Walkawise Lass the 1982 Delta Downs Southern Belle Classic. Walkawise Lass was later exported to Australia where she produced a few Thoroughbred foals.
Wise One, a sorrel mare, was the leading point earner by Tom Be Wise. Kelley Watts Rampey showed Wise One at the AQHA Youth World Show four times. In 1988, they won the World Champion Hunter Hack title. They also won the Reserve World Champion Working Hunter title three times and placed fourth in Show Jumping twice. Altogether, Wise One earned 125.5 performance points. Im A Wise Man, a sorrel gelding by Tom Be Wise, earned points too.
In total, Tom Be Wise sired 120 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in thirteen foal crops. They included 35 race winners, 32 ROM earners, five stakes finalists and one stakes winner. They earned $190,636 on the racetrack and 128.5 points in the arena.
Sons of Tom Be Wise sired more than one hundred foals. His son Long Tall Tom sired 65 AQHA registered foals, including a few performance point earners. Daughters of Tom Be Wise produced 120 Quarter Horse foals that earned $140,753 on the racetrack and 334.0 points in the arena. Wise American, a bay gelding by American Jet and out of Lady Bugs Wise, was the chief earner out of a Tom Be Wise mare. Wise American won 26 of his 71 starts and earned $65,528. Lady Bugs Wise also produced The Ruidoso Scandal, a Performance ROM earner.
Riva Shadow, a brown gelding by the Thoroughbred stallion Encoriva and out of Bonnies Shadow, was the leading point earner out of a Tom Be Wise mare. Riva Shadow and Bobbi Theisen placed sixth in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle at the 1990 AQHA World Show. He earned Superior Hunter Under Saddle awards in the Open and Amateur divisions. Cool Mizzou, a sorrel gelding by Rohan and out of Imgoingaway, by Tom Be Wise, placed sixth in Green Working Hunter at the 1998 AQHA World Show and earned a Performance ROM.
Little Bit Wise was probably the best-producing daughter of Tom Be Wise. Little Bit Wise was the dam of nine AQHA registered foals, including point earners A Little Bit Classy, Heza Little Classy and Cools Wise Guy. Her daughter Impressively Wise earned 48.0 halter points. Impressively Wise went on to produce Cluition, the 1993 AQHA World Champion Two-Year-Old Stallion. Cluition was also the 2000 High Point Senior Halter Stallion. He earned Halter and Performance ROMs and an AQHA Champion title. Cluition became a leading sire of Halter ROM earners. Fifty of his 205 AQHA registered foals were point earners with 2,658.0 Halter and Performance points, 44 Halter ROM earners, 17 Superior Halter award earners, 4 World Champions, 3 Reserve World Champions and 3 High Point award winners.
The last foal by Tom Be Wise, Western Coffee, was foaled in 1986 when he would have been 18 years old. Although his impact on the western industry was minimal, he still has a few descendants competing in racing, halter and performance events today!
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, The Quarter Horse Journal, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 