THOSE DASHING DERBY BABIES! Kentucky Derby 2012

As the press fills with stories, hunches and reports about our 2012 Derby contenders, THE VAULT offers some “fun facts,” together with a focus on the tail female of the Derby favourites. 

Churchill Downs, 1901: Echoes of a proud history.....

With all the hoopla in the last few weeks before the Kentucky Derby, it’s easy to forget that just to make the list of the Top Twenty starters, out of thousands of thoroughbreds born in 2009, makes each one of our 2012 Derby contenders a special kind of baby — no matter what happens on May 5. And our dashing Derby prospects are babies — meaning that they still have a lot to learn, some maturing to do and, for at least 40% of the field, have yet to show what they’ve really got. After all, just like it is among human babies, not every individual is going to be precocious.

This article from THE VAULT concentrates on a few fun facts with which Derby fans can compare these exceptional colts, beginning with their respective Dosage Index (DI) and Centre of Distribution (CD).

To help those new to the business of handicapping, we need to stress that both the DI and CD of any thoroughbred are, in actuality, trends used by breeders more than “facts” per se. What we mean by this is that both DI and CD are attempts to consolidate pedigree information along the lines of stamina and speed influences. The CD and DI of a thoroughbred are tied to the influences of chef-de-race stallions found in a horse’s pedigree over the first 4 generations. But influences are just that and no more than that — even the great Secretariat’s speed-stamina profile did not quite capture what he showed us on the track!

"Little Big Red" (Available at secretariat.com)

A thoroughbred’s Dosage Profile, from which its DI and CD derive, is calculated based on the number of stamina-speed sire influences of chefs-de-race in a thoroughbred’s pedigree. There are five categories: Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid and Professional, with “Brilliant” denoting a preference for shorter distances (speed influence) and “Professional,” longer distances (stamina influence). Horses classified as “Classic” have an almost-equal speed and stamina ratio. The numbers assigned in all 5 categories (even if 1 or more are 0) constitute the Dosage Profile. Then, through a numerical ponderation formula, the DI and CD are calculated and they indicate a trend represented by a ratio of stamina-to-speed influences that may (or may not) indicate the conditions under which a horse does best. The higher the DI or CD, the greater the speed influence. 

So let’s begin by looking at the DI of several 2012 Derby contenders.

Dullahan registers the highest DI at 4.20.

Went The Day Well registers the lowest DI at 1.91, indicating a stamina-longer distance preference, based on sire influences. Photo and copyright, The Blood-Horse.

Other than Dullahan, Derby contenders with a DI ratio that seems to favour speed and shorter distances include Hansen and Prospective, the latter currently listed at #15 in graded stakes earnings. Other than Went The Day Well, those Derby babies whose DI ratio shows a stamina- longer distance profile include Creative Cause @ 1.43, Alpha @ 1:67, I’ll Have Another @ 2.11, Union Rags @ 2.14, Done Talking @ 2:33, Daddy Nose Best @ 2:43 and El Padrino @ 2:60, with both Gemologist and Sabercat @ 2:73. Contenders with sire influences that indicate a speed-stamina balance  (DI 3:00) are Bodemeister, Daddy Long Legs, Isn’t He Clever, Liaison, Mark Valeski, Take Charge Indy and Trinniberg. One of the most famous examples of a Derby winner with a DI of 3:00 was the great Secretariat.

Will he or won't he? Trinniberg's owner only decided to send his colt to Louisville late last week.

There are two Derby contenders that show a distinct speed-shorter distance CD: Daddy Long Legs @ 1.11, with both Isn’t He Clever and Trinniberg @ 1:00.

Coolmore's Daddy Long Legs, another son of Scat Daddy, holds the highest CD @ 1:11.

The lowest CD belongs to Creative Cause @ 0.29, with Alpha @ 0.44, I’ll Have Another @ 0.50, Went the Day Well @ 0.56, Liaison @ 0.60 and Take Charge Indy @ 0.66 rounding out the top six horses in the field whose pedigree favours stamina and longer distance.

If we look again at Triple Crown Winner Secretariat, whose CD was 0.90, those Derby babies of 2012 who come closest to this figure are Daddy Nose Best @ 0.83, Mark Valeski @ 0.88, followed by the undefeated Gemologist and Hansen @ 0.89, with Dullahan @ 0.92.

(But when we look at the CD’s of the other 10 Triple Crown winners, we also see just how misleading this kind of information can be if used as the sole criteria for picking a Derby winner: Sir Barton @ 1.00, Gallant Fox @ 0.57, Omaha @ 0.75, War Admiral @ 0.52, Count Fleet @ 0.25, Whirlaway @ 0.10, Assault @ 0.46, Citation @ 0.04, Seattle Slew @ 0.68 and Affirmed @ 0.55. Then add, for good measure, Man O’ War @ 1.17, Alydar @ 1.10 and Little Current (whom many feel should have won the Triple Crown) @ 0.22 and one sees that while the CD is a useful indicator of the ratio of speed-to-stamina in an individual’s pedigree, it can also prove very dodgy for punters!)

Impressive winner of the Arkansas Derby, Bodemeister, registers a CD of 0.72 which comes close to a speed-stamina balance, with a slight edge on speed.

Neither a high nor a low DI and/or CD make any Derby contender better or worse. Rather, these trends should be taken as one way of looking at the compatibility between a horse’s pedigree and what will be asked of him on that first Saturday in May.

Which colts are coming out of the gate with the most number of starts or, put another way, the greatest amount of racing experience?

Daddy Nose Best, with 10 starts under his belt, is the most experienced in the field. Creative Cause, Dullahan and Sabercat come next, with 8 starts apiece. The least experienced runner, in terms of number of starts, would be Bodemeister who has only run 4 times and was unraced at 2. Lightly-raced horses with only 5 starts are Gemologist, I’ll Have Another, Mark Valeski, Daddy Long Legs and Went The Day Well. At 6 starts apiece we find Hansen, El Padrino, Alpha, Union Rags and Take Charge Indy.

The handsome El Padrino comes into the Derby with 6 previous starts under his belt, a figure he shares with the likes of Alpha, Union Rags, Hansen and Take Charge Indy.

The trainer with the most Derby wins is Bob Baffert. And his experience as a trainer of Derby winners is going to be an invaluable asset to Bodemeister. How a colt is trained is paramount to realizing its full potential and, in a 20-horse field, it seems certain that only those (precocious) colts who can win from a variety of tactical positions have the best chance. Keeping in mind, of course, that pulling a poor post position can be equally damaging to an otherwise good colt’s chances of winning. Still, we doubt the prospects of a one-style racehorse in general — unless they’re Zenyatta — and especially on the Triple Crown trail, since it’s too easy for other trainers and jockeys to strategize a way of beating them.

Given his Derby experience, Bob Baffert will undoubtedly have a racing strategy on the first Saturday in May!

One perspective on our Derby hopefuls that gets little popular press is the matrilineal influence in their pedigrees. The latest research tells us that the dams of our Derby babies are at least as important an influence upon their potential as are their sires. Specifically, mitochondrial DNA — passed undiluted from a mare to her offspring, whether filly or colt — has a decisive influence on lung capacity and, as a result, on just how far and how fast that baby will go.

In a Derby field that is being praised as one of the deepest in many years, it’s striking to see the high percentage of favourites who boast a strong tail female. Too, the pervasive influence of Mr. Prospector, Secretariat and Northern Dancer is noteworthy, reminding us that, as John Sherrifs said in an interview before the 2010 Breeders’ Cup “…it has taken 300 years to produce the thoroughbred of today.”

Union Rags (Dixie Union ex. Tempo)

Union Rags’ pedigree shows inbreeding to Northern Dancer (3 X4), Mr. Prospector (3 X 4) and Native Dancer (5 X 5). His broodmare (BM) sire is Gone West, whose own BM sire is Nijinsky II. Gone West descends from Secretariat through a daughter, Secrettame. The colt is a potential candidate for the large heart X through his dam, who traces back to both the Princequillo sire line through Gone West and the Blue Larkspur sire line through Nijinsky. This makes Tempo a “double copy” mare with twice the chance of passing down a large heart X trait to either a son or a daughter. Union Rags’ tail female is a strong one, filled with names (other than those already mentioned) like Bull Page and his daughter, Flaming Page (who produced both Nijinsky and Fleur, the dam of The Minstrel) as well as Nearctic and the incomparable Hyperion. And these are powerful influences that hint what Tempo’s bloodlines carry to her accomplished son. Like many of our 2012 Derby babies, Union Rags’ tail female is indeed a “work of art.”

An adorable Union Rags at 2 days old. A royal baby with a royal bloodline.

Hansen (Tapit ex. Stormy Sunday)

Hansen is inbred to Mr. Prospector (4 X 5) and Raise A Native (4 X 5). His BM sire is Sir Cat, a son of Storm Cat who was sent to Chile. Next to his connection to Hansen, Sir Cat’s most successful progeny to date is the millionaire Surf Cat, who stands in California. Hansen is a potentially large heart X candidate, since his dam traces back to the War Admiral sire line. However, Hansen is only the second offspring of Stormy Sunday, so it is hard to guess at her influence as a single copy mare (one with a 50% chance of passing a large heart on to a son). However, Hansen’s tail female is loaded with talent. Storm Bird, a 2 year-old champion in the UK and the sire of Summer Squall, Belmont Stakes winner Temperance Hill, as well as Storm Cat (Storm Bird ex. Terlingua, Secretariat’s daughter) and Private Account, the sire of the great Personal Ensign, appear within the first 4 generations of Hansen’s pedigree. All this makes him an interesting individual to watch throughout the Triple Crown series, since there is a lot going on in his pedigree that makes him a bit of a wild card — in the very best sense!

Hansen as a foal with his dam, Stormy Sunday.

Gemologist (Tiznow ex. Crystal Shard)

Gemologist is inbred to Northern Dancer ( 3 X 5 X 5) and Native Dancer (4 X 5). His broodmare sire is none other than the mighty Mr. Prospector, whose exploits as a sire hardly need to be expounded here and who may very well have more to do with Gemologist’s coming into the Derby as an undefeated colt than his sire, the great Tiznow. Although Gemologist is her most successful progeny to date, Crystal Shard’s offspring have all raked up earnings save for one, making her a fairly consistent producer of decent horses, due to the influence of her own BM sire, Northern Dancer. Although not linking back to a large heart X sire line, Gemologist boasts a very strong tail female. His dam’s “credentials” are impeccable, even if her Derby darling is the only millionaire among her offspring. As well, Gemologist’s pedigree on the bottom over 4 generations includes Raise A Native, the sire of not only Mr. Prospector, but also Alydar and Majestic Prince, as well as Exclusive Native, who sired Affirmed.

The undefeated Gemologist boasts a very impressive female family -- and a sire noted for his heart and determination!

Dullahan (Even The Score ex. Mining My Own)

Dullahan is inbred to Mr. Prospector (3 X 5) and Raise A Native (4 X 5). His sire, Even The Score, is a useful son of Unbridled’s Song whose best progeny to date, other than Dullahan, is Take The Points. Although the colt cannot lay claim to a large heart X influence, his dam is very accomplished in her own right — of 4 foals, she has already produced a Kentucky Derby winner in Mine That Bird. Dullahan also bears a rather striking resemblance to his dam, another reason to suspect a prevailing influence from his tail female in his pedigree. Dullahan’s BM sire is the fabulous Smart Strike, sire of champions Curlin, English Channel, Fleetstreet Dancer, Lookin’ At Lucky, Soaring Free, Papa Clem and Tenpins. Smart Strike is considered to be Mr. Prospector’s “all-weather” son, a definite plus in Dullahan’s favour come Derby Day. As well, Smart Strike has shown himself to be a very good BM sire influence. Other than these individuals in his beautiful pedigree, Northern Dancer and his son, Vice Regent, Raise A Native and Classy N’ Smart, dam of Canadian Triple Crown winner, Dance Smartly and champion Smart Strike round out the significant influences in Dullahan’s tail female. Note that each of these influences in his female family carry a promise of scope, soundness and distance, making the handsome chestnut son of Mining My Own a horse to watch.

Dullahan has a mighty tail female and even as a yearling, looked like a descendant of his BM sire, Smart Strike.

Bodemeister (Empire Maker ex. Untouched Talent)

Our boy Bode is inbred to Northern Dancer (4 X 4), Secretariat (4 X 5) and In Reality (4 X 5). His sire, Empire Maker, is an impressive individual with  an impressive bloodline that includes both Unbridled and Toussaud. Toussaud was the winning daughter of the talented El Gran Senor, a Northern Dancer son who was trained by the great Vincent O’Brien and campaigned in the UK. As gutsy as was his BM sire, Bode’s dam was a winning daughter of Storm Cat, whose own broodmare sire is the mighty A. P. Indy. In other words, Bode’s tail female reflects a strong dose of the powerful Northern Dancer-Secretariat nick and this bodes well for Bode! Untouched Talent is a double copy mare for the large heart X, since both her sire and dam trace back to the Princequillo sire line through Secretariat. Indeed, of all the colts who go to the gate that first Saturday in May, it is Bodemeister who carries the most influence of Big Red in his pedigree. As well, his tail female includes Seattle Slew and Roberto, both mighty sires in their own right. Is this boy the “real deal”? How could he not be!

The late Robert Frankel with Bode's sire, Empire Maker.

El Gran Senor was one of the best of his generation and noted for never, ever giving up.

Toussaud and her goat. Also trained by Robert Frankel, who admired her greatly, Toussaud is Bode's paternal grandam.

Daddy Long Legs (Scat Daddy ex. Dreamy Maiden)

Daddy Long Legs is inbred to Mr. Prospector (3 X 5), Raise A Native (4 X 4) and Northern Dancer (5 X 5). A Coolmore champion, the colt’s most recent win came last month in the UAE Derby in Dubai and showed off his power and determination to advantage. Daddy LL came home ahead of a strong field that included Wrote (IRE), Helmet (AUS), Yang Tse Kiang (JPN) and the winner of the Epsom Oaks. Clearly, Daddy LL has inherited some of the brilliance of his grandsire, Johannesburg, who was easily the best 2 year-old in the world in 2001. Meadowlake, Daddy LL’s BM sire, is a useful sire whose best progeny was the champion, Meadow Star. Meadowlake’s offspring were often plagued by leg issues but this stellar son of Dreamy Maiden looks to be a sturdier type. Despite a rather average BM sire, Daddy LL’s tail female is solid, featuring individuals like Round Table, Moccassin, Raise A Native and Northern Dancer’s son, Viceregal within his first 4 generations. However, there is no doubt that it is his sire line that impresses most. Whether or not that is enough to overcome the possible disadvantages of shipping in from Ireland and running on dirt remains to be seen.

Creative Cause (Giant’s Causeway ex. Dream of Summer)

Creative Cause is inbred to Nearctic (5 X 5). The colt’s sire is none other Giant’s Causeway, one of the truly great Coolmore runners and a proven sire. His dam, Dream of Summer, retired a millionaire and remains far the best progeny of his BM sire, Siberian Summer. Dream of Summer’s own BM sire, Skywalker, earned over $2 million with victories in both the Santa Anita Derby and the Breeders Cup Classic. Rounding out CC’s tail female are Relaunch (by In Reality), Icecapade and Caro. In Creative Cause, who has never finished out of the money in all of his 8 starts, we have a colt who descends from very gifted parents and whose dam was a winner at 5 and 6. In fact, of all our Derby babies, only Creative Cause and Take Charge Indy boast dams who were very accomplished on the track. No question that this grey son of Giant’s Causeway has inherited some very powerful mitochondrial DNA….but are his best racing years still to come?

Creative Cause is one of 2 in the Derby field with a dam who retired as a millionaire.

Alpha (Bernardini ex. Munnaya)

Alpha is inbred to Northern Dancer ( 3 X 5). The beautiful bay is a son of the young sire, Bernardini, who is off to an impressive start. On top, Alpha has a pedigree studded with stardom: A. P. Indy, Quiet American, Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Spectacular Bid. But is his tail female as strong? His dam, Munnaya, won the Oaks Trial Stakes in the UK and has produced several offspring, of which Alpha is without question the best. The colt’s BM sire is the last British Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky II, giving him a total of 3 Triple Crown winners on 2 continents within the first 4 generations of his pedigree, top and bottom. Nijinsky was a potent BM sire as well as a sire of sires. Munnaya’s own BM sire was the powerful Alydar, an individual whose great heart will always be legendary to North American racing fans. Like Nijinsky, Alydar was also an impressive BM sire, giving Alpha two very potent influences within the first 3 generations of his maternal line — and it is within these generations that such influences are most potent. However, if despite his deep tail female, the strongest influence in his bloodline comes from his sire, then Alpha may prove to be better over a shorter distance and more deadly in the Preakness than the Derby.

Alpha, Ramon Dominguez up, after winning the Withers, just like his daddy before him!

Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy ex. Take Charge Lady)

The talented Take Charge Lady was a champion in her day, retiring with earnings of over $ 2 million dollars.

Take Charge Indy is inbred to Secretariat (3 X 4) and Bold Ruler (4 X 5 X 5) and his sire, the great A. P. Indy, clearly needs no introduction. His dam, the fabulous Take Charge Lady, ran against Azeri, You and Sightseek and acquitted herself with distinction, starting 22 times with 11 wins and 2 places. She will always be remembered as a gutsy, take-no-hostages runner whose heart never quit. TC Indy’s broodmare sire, Dehere, was a champion 2 year-old in 1993 and has also sired the millionaires Graeme Hall, Natural Blitz and Keiai Guard. Dehere is still another product of the highly successful Secretariat-Northern Dancer cross. Even though TC Indy is by far his dam’s best progeny to date, Take Charge Lady is a double copy mare for the large heart X, tracing back to both Blue Larkspur and Princequillo. This means that her son has double the chance of receiving this trait from her. But whether or not this is the case, there is simply no question that Take Charge Indy didn’t receive a very powerful dose of mitochondrial DNA from his talented mother. Another intriguing dimension of this Derby baby is that he shares the same DI as Secretariat, who shows up in his pedigree in both the 3rd and 4th generations.

Take Charge Indy (inside) coming to win the Florida Derby. If he draws a decent post position, will he be the "dark horse" in the Derby field ?

Sabercat (Bluegrass Cat ex. Miner’s Blessing)

The magnificent Sabercat is inbred to Mr. Prospector ( 3 X 4), Secretariat (4 X 5), Tom Rolfe ( 4 X 5), Northern Dancer (4 X 5) and Bold Ruler ( 5 X 5). So it’s easy to see that this colt’s 4th generation ( top and bottom) are enough to rattle anyone’s sabre! Of his dam’s 8 foals to date, 6 have hit the board in terms of earnings although Sabercat is by far the most impressive. The colt’s BM sire is Forty-Niner, a son of the prepotent Mr. Prospector who sired Distorted Humor; Forty-Niner’s own BM sire was the impressive Tom Rolfe. Besides those individuals already mentioned, Sabercat’s female family also features Halo, Raise A Native, Hoist the Flag and Hail to Reason — all very sound sires. This adds up to a good tail female, giving Sabercat no excuses as far as maternal bloodlines go on the first Saturday in May.

Is Sabercat ready to bring his best game to the Derby?

I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley ex. Arch’s Gal Edith)

I’ll Have Another is the only horse in the field inbred to the outstanding Danzig (4 X 4), together with Mr. Prospector ( 4 X 4); Northern Dancer ( 5 X 5 X 5) is the third influence. Flower Alley, the sire of I’ll Have Another, retired with earnings of over 2 million and is a son of proven sire, Distorted Humor, whose Funny Cide took the Derby and Preakness in 2003. I’ll Have Another’s BM sire is Arch, the popular sire of ArchArchArch, Blame and the 2006 Canadian HOTY, Arravale, among others. Arch’s sire, Kris S., is the sire of Zenyatta’s dam, Vertigeneux. But that’s just the tip of the (proverbial) iceberg: his other offspring include champions like Action This Day, Rock Hard Ten, Brocco, Hollywood Wildcat, Kicken Kris, Kissen Kris, Kudos, Prized and Soaring Softly. Add the likes of Pleasant Tap (by Pleasant Colony, who won both the Derby and Preakness), Roberto and Alydar’s winning daughter, Althea, within the first 4 generations and it would be fair to say that this colt’s female family is brimming with the kind of potential that makes I’ll Have Another a really exciting Derby prospect.

The tail female of I'll Have Another just screams " Winner!"

Daddy Nose Best (Scat Daddy ex. Follow Your Bliss)

Still another son of Scat Daddy shows up for the Run For The Roses and this colt is heavily inbred to Mr. Prospector ( 3 X 4 X 5 ) , Raise A Native ( 4 X 5 X 5) and Northern Dancer ( 5 X 5 X 5), with a more modest dose of Storm Bird ( 4 X 5) thrown into the mix. In 10 starts, this Daddy has finished in the money 6 times and he’s getting much better as time goes on. Daddy Nose Best’s dam only has 2 foals, of which her Derby baby is by far the best, but Follow Your Bliss’ sire is Thunder Gulch, himself a Derby and Belmont winner and the BM sire of Daddy Nose Best. Pine Bluff a very very good 3 year-old by Danzig who took the Arkansas Derby, the Preakness and the Rebel is Follow Your Bliss’ own BM sire; as a sire, Pine Bluff has 29 stakes winners with combined earnings of over 26 million. So this baby has what it takes from his female family. The problem is that he’s only raced twice as a 3 year-old and in the kind of races you never hear about unless you are devoted to the sport.

Daddy Nose Best was brilliant in the Sunland Derby. Have a look (below) at his performance in that race.

El Padrino ((Pulpit ex. Enchanted Rock)

The striking chestnut with the wide, white blaze is inbred to Mr. Prospector (3 X 3), Secretariat (4 X 5) and Blushing Groom (4 X 5).  Remember Blushing Groom? He was not only an impressive runner in France for the Aga Khan IV, but then went on to be an absolutely model BM sire and sire, most famously producing Blushing John, Nashwan and the wonderful Sky Beauty, who took the Filly Triple Crown in 1993. As if that weren’t enough, Blushing Groom also sired Snow Bride, who became the dam of the enigmatic UK champion, Lammtarra. His influence within the first 4 generations of El Padrino’s sire line is well-worth noting, simply because he had such a huge influence on the modern thoroughbred. El Padrino’s BM sire is Giant’s Causeway and his potency through a daughter like Enchanted Rock, who only started once and was unplaced, is not to be ignored. Her dam, Chic Shrine, a daughter of Mr. Prospector, started 16 times and finished in the money 50% of the time, suggesting a rather more solid female influence than seems readily apparent. Too, the combination of Storm Bird, Rahy, Raise A Native and the aforementioned Blushing Groom in El Padrino’s 4th generation only adds to his potential. This is another colt getting a Derby boost from a very good female family, which, at least in part, accounts for his consistent performance on the track thus far. And that kind of determination should never be under-estimated in a 20-horse field where almost anything can happen.

The Pletcher-trained El Padrino is not to be overlooked because he's always been a colt you could count on to do his best.

Went The Day Well (Proud Citizen ex Tiz Maie’s Day)

The only inbreeding in this Derby baby’s pedigree is to Nashua ( 5 X 5) even though his pedigree is be-speckled with thoroughbred jewels, top and bottom. His sire, Proud Citizen, is by Gone West and finished third to War Emblem and Magic Weisner in the Preakness. Proud Citizen’s best offspring to date is millionaire Proud Spell, although he’s a consistent sire of horses with modest earnings and a few who made over $200 K. On the other hand, Went The Day Well’s (WDW) BM sire is the mighty Tiznow and his dam’s BM sire is the outstanding Roberto, giving the colt a very impressive tail female. He is only Tiz Maie’s Day’s first foal, so we need to look beyond her to other influences like these within the first 4 generations of WDW’s female family. Other than the obvious pluses of Tiznow and Roberto, in WDW’s 4th generation we find Hail To Reason and the extremely talented son of Majestic Prince, Majestic Light. All of which adds up to a very strong tail female and one that might well propel the Graham-Motion-trained colt to a win come Derby Day.

Went The Day Well goes to the post in the Spiral Stakes. Watch his performance below. Photo and copyright, Amber Chaflin.

NIJINSKY, WHO WORE A HEART ON HIS BROW

Nijinsky (Nijinsky II in North America) entered the British pantheon of flat racing long before he earned the British Triple Crown. Nijinsky’s fans fell in love with him when he was a two year-old and and, like other legendary British thoroughbreds, that love shines as brightly today as it did 42 years ago. 

This article is dedicated to Steve Haskin, on the occasion of his birthday. You are the world’s greatest sportswriter, Steve. Thank you from THE VAULT and its readers for bringing us smiles, tasty tidbits and stories that make us all feel like racing “insiders”!!!!!

PLEASE NOTE: The filmed footage that appears below is very old and the quality is not always the best for that reason. Please allow the footage to load — it might take a few minutes! The first four videos depict in order: Nijinsky’s first start, the Epsom Derby, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the St. Leger. 

Nijinsky was born at Windfields Farm in Ontario, Canada in 1967, the product of a mating between two E.P. Taylor champions — Northern Dancer and Flaming Page.

Northern Dancer

Flaming Page, being led in by Mrs. E. P. Taylor after beating another Windfields' entry, the colt Choperion, ridden by Bill Hartack, to take the 1962 Queen's Plate.

No need to say much more about Northern Dancer — he would go on to become the most influential sire of the twentieth century. But in 1967, the tiny son of Nearctic was anything but an established name in the breeding industry.

Flaming Page, Nijinsky’s dam, was as regally bred as his sire. The tall, leggy mare was the daughter of Bull Page, a son of Bull Lea who derived from the Teddy sire line. Bull Page’s dam was a daughter of Blue Larkspur, thought today to carry the potential of the large heart X factor. From Flaring Top, her dam, Flaming Page carried the Phalaris sire line together with that of France’s Sir Gallahad, the sire of Gallant Fox and grandsire of Omaha, as well as the influence of Fair Play and his greatest son, the beloved Man O’ War.

On the track, Flaming Page was a monster, taking the Canadian Oaks and The Queen’s Plate over a period of 8 days. That same year, she also ran second in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Nijinsky really could not help but be anything but phenomenal, right from the very start.

Nijinsky, with his regular jockey, the accomplished Lester Piggott, comes onto the track with his lad at his head. In this shot, we can see the heart-shaped blaze on his brow clearly.

Other than his 3 white-stockinged feet, the bay colt wore an almost perfectly-shaped heart on his brow. That heart was to become the outward metaphor for a British racing legend whose exploits stirred fans, press and sportsman alike. Even Elizabeth II, the Queen of England, would confess her delight at standing in Nijinsky’s aura.

By the time he was a yearling, Nijinsky was already a big colt. In overall confirmation, he took after his dam. He had Flaming Page’s classic head and elegant build, together with a powerful chest that suggested great lung capacity and a generous heart. And by the time he was purchased for a mere $ 84,000 CAD by American tycoon and racing magnate Charles Engelhard — based on the recommendation of his British trainer, the great Vincent O’Brien — Nijinsky was a strong, handsome colt brimming with the kind of bloodline that sets horse people to dreaming.

At 2, Nijinsky was already a big, powerful colt. Shown here on his way to the start of the Dewhurst, Lester Piggott in the irons.

The colt was shipped to O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable and was subsequently named after the great Russian dancer who, on his deathbed, had declared that he would return one day as a horse. Perhaps their was some truth to the dancer’s prediction because his equine namesake would prove to be as mysterious and mercurial a character. Lester Piggott, the great British jockey, said of Nijinsky, whom he rated with Sir Ivor as one of the two best horses he ever rode, “He wouldn’t talk to me. He never talked to me. Nijinsky had that far-off look in his eye from the first time I saw him….it was like he was looking right through you.”

Vaslav Nijinsky, one of the greatest ballet dancers ever, died in the belief that he would return in the form of a horse.

Newly arrived at Ballydoyle, the colt refused to eat. After days of anxiety, O’Brien called Windfields to learn that they fed nuts to their horses. O’Brien requested that the special Windfields’ mix be shipped immediately to Ballydoyle, but by the time it arrived, Nijinsky had switched to oats, the Irish way of doing things. Once asked to join the other yearlings on the turf, the colt proved to be extremely difficult. O’Brien’s training involved what was considered at the time to be the toughest regimen in the business, consisting of a walk in the Ballydoyle training ring, followed by “the gallops” out on the rugged terrain surrounding the stable. The gallops took place over the kind of area normally associated with (fox) hunting –acres of inclines, declines and flat going.

Nijinsky refused every step of the way, from being tacked up to walking single file with other juveniles to galloping along with his peers. Indeed, between 1 and 2 years of age, the “ornery Canadian” spent more time rearing and trying to toss his riders than he did learning his trade. The Ballydoyle staff were certainly not in love with him: ” Some mornings it would take ages to get him out of his box…then, he’d go straight up on his hindlegs!” In a reflection, however, coloured by their respect for their champion, they would add, “…but he was, of course, very balanced. He never toppled over…”

The gallops at Ballydoyle features a terrain designed to develop stamina in young horses.

In “A Horse Named Nijinsky,” a brilliant documentary about the horse who was the Secretariat of his day in Great Britain, Vincent O’Brien confessed that the path from stable to turf was arduous enough to prompt him to write to Charles Engelhard to say that the 2 year-old Nijinsky might not start racing until much later on in the season, if at all.

Johnny Brabston, one of Nijinsky's lads, works the colt at Epsom in 1970, prior to his run in the Derby.

Vincent O’Brien was already a legend among peers, sportsmen and racing fans, having won an unprecedented 3 Grand Nationals, the Irish and Epsom Derbies, the Epsom Oaks and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with thoroughbreds like Ballymoss, Cottage Rake, Chamier, Gladness, Larkspur, Cottage Rake, Royal Tan, Glad Rags, Long Look, Quare Times and Sir Ivor. When O’Brien expressed reservations about a thoroughbred, this was not to be taken lightly. But despite the toughness of the Ballydoyle regimen — designed to prepare youngsters for the toughness of campaigning in Great Britain and Europe — O’Brien was known most for the fact that the horse always came first. So keeping Nijinsky out of competition longer than he might have liked was what was best for the colt.

Happily, two things changed the course of Nijinsky’s woeful start: the fact he was precocious (once he decided to work) and the excellence of the lads who rode him that year. In the latter instance, O’Brien was always quick to point out, the lads showed great patience and respect for the unruly colt, ” If it were not for two very capable work riders, Johnny Brabston and Danny O’Sullivan, Nijinsky could easily have been spoiled. They had the strength to handle him and the patience not to knock him about.” Finally, as the trainer observed, Nijinsky learned “what he was bred to do” and having made up his mind to more or less cooperate, O’Brien looked for a suitable venue for the big colt. Nijinsky made his very first start in the 6f. Erne Stakes at The Curragh under jockey Liam Ward, cruising home to what would be the first of 5 races the colt won at 2.

Nijinsky canters down to the start.

O’ Brien was a trainer who thought of his horses as any good teacher does. Put simply, he brought each horse along as far as they could go, and he did it one race at a time. In subsequent interviews, the great trainer would say that he was concentrating on just that during Nijinsky’s 2 year-old season — by which he meant that he hadn’t really formed an opinion that the big bay was a “super horse.” In fact, after the final race of the season at Newmarket in the Dewhurst Stakes, O’Brien noted that he was satisfied with his colt’s performance since he had won comfortably under restraint, but that the win didn’t really tell him how far Nijinsky could comfortably run. It seemed possible that the colt was a “fast stayer” though — which is the best thoroughbred type one can have.

Despite a perfect 2 year-old campaign, Vincent O' Brien's chief concern was to develop Nijinsky in a slow, consistent fashion, concentrating on what the colt seemed able to do.

For his part, Nijinsky was learning the ropes quickly. His first jockey, Liam Ward, noted that the colt could be difficult on the trip to the starting gate, but once the race was on, he was easy to manage. Nijinsky showed that he could run in front or rate off the pace, manoeuvre around horses with agility despite his size and he had a great determination to win. His acceleration was blinding. Even though his races as a juvenile were chosen carefully to “stretch him out” over time, Nijinsky ended his season undefeated. His chances at the Guineas and the Derby seemed fortuitous, provided that he re-emerged at 3 as good, or better, than he had been at 2.

Nijinsky wintered well. He had taken to works and, as the Ballydoyle crew were to learn, he didn’t much like “hanging about” and particularly when he saw other horses going out to work. Too, unlike O’Brien’s champion Sir Ivor, Nijinsky was a hard worker. He adored the gallops and would prick up his ears and roll by the other horses, even though he knew that this was not a “real” race at all.

Over that first winter before his 3 year-old campaign, O’Brien didn’t want him worked too hard. The solution was to send him off to the walking ring with the other horses, but then to separate him out with another colt to keep him company and send him to the indoor arena for a jog about. After a victory in the Gladness Stakes at The Curragh (IRE), Nijinsky was sent out to face the best 3 year-olds in both Europe as well as Great Britain in the 1970 2,000 Guineas:

It was, as the narrator in the film excerpt above was to say, “a baptism of fire” for the O’Brien colt. And, with his impressive victory, Nijinsky became the darling of the British media. The Guineas was his first step towards the Epsom Derby and, as it turned out, the British Triple Crown.

Nijinsky and Lester Piggott gallop out following the colt's impressive victory in the 2000 Guineas in 1970. It was after this race that Piggott decided he had his Derby mount!

O’Brien’s plan for his 3 year-old was the Derby, the King George and, finally, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. But things didn’t work out that year according to plan — both Nijinsky and his team would face the heights of joy and despair before 1970 was over.

Of his Derby victory, the following was inscribed: ” Nijinsky proved himself one of the great horses of the century when winning the Derby yesterday at Epsom with the greatest of ease… The 1970 Derby will be remembered as one of the greatest races in the history of the race, and certainly Nijinsky is one of the greatest winners.” Lester Piggott added, “We were always cantering. A great ride. A great horse.”

It all seemed a perfect story. What would only be known several months later was that the colt appeared to suffer a bought of colic a mere 29 hours before the Derby, making it impossible to relieve his pain with the traditional injection if he was to run. For a good 90 minutes, O’Brien and his team waited to see if Nijinsky would come out of whatever was troubling him on that hot, hot day. At the end of their wait, the colt seemed easier and he was no longer sweating. He was offered grass, mixed with a little bran and bicarbonate of soda, which he ate. By evening, Nijinsky was back to his old self, but O’Brien decided that the colt would not travel again without his regular vet, Demi O’Byrne, accompanying him.

" A great ride. A great horse." Nijinsky, ears pricked, cruises to victory in the 1970 Epsom Derby.

Next came victory in the Irish Sweeps Derby, which Nijinsky won by a solid 3 lengths with Liam Ward in the irons. Piggott had chosen to ride Meadowville, who came in second. It was a sweet victory for Ward, who had lost the race the year before on Sir Ivor to Piggott, who rode Ribero. Nijinsky was now undefeated in all of his nine starts.

And although he won the Irish Derby with ease, Nijinsky had been very upset in the paddock, working himself into a full lather by the start. This was a new — and undesirable — development, and one that would plague him until his retirement.

A beautiful shot of the great horse, Piggott up, prior to one of his 3 year-old races.

Winning the Irish Sweeps Derby (1970).

Nijinsky’s next start, his 5th race in a mere 16 weeks, was at Royal Ascot, in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. That July, the undefeated colt was compared to mighty Ribot and Sea-Bird II — two of the most brilliant thoroughbreds of the twentieth century. And this despite the fact that he was the only 3 year-old in a field that included two previous Epsom Derby champions,  as well as winners of the Coronation Cup, the French Oaks and the Washington International. Piggott gave Nijinsky a very confident ride, holding him back until near the finish with breathtaking results.

Vincent O'Brien, a shy man who seldom showed himself in the winner's circle, leads in Nijinsky after his tenth consecutive win, in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot in July 1970.

Returning to Ballydoyle, the plan was now to rest Nijinsky until the Arc.

But disaster struck in the form of a particularly virulent bout with ringworm, in which so much of Nijinsky’s hair fell out that he was virtually bald over a large part of his body. Since any attempt to work him under saddle was out of the question, the champion was relegated to long walks and some mild lunging during his recovery. But the colt had really been very ill and the parasite had taken a lot out of him. He would need time to recuperate and toughen up before the Arc.

Charles Engelhard’s racing manager, David McCall, phoned O’Brien to say that Nijinsky’s owner would like to see his colt take a stab at the British Triple Crown by running in the St. Leger. Despite its illustrious past, O’Brien knew that the St. Leger might have been a prep race for the Arc with a healthy colt, but Nijinsky still couldn’t be saddled without bleeding. The dialogue that took place between trainer, racing manager and owner has never really been divulged, but it would be hard to believe that O’Brien was thrilled at the prospect of running Nijinsky in the Leger, which is also a quarter of a mile longer than the Arc and run only 4 weeks before it. However the decision was made to run and the great horse won it stylishly, to become the first British Triple Crown winner since Bahram, in 1935.

There were 36 years between Bahram (above) and Nijinsky's winning of the British Triple Crown.

Nijinsky shown winning the last leg of the British Triple Crown.

The win came at a terrible price: Nijinsky lost 29 lb. coming out of the race, and fit horses don’t lose weight like that. Decades later, some of those closest to the champion would acknowledge that the spark that had driven him to this, his 11th straight win in as many starts, began to sputter after the St. Leger……that, in fact, he was never the same after that rousing victory. Lester Piggott would observe that the so-called “prep” race was too long for the colt, that he only won it handily because the competition was rather ordinary….

Nijinsky is greeted by adoring fans after completing the Triple Crown by winning the St. Leger.

Home to Ballydoyle the champion went, to prepare for the biggest race of his career: the Arc, like the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Epsom Derby, were races recognized internationally. Since Nijinsky was to stand in the USA, winning the Arc would be pivotal to his success at stud. Negotiations had been completed with Bull Hancock of Claiborne Farm, even as racing fans wrote passionately to Engelhard to keep Nijinsky in competition for another year. Hancock suggested that, rather than the Arc, the colt should be shipped to Belmont to run in the Man O’ War Stakes, following which, he would be retired. However, Engelhard, David McCall and O’Brien thought the Man O’ War was too soon after Nijinsky’s St. Leger and decided to stick to their original plan and run the champion in the Arc in October, 1970.

Now comes the most painful event in the Nijinsky racing narrative. For sheer drama, it was a heartbreaker.

Nijinsky’s loss to Sassafras in the 1970 Arc would go down in the record books as a defeat as spectacular as his other wins.  But it was also a loss of shorter than a head, from a horse who was arguably in less than top form both mentally and physically and whom, perhaps due to an over-confident Lester Piggott, was asked for too much too late. As is often pointed out, racing spectators have the advantage of hindsight, which is always 20/20.

But for those most closely connected to a champion, decisions must be made before the outcome is known.

Nijinsky gained back the weight he had lost once he was back at home and O’Brien was confident, from what he could see, that the colt was fit. Before the St. Leger, the colt had been calm and relaxed in the walking ring, giving everyone the impression that he was maturing out of the anxiety he had shown in previous races that year. Too, the Nijinsky that went into the Arc was not only undefeated but had carved out a remarkable career against the best of his generation in other ways: he was the first Canadian-bred to win the Epsom Derby, the first Epsom Derby winner to beat another Epsom Derby winner in the King George VI &  Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and only the second horse in history (Santa Claus was the first) to sweep both the English and Irish Derbies.

In a stroke of bad luck, Nijinsky drew the most outside post in the Arc. Then, prior to the race, the colt was so mobbed by the press — who were given free access in the Longchamp paddock — that it seemed there was only one horse going to post. The attention, the popping flash bulbs and all the noise upset the champion, although O’Brien always maintained that had Nijinsky been in his very best form, all the uproar would have only been a nuisance.

The Arc is the most prestigious race in Europe, but it is also the most difficult to win. The terrain of the course and the habitually large field made a tactical ride an absolute necessity — and Nijinsky was already hampered by a post position on the extreme outside. Breaking from the furthest post, or running on the far outside for too long, spelled potential disaster at Longchamp. O’Brien advised Piggott to get the colt well up in the pack as fast as he could, since history had shown that horses’ laying too far back never had much of a chance of winning. To which Piggott responded that there could be 100 horses ahead of him — Nijinsky would still win.

The best 3 year-old of his day and the best jockey of his day, going down to post.

With half a mile left to run, the great horse was fourth from last. To get to the leaders, the jockey wove in and out, finally resorting to the far outside. Yves St. Martin, on Sassafras, had been well-placed throughout and mostly hugged the rail on the extreme inside. It was a distance-saving strategy that would give Sassafras the chance he needed to win.

Through most of the last of the race, Piggott needed to take the colt further and further out. Nijinsky came on gamely, although Piggott would later confess that the sparkling acceleration he usually mustered was just not there. And when Piggott went for his whip, right near the wire, the valiant Nijinsky — who was still coming to win and from an impossible distance — reacted by lunging still further out. The loss of ground may well have cost him the race.

Still, it was a photo finish. Had he won under those circumstances — from the poor post position, to the distance he travelled to reach Sassafras –Nijinsky would have gone down as THE thoroughbred of the century. But such was not to be.

It was this close -- Nijinsky, on the outside.

In defeat, Nijinsky had run the most impressive race of his career. He beat Gyr further than he had beaten him in the Derby, and doubled the margin over which he had defeated the Derby winner, Blakeney, in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes earlier that season.

The Triple Crown winner did not run below form in the Arc, but rather improved on it.

Despite that, Nijinsky’s entire team were inconsolable and his great trainer, Vincent O’Brien, never got over the tragedy of it. Even the winning jockey, Yves St. Martin for whom the Arc win was his first said, ” Today is not about who won, but about the fact that Nijinsky lost.”

Blame was assigned in hindsight to Piggott in particular, and to Nijinsky’s bloodlines in general. But for the journalists who studied the footage from various angles, notably Richard Baerlin, the reason for the loss was singular: Nijinsky’s post position. As Baerlin pointed out in his exceptional book, Nijinsky, running at Longchamp in the Arc is akin to Olympic swimming — you need to stay in your lane to save ground. But Lester Piggott and the courageous Nijinsky didn’t have that option.

After a second loss in the Champion Stakes at The Curragh, Nijinsky was retired and sent to Claiborne Farm. There, he would become a brilliant sire and broodmare sire, as well as a sire of sires, giving us the likes of Ferdinand, Golden Fleece and Lammtarra, as well as Caerleon, Isle de Bourbon, Cherry Hinton, Maplejinsky, Royal Academy and a score of other remarkable individuals. Too, he remains the only sire to have a winner of the Kentucky (Ferdinand) and Epsom (Lammtarra) Derbies in the same year.

Ile De Bourbon (rail) winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1978).

Nijinsky's magnificent son, Caerleon, pictured above, went on to sire of Generous who, like his grandsire, won both the Irish and Epsom Derbies.

Royal Academy looked very much like Nijinsky, his sire.

Lammtarra (green silks), who had already won the Epsom Derby, redeems his sire by going on to win the Arc that same year.

The great horse succumbed to laminitis in 1992 and was laid to rest in his entirety at Claiborne Farm. The world of racing will never know another quite like him.

But on that first Saturday in May, a heart will bless several Derby babies, all of whom carry Nijinsky in their blood: Alpha, Union Rags, I’ll Have Another, Take Charge Indy, El Padrino, Bodemeister and Daddy Nose Best!

Nijinsky gallops in his paddock at Claiborne. Photo and copyright, Dell Hancock.

MY ECHO, MY SHADOW & ME: RUFFIAN

Long before she was to fall madly, hopelessly in love with Zenyatta, there was another  filly who captured Kari Bussell’s heart.  Of course, the then 10 year-old Kari was not alone in her love of Ruffian — the big, beautiful filly was loved by thousands, from the very young to the most seasoned of horsemen. But Kari nurtured that love, as only she could, through adolescence, marriage, motherhood and granny-hood. In a very real sense, it was the magnificent Ruffian that set the stage for Zenyatta to come, dancing, into Kari’s life bringing her a joy she had never known before.

This one is for you, sweet Kari. You burn as brightly in my heart today as Ruffian shines in the hearts of  those who protect her immortality from the winds of time. Ruffian and Kari taught me that some beings are so filled with promise, hope, courage and love that they can never be forgotten. 

ME

Ruffian as depicted by noted American equine artist, Richard Stone Reeves.

“As God is my judge, she might be better than Secretariat…” (Lucien Laurin, quoted in the Blood Horse’s Thoroughbred Legends: Ruffian)

On April 17, 1972, shortly before 10 p.m., a grey daughter of Native Dancer gave birth to a dark-hued filly. Neither the mare, Shenanigans, nor the filly’s sire, Reviewer, could have known that the birth of this foal would secure them a permanent place in thoroughbred history and legend.

The filly carried royal blood in her veins and as she struggled to stand on her willowy legs for the very first time, the breath of promise kissed her tiny hooves. Since Shenanigans’ daughter carried the bloodlines of Bold Ruler, Nasrullah, Challenger II, Fighting Fox, Sir Gallahad, Marguerite and the Grey Ghost himself, she had everything she needed, right from the start, to be a genuine firecracker of a race horse. Further, the newborn’s 5 – generation pedigree featured inbreeding to Discovery (4X5X4), the “Iron Horse” and broodmare sire of Native Dancer,  Bold Ruler and Bed O’ Roses. Sir Gallahad III, the sire of Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox, also appeared in her fourth and fifth generations.

Ruffian's sire, Reviewer.

Ruffian's grandsire, the mighty Bold Ruler, gets the nod from his trainer, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.

Ruffian's great grandsire (through Reviewer's dam, Broadway) was the great Challenger II, sire of Kentucky Derby winner, Challendon.

Ruffian's dam, Shenanigans, a daughter of Native Dancer who also produced Icecapade.

Fighting Fox, a full brother to Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, was a great grandsire on the bottom of Ruffian's pedigree.

Discovery, a brilliant runner and outstanding broodmare sire, won Horse of the Year in 1935 over Omaha. Discovery was the broodmare sire of the immortal Native Dancer. Discovery appears 4X5X4 in Ruffian's pedigree.

A sire of great importance in North America, Sir Gallahad III, a son of Teddy, produced 65 graded stakes winners, among which were 3 Kentucky Derby winners: Gallahadion, Hoop Jr. and the Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. Ruffian was inbred 4 X 5 to Sir Gallahad III.

Ruffian was big for a filly and by the time she was a yearling, she was the tallest of all the yearlings at Claiborne Farm that year. The youngster — so dark brown that she looked black — was elegant, if a little chubby, and seemed intelligent. The Reviewer filly was a homebred: the Janneys owned Shenanigans and had a share in her sire, who was thought to be Bold Ruler’s second-best son the year Ruffian was born, his best being the newly-retired Secretariat.

By the time she arrived at Frank Whiteley’s stable, Ruffian had been broken to bit and saddle. The seasoned trainer noticed her right away. She was beautiful, strong and looked to have promise, but Whiteley had been in the game long enough to know that what looked like a duck could end up being a donkey. Of course, that didn’t dissuade his interest or commitment. It just made him cautious.

Later, Whiteley and the others would remark on some of the traits that made Ruffian “special” right from the start. Her stature — she was an outstanding-looking individual and bigger than many colts. Her aloofness — the dark daughter of Shenanigans behaved like a supreme being, aloof from the world of horses and men despite a sweet temperament. Her will to win — her regular jockeys, Jacinto Vasquez and Vince Bracciale, Jr., noted how a change came over Ruffian when she knew she was racing. You could still do anything with her, even though she always wanted to lead, but her desire to win was almost visceral. Her way of going — both her exercise riders and jockeys were impressed by the way Ruffian seemed to float and fly over the track. None of them could follow Frank Whiteley’s instructions to the letter because it was impossible to feel how fast she was actually moving.

Ruffian's gait felt like flying, making it almost impossible for her rider to tell how fast she was really moving.

But, really, words seemed a poor medium in which to paint a portrait because, like all great horses, Ruffian was just too large to contain in language.

And here is where her legend begins:

Ruffian won her maiden by 15 lengths and returned to the winner's circle looking as fresh as if she'd just left the barn.

Those who were there for her maiden race would never forget how the filly loped away from the field, just as though the other horses were stuck in molasses.  It was a performance as scintillating as Secretariat’s Belmont or Rachel Alexandra’s Kentucky Oaks and the time still stands to this day as the fastest over the distance. Yet, according to the young Jacinto Vasquez, Ruffian had run easy and she strolled into the winner’s circle without even a trace of sweat on her glossy coat.

Frank Whitely had to have been pleased too, but being a veteran of the old school, he didn’t say. Frank’s horses came first and he took them along as far as they would — or could — go, one day at a time. Whiteley was one of the greats and he’d gotten there by working tirelessly and through astute observation. He knew that one short, maiden race doesn’t make a 2 year-old into a champion. But he also knew what he’d seen Ruffian execute that day. Listening to her enraptured young jockey, who was so taken with her that he declared his desire to ride her in each and every subsequent race, it seemed like she was going to be a serious race horse. But the trainer — whose career boasted the champions Tom Rolfe and Damascus — also knew that to develop and channel all that raw power, Ruffian would need to move up into stakes company.

Frank Whiteley was a "hands-on" trainer who went out every day with his horses. Here he is, riding his pony Sled Dog, on the way to the track with Ruffian.

In the Fashion Stakes, Ruffian’s second start, she met up with another filly who had generated a lot of talk that year, Copernica. A daughter of the incomparable Nijinsky II, Copernica had been born blind in her left eye. But given her lineage, it was decided to start her under trainer Mack Miller as a 2 year-old despite the handicap. Copernica did not disappoint: she won her maiden by 14 lengths and then took a subsequent race by 5 . She was clearly a very promising filly and would provide tougher competition for Ruffian:

Both Jane Schwartz, author of the compelling “Ruffian: Burning From The Start,” and former sports commentator, Charlsie Cantey, attest to the fact that her Fashion Stakes win also earned Ruffian the title of “heartbreaker.” This term is used by horse people to connote a thoroughbred so overpowering that they can break the heart of even a great horse — and Copernica was never the same after her loss to Ruffian. Although she continued to race for Mack Miller with good results, the bay Nijinsky filly who was so game despite her blindness lost her sparkle. ( In retirement, Copernica had success with her son, Crusader Sword, who now lives in retirement at the Frankel division of Old Friends after an excellent stud career in Florida.)

As for “Herself,” the filly who was known around the barn at that time as “Soul Sister” — and later, as “Sofie” — finished up her feed and then, ears pricked, spent the evening after the Fashion Stakes victory nickering to her “barn family,” all of whom were delighted with her.  Next came the Astoria, Sorority and the Spinaway: Ruffian won them all with the same powerful acceleration and determination that had marked her maiden race.

This was to be her signature: the ease with which she shattered or tied track records.

Her time at Saratoga in the Spinaway was a new track record: Ruffian ran the fastest 6 furlongs that any juvenile has ever run at Saratoga. The filly’s performance was so dominant that talk began of pitting her against the best colt of her generation, Foolish Pleasure, perhaps in the upcoming Champagne. After all, even though she was still a baby, Ruffian’s girth was wider than Secretariat’s and her speed was mind-boggling. However, before any of that, Frank needed to get at least one more race into her and his choice was the Frizette.

The morning of the race, the filly left food over in her tub and Minnor, her groom,  summoned the trainer to take a look at her. She had a slight temperature and the decision was made to scratch her, much to the dismay of her fans, who had arrived in legions to see her win. Over the following two days, Whiteley watched Ruffian carefully, noting what appeared to be discomfort in her right hip. The vet was called and it was discovered that the champion had a hairline fracture in her right hind leg, sidelining her for the rest of the season.

A plaster cast was applied and Ruffian refused to tolerate it, jumping around in her stall with the intent of smashing it to smithereens. But there was no way that the 2 year-old could simply stand around in her stall while it healed without something to immobilize the leg. So it was decided to try a lighter, jelly cast which the filly accepted calmly. Ruffian was assigned “bed rest” for two months, which meant that she needed to stay in her stall and move around very little. As she had been up until now, with the exception of the plaster cast incident, Ruffian took the whole thing in stride and proved to be a model patient. She was very intelligent and seemed to understand that she needed to be relatively still — a tough task for any thoroughbred juvenile. By the time she was ready to be hand-walked around the shed row, her regular groom had quit. Frank Whiteley assigned Dan Williams to take over and, in an unprecedented move for the trainer, Ruffian became Dan’s only charge.

Ruffian and the man she adored, Dan Williams. Dan was one of the very few people to get really close to the filly.

Dan Williams had rubbed many horses for Frank Whiteley and was considered one of the best in the business. A stranger looking into his face might well have thought Dan was a taciturn type. But it was really the rigours of a hard life that etched his features. Dan had lost his wife when his 4 children were young and he had had to raise his family pretty much on his own, while working long, long hours at the track. Shortly before Ruffian came into his life, one of Dan’s sons had been killed in Vietnam.

Dan was a close friend of John “Squeaky” Truesdale, one of the filly’s regular exercise riders and together, the two men nursed their “Sofie” back to health. Ruffian loved Dan. She played games with him, nipped at him when she was feeling playful and nibbled his jacket when something made her nervous. He could do anything with her and he read her like a book. Dan Williams’ connection to Ruffian was exactly what Frank Whiteley needed to know how his filly was really doing, from her mental attitude to her physical well-being. The trainer had other important members of his team who could also keep him informed, Squeaky, Mike Bell, his assistant trainer and Yates Kennedy who, with Squeaky, was Ruffian’s regular exercise rider. But it would always be Dan who knew her better than anyone.

Despite her injury, Ruffian was made 1974 Eclipse Champion 2 year-old and Frank Whiteley was sent to the ceremony to accept the award, which he did in the shortest acceptance speech ever given. Frank was a man who shunned the spotlight and he couldn’t get back to his table fast enough.

There were countless examples of brilliant juveniles that come back a year later as only a shadow of their former selves. And as Ruffian prepared for her 3 year-old campaign the question on everyone’s mind was, “Will she be as good as she was at two?”  

After the Comely win, Ruffian is led proudly to the winner's circle by Dan Williams.

Owner Stuart Janney proudly leads in Ruffian, after her win in the Coaching Club Oaks. The win made her only the fifth filly in history to win the Filly Triple Crown.

As it turned out, Ruffian came back at 3 as an even tougher individual than she had been at 2. She had grown into that large physique and, after months of bed rest and hand walking, was a much tougher customer to handle. She was a filly who needed to run and had matured into a bloody-minded competitor who would not, under any circumstances, allow another horse ahead of her. She was stronger and Jacinto Vasquez, as well as Yates Kennedy, wrestled with her each and every time she hit the track.

It was only Squeaky who could handle her. He thought of his big, dark baby as a restless teenager and learned how to avoid confronting her. As Jane Schwartz tells us, in Ruffian: Burning From The Start, game Ruffian played with Squeaky at her works was this: she would lower her head as far as she could without eating dirt and wait for Squeaky to pick it up. If he did, she’d take off under him like a shot. If he didn’t — and she’d really test him on this — Ruffian would slowly come back to him and listen to his hands and legs.

For his part, Jacinto Vasquez was trying to teach his champ how to win without running herself into the ground. In several of her races at 3, he can be seen asking her to pace herself, wait for a challenger and then spurt a little ahead. By the time the undefeated heroine of the track entered the last leg of the Triple Crown Tiara, she had learned how to play this way with the competition. By then, the Match Race with Foolish Pleasure had been confirmed and Vasquez didn’t want to use her up in the Oaks: Ruffian would only have 2 weeks off before she was due to meet the colt. Vasquez was Foolish Pleasure’s regular jockey and, although he felt the filly was the better horse, he also knew the colt would ask everything of her.

After an allowance race and another impressive win in the Comely, the undefeated filly went on to take the 1975 Triple Crown for Fillies/ New York Triple Tiara. It was a feat only accomplished three times before her, by Dark Mirage (1968), Shuvee (1969) and Chris Evert (1974).

MY SHADOW

John "Squeaky" Truesdale and his best girl.

After she took the Triple Crown, the stage was set for a Match Race between the greatest filly and the greatest colt of the 1975 racing season.

So much has been said about the pandemonium leading up to the race and the appeal of a “Battle of the Sexes” in 1975. There were t-shirts, pins and no shortage of Match Race memorabilia; Frank Whiteley put barricades up around his barn and posted a 24-hour guard outside the filly’s stall. Truth be told, Whiteley barely slept outside the barn himself in the days leading up to the race. It was that hyped.

Ruffian on the inside, Foolish Pleasure on the outside, shortly after the pair left the starting gate. Ruffian had her nose ahead of the colt when she broke down.

Artist Jenness Cortez re-creates a tragedy by showing Ruffian moving decisively ahead of Foolish Pleasure, as an angel hovers above her. In fact, Ruffian broke down when she was passing Foolish Pleasure to take the lead.

We know, of course, how the story ends. It was a tragedy that those who were there and those who loved her will never forget.

Today, things might have gone differently. There are baths for horses that awake from anaesthesia to prevent the damage Ruffian did to herself after the surgery.

Frank Whiteley, Dan Williams, Mike Bell, Yates Kennedy and the medical team did everything they could for her. Only there wasn’t much anyone really could do. And Ruffian, who had been an ideal patient the year before, clearly had gone into surgery so traumatized that she never really could get past it — except by running away.

It was her determination to get away that made it impossible to save her.

Ruffian was buried in the infield at Belmont close to the rail where she had broken down. It was an unprecedented move for the track, but so great was the filly’s reputation that they considered it a privilege. Under the flag that flew at half-mast in her honour, Ruffian was laid to rest. Before the grave was closed, Frank Whiteley asked Mike Bell to go down into the pit where her body lay, covered in a white sheet, to place two of Ruffian’s red blankets snuggly around her.

MY ECHO

When a life ends tragically, it is always tempting to see the ending as the heart of the story.

But anyone who knew Ruffian understands that this is not how she ought to be re-memoried.

Ruffian, aka Soul Sister, aka Sofie was one of the most gifted fillies to ever grace the sport. And today, as on the last day of her life, Ruffian exudes the magic of those great thoroughbreds who appear, every once and awhile, to remind us of what it means to draw near to a being that moves in perfect harmony with destiny. From the beginning, thoroughbreds like Ruffian distinguish themselves from their peers. Not just because they tend to be good-looking and are, without question, mighty on the track. Nor is it a matter of personality: for every one as sweet as Ruffian or Secretariat or Zenyatta or Rachel, there are an equal number who are as incorrigible as Native Dancer, Seattle Slew or Sunday Silence .

What they all seem to share in common is what we call “presence.” Their presence bespeaks something greater than their conformation, or track record or exploits. Just as we learn in school, what makes a sign different from a symbol is that the latter always refers to something greater and more complex than itself.

So it was with Ruffian. You can tell her story, event by event and incident by incident, or just look at images of her big, beautiful self. You can string all the quotable quotes together. You can watch her run. But none of this adds up to Ruffian. She evoked the human heart in so many different ways and, perhaps, conjured a time long, long ago when horses were sacred, mysterious beings — who, like Ruffian, derived from a world of immortals and returned to them when her legend was woven.

In her video to Ruffian, below, Kari Bussell said: “Ruffian was my first love. I was 10 when I watched her break down in horror. I promised I would never forget her. In essence this video is my way of keeping my promise. I will love her for eternity. RIP- Ruffian.” 

Nor will we ever forget you, Kari. Your presence in our lives is one of beauty, generosity and the embodiment of love. And that is eternal, without end.

2011 HORSE OF THE YEAR WEARS A HALO

Havre de Grace, the 2011 Horse of the Year, descends from a superb sire line whose story resonates with the whims of thoroughbred genetics. This article is enriched beyond words by the superb photography of Matt and Wendy Wooley of EquiSport Photos, who so graciously allowed THE VAULT permission to publish a selection of their photographs. 

Portrait of a champion. Havre de Grace captured through the lens of master equine photographer, Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos.

Even though only 4 years old, Havre de Grace’s story is punctuated by echoes of tragedy and promise. Her trainer, Larry Jones, last found himself in the spotlight as the trainer of the courageous and ill-fated Eight Belles. And Havre de Grace’s sire, Saint Liam, who had garnered HOTY honours in 2005, came to a tragic end in 2006.

Trainer Larry Jones on his first impression of Havre de Grace at the Keeneland September yearling sale, " She was gorgeous...she was a 'must have' after watching her for 10 minutes and going back several times to make sure it wasn't make believe."

Any thoroughbred’s pedigree gives a writer pause: the stories embedded in the names that appear in a bloodline are always rich in possibility. Havre de Grace’s ancestry is no different, resounding as it does with legends like Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer, Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Gallorette, Native Dancer, Polynesian, Challenger II, Teddy and Ajax. But it is what she owes to her great grandsire, a curmudgeon named Halo, who was once thought to have secured a place in breeding history as illustrious as that of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector, that caught our attention.

Today, the Hail to Reason sire line through Halo is only marginally represented in the North American thoroughbred pedigrees of champions. And when Halo is cited in books and articles, it is for one of two reasons: either his foul temper, or the fact that he sired the great Sunday Silence, who went on to attain revered status as “The Star” of Japan’s modern breeding history.

Halo, a great and memorable sire.

Halo could not really help being such a bad-tempered colt. His sire, Hail to Reason, had needed a good deal of convincing to bloom into the well-mannered horse he became and his grandsire, Turn-To (1951), a son of Royal Charger (1942) and grandson of the incomparable Nearco (1936), got mixed reviews in the breeding shed. This was because his offspring were either spectacular or unsound. Among Turn-To’s best sons were First Landing (sire of Meadow Stables’ Riva Ridge), Best Turn, (sire of Davona Dale and Cox’s Ridge), Sir Gaylord (sire of Sir Ivor) and Halo’s daddy, Hail to Reason.

Turn-To, the sire of Hail to Reason, appears in Havre de Grace's 5th generation sire line.

The magnificent Hail To Reason was an outstanding sire and broodmare sire.

Hail to Reason was arguably Turn-To’s most accomplished son, most particularly as a sire of sires, through his sons Halo, Sunday Silence, Bold Reason, Stop the Music and Mr. Leader. Many of his daughters also became major producers, notably Admiring, the dam of Roar, Wild Applause and Sea Hero, and Priceless Gem, the dam of Arc winner and champion, Allez France.

And all this from a sire whose life had once hung in the balance.

Hail to Reason on the track.

Hail to Reason was born in Kentucky in 1958 to a big, strapping daughter of Blue Swords called Nothirdchance. By the time he was turned out with the other foals, the youngster was already showing leadership potential of the scrappy kind, taking a mere two days to bring all the other foals to heel. Owned by the Bieber-Jacobs Stable, the two year-old Hail to Reason was the kind of horse you never turned your back on. Not grumpy, exactly, or truly mean — more the kind of colt who just didn’t trust people. Young Patrice Jacobs, daughter of owner-trainer Hirsch Jacobs, took a shine to Hail to Reason and spent enough “quality time” with the youngster to build the kind of trust that provided a foundation for the calm, intelligent and willing horse he was to become.

In a very real sense, it was Patrice’s love for Hail to Reason that saved his life.

It took the big colt 6 races before he broke his maiden, but he was soon on his way to the winner’s circle, chalking up 9 wins in 18 starts. Then disaster struck. Shortly after a poor showing in the Saratoga Special, Hail to Reason took a bad step while training at Aqueduct. The accident happened too early in the morning for any of the track vets to be on the scene. It was Hirsch Jacobs who instructed his son, John, to hold the colt’s injured left foreleg while they led him back to the barn. There, the elder Jacobs fashioned a plaster cast and waited for a vet to arrive. Hail to Reason stood as still as a statue in his stall, just as though he knew he’d been badly hurt and that his trainer was trying to help him. It was over a month, and several cracked leg casts later, before the colt was out of danger. Through the whole process, Hail to Reason remained calm and cooperative. It was that attitude and composure, according to John Jacobs, that saved his life.

One thing is clear: had it not been for trainer Hirsch Jacob's quick thinking, there would have been no Havre de Grace to celebrate! Photo of Grace in motion by the gifted Wendy Wooley /EquiSport Photos.

The injury ended Hail to Reason’s racing days. During the first few years at stud he was still not 100% but despite a limited book of mares, Hail to Reason’s very first crop yielded five major winners, including Straight Deal (champion handicap mare of 1967), Hail to All (winner of the Belmont Stakes) and Admiring (winner of the Arlington-Lassie who eventually sold for a then-world record). In 1964, Hail to Reason got the Kentucky Derby winner, Proud Clarion, and three years later in 1970, the Preakness winner, Personality. Then, in 1972, after completing a sire’s Triple Crown, the stallion got Epsom Derby winner, Roberto. As the breeder of both Proud Clarion and Roberto, John W. Galbreath of Darby Dan Farm became the only individual at that time to have bred and owned both a Kentucky and Epsom Derby winner. And in 1974, there was the filly Cum Laude Laurie, winner of the Delaware Oaks, the Ruffian H., the Spinster and the Beldame.

Proud Clarion and jockey, Bobby Usery.

Roberto and the great Lester Piggott come home to win the Epsom Derby.

In 1969, along came Halo. He was bred by John R. Gaines and sold as a yearling to Charles Engelhard, the owner of the great Nijinsky and a dominant international owner before his death a year later. Halo’s dam, the lovely Cosmah, was a foundation mare for Gaines having already produced Hall of Fame inductee, Tosmah, in 1961. Halo would be her second most outstanding offspring.

For a year following Engelhard’s death, Halo raced in his colours and won the Lawrence Realization. Sold to Hollywood producer Irving Allen, Halo was then shipped to Allen’s stable in England where it was discovered that he was cribber. At the time, cribbing was viewed very disadvantageously by the British, for reasons that are lost in time. But the habit overturned Halo’s sale, and back the dark, dark brown three year-old came, this time to E.P. Taylor and Windfields Farm, the home of Northern Dancer and Nearctic. Racing under trainer Mack Miller, who had been his trainer as a 2 year-old, Halo raced until 5 with his biggest win coming that year, in the United Nations Handicap. He retired with a record of 31 starts of which he won 9, placed in 8 and rolled in third 5 times. Kind of an average race horse.

Halo was an average contender on the track.

But Halo was certainly no average sire.

His stud career began at the Maryland division of Windfield’s Farm, followed by a move to Arthur Hancock’s Stone Farm in 1984, where he lived until his death in 2000, at the age of 31. There was something about his new career that turned the always nervous Halo into a genuinely nasty stallion, so mean that he went out to his paddock wearing a specially designed muzzle. But the job he did in the breeding shed was nothing short of spectacular, siring not only the incomparable — and similarly temperamental — Sunday Silence, but also another Kentucky Derby winner, Sunny’s Halo (sire of more than 24 stakes winners), as well as Devil’s Bag (sire of Devil His Due, Twilight Agenda and Japan’s Taiki Shuttle), Southern Halo (repatriated South American sire of More Than Ready), Lively One (sire of champion Answer Lively), Jolie’s Halo (sire of Hal’s Hope) and Strodes Creek. His daughters also distinguished themselves on the track, notably the Kentucky Oaks winner, Goodbye Halo, and the Canadian and North American champion, Glorious Song, who was also a Blue Hen in the breeding shed, producing both Rahy and Singspiel.

Champion Glorious Song. Photo and copyright, Michael Burns.

Champion Glorious Song. Photo and copyright, Michael Burns.

The lovely Sunny's Halo.

Champion Devil's Bag.

The exquisite Southern Halo.

Despite the champions Halo got, most of his sons proved unable to follow in his footsteps as sires. Other than the prepotent Sunday Silence, no other progeny came close, with the exception of Southern Halo, who was a terrific sire in South America and who’s son, More Than Ready, gave us Ready’s Image, who has just recently entered stud.

Such are the vagaries of genetics, exemplified in Halo’s son, Saint Ballado, a full brother to Devil’s Bag who was nowhere near as impressive on the track, although he did win the Arlington Classic and the Sheridan Stakes. However, the handsome stallion bested his brother in the breeding shed, siring champions Saint Liam, Ashado and Captain Bodgit before his untimely death at the age of 13.

Saint Liam raced into his 5th year, retiring with earnings in excess of 4 million USD. His gutsy win in the 2005 Breeders’ Classic earned him the respect of horse racing’s sports elite, even though saint Liam had also annexed the Donn and Stephen Foster, as well as the Woodward that same year.

The lovely Saint Ballado, great grandsire of Havre de Grace.

Fans loved the exquisite Ashado for her determination and grand heart.

Captain Bodgit: his moves in winning the Holy Bull left horse racing fans dreaming of a new Triple Crown winner!

Anne Eberhardt's beautiful portrait of Saint Liam. Photo and copyright, The Blood Horse. (This photo can be purchased through Blood Horse's photo store)

Celebration of Saint Liam's receipt of 2005 Horse of the Year honours.

Although Saint Liam broke from post 13 in the BC Classic, and although he was hounded to the finish line by a gallant Flower Alley, his stamina and class shone through:

In the meantime, pedigree experts were focusing on Saint Liam for another reason. Other sons of Saint Ballado like Captain Bodgit, Flame Thrower, Yankee Victor and Sweetsouthernsaint had failed to produce anything that demonstrated some of the potential of the Hail to Reason-Halo sire line. Would Saint Liam be any different?

Retired following his Classic win to stand at Lane’s End, Saint Liam only had one crop of foals before he was gone. Had he survived the unlucky incident that killed him, it is likely that the young stallion would have sparkled. The fact that in his only foal crop there were 12 stakes performers, 6 stakes winners and 3 graded winners, headed by our 2011 Horse of the Year, attests to his great potential. After his death, the University of Notre Dame named a health centre, St. Liam’s, in his honour. But despite such a tribute, the loss of Saint Liam remains one of the saddest events in the industry of recent times.

Havre de Grace bears an uncanny resemblance to her sire, Saint Liam, right down to the star that blazes on her broad forehead and the kind, intelligent eyes. Photo by Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos.

Bittersweet as the career of his best daughter may be, Havre de Grace does Saint Liam proud. She looks like her daddy and to quote her trainer, Larry Jones, has ” …a heart as big as America.”  Grace boasts a wonderful disposition, stamina that won’t quit and a determination to win. Too, like Saint Liam, Havre de Grace is improving with maturity — all of which augers well for her 5 year-old campaign.

The champion at the Meet And Greet Havre de Grace event, held at Fox Hill Farm on November 12, 2011. Photo by Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos.

In her Woodward and Beldame wins of 2011, Grace demonstrated with a kind of equine finality why Larry Jones thinks of her as “my Zenyatta.” Certainly, Grace is taking a page from Zenyatta’s book, insofar as her gain in maturity and experience might well make 2012 the “Jones Girl’s” best yet.

Of one thing we can be sure: Halo is guiding her, every step of the way.

Good luck in 2012, sweetheart. Run like a girl and come home safe. Photo by Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos.

Havre de Grace takes the Woodward in “Saint Liam style”

Walking away from the field in the Beldame:

Riding with Grace:

WHEN THE IMAGE SPEAKS: BRONWEN AND HER NELLY (aka BLACK CAVIAR)

 Just received a note from Australia’s most noted thoroughbred photographer, Bronwen Healy, about the time she spent with one of her great equine loves, Nelly, aka Black Caviar. Bronwen’s note prompted an immediate response here on THE VAULT to let all Nelly fans worldwide know that there are brand new photo essays (4, in fact) of this wonderful “pony” (as Bronwen calls her) posted on The Image Is Everything. 

I first discovered Bronwen Healy’s photography many years ago now, through the auspices of the worldwide web. Of course, in those days, yours truly was too shy to even contemplate writing Ms. Healy to say how much I thought of her photography. But I have been an ardent fan for at least a decade. 

What you learn from a photographer with an artist’s eye, like Bronwen Healy or Lydia A. Williams or Barbara Livingston or Michael Burns, is difficult to describe in words. But let me try. The first thing I learned is that, just like a painter or a sculptor or anyone involved in The Arts, photographers have what we call today “a signature” that identifies their work. 

In Bronwen’s case, that signature — at least for me — has to do with her understanding of the uses of light, coupled with a desire to get “under the surface” of the thoroughbreds she represents through the lens.  In the latter case, Bronwen’s work situates her viewer in a visual landscape that creates an intimate association with the image: we become Peter Moody or Nelly’s beloved caretaker, Zach Ianson. We become people who know Black Caviar in a way that even the most skilled sports commentator would be at a loss to replicate. Such is the language of the image — and the art of Bronwen Healy. 

As I said, it was her use of light that brought me back to Bronwen’s website again and again. I would sit for as long as 20 minutes looking at a single photograph and marvelling over the light that not only backgrounded her subjects but permeated them, so that every detail — whether on a horse’s brow or through the slope of a muscled shoulder — played a distinct and distinctive role in the whole of the composition. These are photographs that go beyond simply capturing a memory. They are tapestries of colour, texture, light and perspective.

Just to tantalize you, below are thumbnails of each of Bronwen’s journal entries, together with one of an outstanding series of photos. Just follow the link provided by copying and pasting into your browser, or go to http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com and use the menu. 

So please join THE VAULT as we celebrate the artistry of Bronwen Healy by entering her world, a magical place where a lens becomes the voice of Black Caviar and the many other thoroughbreds that Bronwen has photographed throughout her career. 

ENTRY #1: “BLACK CAVIAR: HAILING THE QUEEN”  

http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/view/sidebar

Black Caviar and her fans -- there to celebrate her 17th victory!

ENTRY #2: SEEING THE SUNRISE WITH NELLY

http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/seeing-sunrise-with-nelly.html

Bronwen Healy shooting Nelly at sunrise.

ENTRY #3: BEACH DAYS WITH BLACK CAVIAR

http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/beach-days-with-black-caviar.html

...and I love it!!!!

ENTRY #4: THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN

http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/2012/01/beach-days-with-black-caviar.html

Black Caviar winning her unofficial trial at Caulfield, January 17, 2012

To see more of Bronwen Healy’s photography, you are invited to check out her website at: http://www.bronwenhealy.com.au/

“…I am humbled by her performance” — South Africa’s IGUGU

…And humbled indeed he was. Mike de Kock, the trainer of great thoroughbreds like Horse Chestnut and Ipi Tombe, as well as a spate of others who ran mostly in South Africa and Dubai, had just been overwhelmed by the performance of his 4 year-old mare, Igugu.

Igugu means “jewel” or “treasure” in Zulu and that she most certainly is — and more. Just how much more remains to be seen.

South Africa’s 2010 Horse of the Year had come into the Southern Cape’s flagship race, the J & B Met, not quite herself. The daughter of Galileo had first been ill, then had to endure an 18-hour road trip to Cape Town, followed by almost complete isolation in quarantine in the days before the race. She had had little gusto to train up to the race. She appeared lacklustre at the start.

But then, the heart of a champion kicked into gear as the field turned for home…..

Igugu is to South African racing what fillies and mares like Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, Rags To Riches and Dance Smartly are to North America, what Black Caviar is to Australia and Zarkava to France: a Superstar. That one thoroughbred in a million who brings passion, excitement and heart-stopping thrills to fan and punter alike each and every time they step onto the turf. Igugu joins the ranks of great female thoroughbreds worldwide who have so impressively stepped up over the better part of this decade to compete against all comers.

Igugu, the Queen of South African racing.

Her sire, Galileo (1998).

Her dam, the unraced Zarinia (2001) is a daughter of Intikhab (1994).

Igugu was born in Australia in 2007, the product of one of sire Galileo’s Southern Hemisphere visits. What can we say about Galileo? Even in countries where he has yet to set foot, he is known as a sire who likely carries the prepotency of Sadler’s Wells, together with the rich genetic material of his outstanding dam, Urban Sea. During her lifetime, Urban Sea not only won the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe for the Tsui family, but went on to become a Blue Hen, producing My Typhoon as well as still another equine giant, in the form of the incomparable Sea The Stars.

To return to Galileo — clearly the high hopes Coolmore invested in him has borne golden fruit.

Not only that, but this wonderful stallion has the knack of producing “golden” fillies as well as colts. To date, Galileo has sired talented fillies like Allegretto, Golden Lilac, Maybe, Lush Lashes, Together, Misty For Me and a half-sister to the great Goldikova, Galikova, who is well on her way to following in her big sister’s footsteps. As for colts, Galileo’s champion progeny include Frankel, Nathaniel, Treasure Beach, Cape Blanco, Soldier of Fortune, Rip Van Winkle, Red Rocks, Sixties Icon and the lightly raced, Teofilo.  If even one of these boys becomes a solid sire, then Galileo, at the ripe old age of 15, enters the high society of sire of sires. As for his daughters: who wouldn’t dream of a broodmare band with this quality and depth?

Igugu’s dam, Zarinia, never raced. And the filly’s broodmare sire, Intikhab, descends from the Roberto line. However, he has thus far proved only a moderate success, with arguably his biggest splash being the outstanding Snow Fairy (2007). Rounding out her pedigree is the fact that Igugu is inbred to Mr. Prospector (4 X 5) and Hail To Reason (5 X5).

Igugu in a conformation shot.

In 2009-2010, the 2 year-old Igugu started 5 times, winning 3 and coming in second twice. The two she lost in her maiden year are the only 2 races in what is now a total of 12 starts. Since February 2011, Igugu has done nothing but win. Here she is breaking her maiden under jockey Randall Simons, who rode her throughout her 2 year-old season:

Like many of the Galileo’s, Igugu at 2 was high-strung, inclined to sweat up before a race and got so wound up that her favourite running style involved charging out of the gate as though her tail were on fire, grabbing the lead and then running away from the field. She’s stayed pretty much the same throughout her career. But at the beginning, given her sweats and slightly wild-eyed temperament, Mike de Kock was not prepared to label her brilliant, although he knew that she had some potential. Any experienced trainer will tell you that even great ability can be swamped by a nervous sensibility. So the jury was out on Igugu for most of her 2 year-old season.

The love of Mike de Kock’s career will always be the masterful Horse Chestnut (1995), a winner of the South African Triple Crown. The handsome chestnut also came from the Northern Dancer – Sadler’s Wells sire lines, as does Igugu. If truth were to be told, de Kock’s very private view was that Horse Chestnut had been THE horse of his lifetime.

The magnificent Horse Chestnut.

While it is true that for every trainer there is typically one thoroughbred who sweeps him/her off their feet in a love story that lasts forever, when Igugu embarked on her own Triple Crown campaign — South Africa’s Triple Tiara, first instituted in 1999 — she gave her trainer’s loyalty to his Triple Crown champion colt a run for its money.

Follow each victory from your own seat in THE VAULT’S GRANDSTAND, beginning with the 2011 Gauteng Fillies Guineas:

Second leg: the Grade One SA Fillies Classic:

And then, the race that brought them to their feet, the SA Oaks:

And there you are. In the speed of a heartbeat, Galileo’s little girl became the very first winner of SA’s Triple Tiara, giving Mike de Kock an unprecedented two such champions in his career.

Igugu after her courageous win against the colts in her first start of 2012.

At this point in 2012, Igugu’s story begins where this article started. Future plans include the possibility of running her in Dubai.

But we think that it’s fair to say that after her victory in the J & B Met in January, Igugu left the track to take up residence right next to Horse Chestnut, in the chambers of her trainer’s heart.

South Africa's sweetheart and her regular jockey, Anthony Delpech. Delpech took over from Simons when Igugu started her Triple Tiara campaign.

WAR ADMIRAL: THE LITTLE HORSE WHO COULD — AND DID! (for John Shirreffs)

We can’t be absolutely certain that War Admiral is trainer John Shirreffs all-time favourite thoroughbred of the past. But we do know that the distinguished trainer of 2010 Horse of the Year, Zenyatta, has a vast collection of racing memorabilia that reflects his passion for the history of thoroughbred racing. In a Thoroughbred Times article about John Shirreffs and his wife, Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs, the Mosses Racing Manager, entitled “Zenyatta’s People” (11/04/2010), it was pointed out that one of the “jewels” in John’s collection is a program from a banquet held in the 1930′s to honour War Admiral, that features a portrait of Man O’ War on the cover and is signed by Samuel Riddle. 

THE VAULT ‘s mission is to celebrate the role of history in shaping the sport of racing and the thoroughbred as a breed. So what better way to celebrate the start of a new year than by dedicating our War Admiral narrative to an appreciative historian of the sport, John Shirreffs?

To our fabulous readers: without your support and encouragement, there would be no inspiration to go on spinning stories. I write for each and every one of you. 

Enroute on his "private coach" from Florida back East, War Admiral pauses during his breakfast to pose for photographers.

Contrary to his portrayal in the most recent movie about Seabiscuit, based on Laura Hillenbrand’s wonderful book of the same name, War Admiral was a small, brown colt who at 3 yrs. stood slightly over 15.2 hands. Clearly, the decision in the movie to depict him as a Titan was a kind of figurative gesture, calculated to add suspense, while indicating to those movie-goers unfamiliar with thoroughbred racing history that “The Admiral” was a champion of giant-esque proportions.

And that he was.

The diminutive brown yearling, who resembled his dam far more than he did his legendary sire, was so woefully unlike Man O’ War in conformation that Samuel Riddle despaired and actually tried to convince his partner, the distinguished Walter M. Jeffords Sr., to take the colt off his hands. For not only did The Admiral resemble his dam, but the exquisitely built little mare had actually only run in three races and failed to win; Samuel Riddle, who owned Brushup with the Jeffords, connected the brown colt’s looks with intimations of his dam’s mediocrity. Riddle jealously guarded the reputation of Man O’ War and one way he attempted to assure that Big Red would achieve immortality was to disperse any offspring that did not appear to meet the standard of excellence of their sire.

However — and happily for Riddle — Jeffords Sr. showed little interest in the tiny son of Brushup.

(Brushup is the bay mare, on the left.)

Unremarkable as her racing career was, Brushup came to Riddle with a lovely pedigree. Her sire, Sweep (1907), descended from the likes of Himyar (1875) and his great son, Domino (1891), as well as Kentucky Derby winner, Ben Brush (1893) and the founder of the Fair Play line, Australian (1858). Himyar (1875) was such an outstanding sire and made such a lasting contribution to the breed itself that he certainly deserves his own spot on THE VAULT! Briefly, he was a speedball on the turf, winning 14 of his 28 starts and was without a doubt the fastest thoroughbred of his generation. Sweep’s dam, Pink Domino (1897) was a granddaughter of Himyar and a daughter of Domino. Sweep won the Belmont Stakes and other top contests during his racing career, but is likely most famous for being the broodmare sire of two Triple Crown winners — War Admiral and Whirlaway.

A lithograph of the great Himyar.

Beautiful Domino, caught here burning up the track!

Ben Brush, sire of Sweep.

Sweep, the son of Ben Brush and grandson of Domino. Sweep would make his mark as the broodmare sire of 2 American Triple Crown winners!

War Admiral with his trainer, George Conway. Copyright The Baltimore Sun.

The blood that raced in The Admiral’s veins was a treasure-trove of great, great thoroughbreds. But despite that, the colt would have to earn the respect of his owner and the horse racing public, most of whom would brook no equal to their hero, Man O’ War, even while they awaited a son or daughter stamped with his greatness. The one person who took the little colt as he was, allowing him to grow and develop into the individual he became, was trainer George Conway — and The Admiral blossomed under his tutelage.

Conway was in the final years of his career when War Admiral came along. He was a quiet, thoughtful and focused professional of few words, but he had an eye for good horses and it didn’t take very long before Conway knew that the tiny son of Man O’ War was destined to be one of the giants of thoroughbred racing. At the beginning, however, Conway doubted that any other thoroughbred could ever be as accomplished as another son of Man O’ War who was dear to his heart, Crusader.

George Conway had learned his trade from a number of trainers before arriving at Glen Riddle, working his way up from the very bottom of the pecking order. Man O’ War’s trainer, Louis Feustel, saw Conway’s potential and made him stable foreman. During those magical years, it was often George Conway who led the always-restive Man O’ War to the start of one of his races. In fact, Conway spent so much time with Big Red that it was he, rather than Feustel, who really accounted for Big Red’s conditioning and overall mental outlook. Following Feustel, Gwyn Tompkins became the head trainer at Glen Riddle and started Man O’ War’s son, Crusader, as a 2 year-old. When Tompkins retired, it was Conway who was asked by Samuel Riddle to take the reins. So it was that George Conway raced Crusader until the champion’s retirement and, in so doing, established himself in the eyes of the sporting public.

George Conway, pictured with Man O' War at Saratoga.

Crusader, the mighty -- very much the namesake of his sire and who, as a colt, was the first to win George Conway's heart.

 

Conway treated all his horses as individuals, working to build a program that would suit their abilities and their needs. He was a patient man and he lavished this patience on his charges. As a rule, Conway only raced his 2 year-olds lightly, understanding that, at two, thoroughbreds are still growing into themselves physically, while caught somewhere between babyhood and maturity mentally. However, “lightly” in 1936 meant something quite different than it does today — The Admiral started 6 times as a 2 year-old, winning one stakes race as well as two others in the process. That year, the small bay was among a triad of promising Man O’ War progeny to hit the track running; the other two were Matey and Wand. A fourth youngster, Over The Top, had also been seen as a good prospect for Glen Riddle. But it was the appearance of Wand, Matey and War Admiral that most impressed, hinting that perhaps the ageing Man O’ War still had a champion or two left in him, after years of mediocre crops.

War Admiral (inside) works with stablemate, Over The Top (1937).

Who loves you baby? George Conway feeding sugar to the little champ after his win in the Chesapeake.

War Admiral’s “fiery” temperament, contrary to the myth, was not a signature trait. His worst temper tantrums appear to have been provoked by the imposition of a starting gate, although he was also unnerved by noise and camera flashes. In the quiet of his barn with its familiar smells, routines and humans, the little bay was no different than most 2 year-old colts. He even tended to be more relaxed than most, indulging in long naps at least twice a day. His groom called him “sweet” and noted his intelligence. His trainer found him more like his dam in overall personality than his sire. In fact, if photographs can be considered a kind of visual history, it must be said that photos of a quiet, well-behaved War Admiral vastly outnumber the few that depict him misbehaving.It seems likely that the exaggerated myth about his explosive personality might well have been the stuff of folkways, motivated by the desire to connect a noble son to a beloved, fiery American legend.

In his juvenile season, it became clear that The Admiral had an indomitable determination to win. He was always “on his toes” on race day and although the colt acted very badly at the starting gate, when the race was on he switched to a completely focused running machine. His regular jockey, Charley Kurtsinger, was impressed with how War Admiral handled himself on the track that year: he was responsive, eager to learn and always tried his best. As it would turn out, what Man O’ War had bequeathed to the little guy was stamina, heart and courage. Nowhere was this more apparent than in War Admiral’s victory in the Eastern Shore Handicap, where the colt strutted his stuff, running a quarter-mile in :22 3/5 and the half in : 45 4/5. In the end, the 2 year-old won by 5 lengths and in so doing, garnered a modest though enthusiastic following. Despite that victory, it was Pompoon (1934) who took the honours for 2 year-old champion that year.

It was during his 3 year-old campaign that the diminutive colt raced into the pantheon of thoroughbred champions, earning the respect and admiration of his owner and trainer and winning the hearts of the thousands who saw him run. It is impossible to think that George Conway, who had struggled to reach what would be the apex of his career in 1937, was not naturally drawn to this son of Man O’ War who would be called upon to show something greater than ability to earn his own rightful place in the history of American thoroughbred racing. Conway watched as The Admiral won his first two starts of the season at Havre de Grace with relative ease. In his second victory, the Chesapeake Stakes, the Daily Racing Form carried the annotation of  ”Easily best.” But beating the likes of Court Scandal, or his stablemate, Over The Top, certainly didn’t mean that The Admiral was something special.

But the nimble bay’s march through Kentucky, Maryland and New York on the Triple Crown Trail was still to come.

War Admiral boards the train on his way to Kentucky.

The champion at work.

On May 8, 1937, one of the largest crowds ever assembled saw the favourite, War Admiral, make all the running to win the Kentucky Derby in the second fastest recorded time ever, on what was only his second experience racing at over a mile. It was also Samuel Riddle’s first Kentucky Derby win; the sportsman generally frowned on running his horses outside of Maryland and New York states and felt that running a 3 year-old in May over the Derby distance was asking too much of most young thoroughbreds. But the little Admiral would prove him wrong, soundly defeating the 2 year-old champion of 1937, Pompoon, along the way.

Winning the 1937 Kentucky Derby, Pompoon in second place.

Always happy to watch what was going on around him and curious to a fault, The Admiral waits for his turn on the track.

The 1937 Preakness was run just a week after the Kentucky Derby that year. Again, the race was essentially War Admiral vs. Pompoon in what turned out to be quite a stretch dual, much to the excitement of the fans. War Admiral won by a short head against his stalwart rival, but George Conway must have seen the heart of a champion in his tiny colt’s refusal to give up, no matter how determined the competition.

War Admiral (outside) rushes down the stretch with Pompoon at his throat latch in the heart-pounding finish of the 1937 Preakness.

But the real drama of War Admiral’s Triple Crown occurred in the Belmont, where the colt stumbled leaving the starting gate and then went on to win in a time that surpassed the record set by his sire in 1920. The win was breathtaking and other than his jockey, no-one knew that the 3 year-old was running wounded. War Admiral had been his usual self at the starting gate, charging through it prematurely and helping to hold up the race for a full 8 minutes. But when he finally stood still long enough for there to be a proper start, The Admiral darted out so quickly that, as John Hervey (Salvator) described it, “…he struck the quarter of his right front fore-foot and sheared off it, as with a knife, a portion of the wall of the hoof an inch or more square, leaving a gaping wound from which blood was flowing…” In actual fact, The Admiral had spurted blood from the damaged hoof throughout the race, leaving his underside a bright red, something Kurtsinger and Conway noted just before the colt entered the winner’s circle.

Here is War Admiral, in all his glory, winning the Belmont and securing the Triple Crown.

After the Belmont, it was clear that Brushup’s courageous son was a legend in his own right, with a devoted following for whom he would always reign supreme. His every move was now the subject of a dizzying array of photographs, camera footage and sports commentary. And the little fellow? Well, he was given a well-deserved time out to heal and replenish, before returning in October 1937 to win an allowance race, the Washington Handicap and the Pimlico Special. Then he was shipped to Florida with the rest of Conway’s stable, where the warmer temperatures and the blessing of the sun ushered in his 4 year-old campaign.

War Admiral gallops home to win the Belmont Stakes and the American Triple Crown

Following the Belmont, a proud George Conway and jockey Kurtsinger walk into the winner's circle. (The arrow indicates the injured forefoot.)

The Admiral enjoyed Hialeah where he began working in preparation for the first of two wins of the Widener Cup. He would annex his second Widener victory in 1939. As well, in 1938 the champion finally made it to Saratoga, the favourite horse racing venue of Mr. Riddle and company, having been derailed from racing there after his Belmont injury. At the Spa, The Admiral continued to chalk up victory after victory, winning all four of his starts, including the Whitney, the Saratoga Cup and the Saratoga Handicap. An utterly spellbound Hervey wrote of the 4 year-old’s triumphal return passed the grandstand after his stunning Saratoga Cup victory, “…when he came prancing back to the stand…it rose to him and he was applauded to the echo.” From here it was on to Belmont, where War Admiral won the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup, his eighth win in 9 starts as a 4 year-old.

As most know, this was also the year of the famous Seabiscuit-War Admiral Match Race, won handily by the West’s hero. It took two tries before the contest finally went off, at Pimlico, on November 1, 1938. In publicity shots for the May 30th race between the two (which was canceled) War Admiral showed his feisty self off to a barrage of noisy and jostling reporters. He did, however, cool off enough for the press to get a few portraits as well, of which one is below.

War Admiral acts up!

A few minutes later, an AP photographer grabs a lovely head-shot.

Before Samuel Riddle would agree to the November date, the concession was made to have a walk up start and the reason was that The Admiral had gotten some harsh treatment at Pimlico when he showed his usual reluctance to be loaded into the starting gate and the little fellow had never forgotten it, making Pimlico not a very popular track for the Triple Crown winner. As well, to quote Edward Bowen, ” War Admiral was thus coming into the race off four consecutive victories and had won sixteen of his past seventeen races. Seabiscuit’s run up to the race could be cast in whatever light appealed to the opinion of the individual: one win in his past three races, or three wins in his past five, five of his past eight, but also five of his past eleven.”

However, none of this should detract from the fact that two great horses went to the start that day and either one deserved to win.

After it was all over, Kurtsinger declared that his mount had just not had it in him to win, while Woolf declared that he had looked into The Admiral’s eye and seen “…something that was pitiful…He looked all broken up.” Following his defeat, there was much deriding of War Admiral in the press, including those who felt his career was one of a spoiled, little rich kid who had only ever faced “soft” competition. And so the myth was born that War Admiral, the privileged, had been defeated by Seabiscuit, the “working man’s” turf hero.

To their credit, the Glen Riddle Stable soldiered on and the racing public, who would never abandon The Admiral based on the fickleness of the press, sent him to the post in the last two races of his career a clear favourite. Of course, the gutsy little bay won.

As a sire, his contribution to the breed was as definitive as was the impact of sons and daughters like Busanda, Busher, Bee Mac, Searching, War Jeep and Blue Peter on the sport, together with another 36 stakes winners he sired. War Admiral led the general sire list in 1945; the 2 year-old sire list in 1948 and the broodmare sire list in 1962 and again in 1964.

Although The Admiral’s sons were not influential as sires, both Busanda and Searching made a huge impact. Their descendants include the likes of Swaps, Buckpasser, Numbered Account, Iron Liege, Hoist the Flag, Gun Bow, Striking and Crafty Admiral, as well as two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Other descendants of note from the War Admiral line include Dr. Fager, Alysheba, Cigar and, most recently, Zenyatta.

To this day, breeders point with pride to War Admiral in the lineage of their thoroughbreds. What the name connotes is timeless, synonymous with the very essence of the thoroughbred.

War Admiral and the groom who adored him. Here we see how those who knew the little bay colt better than anyone felt about him.

NOTE: I am searching for the name of War Admiral’s groom (pictured above) during his racing career and any other information related to him and/or their relationship. If you can help, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON: MOLASSES BILL & JIMMIE

Christmas, Channukah and so many other celebrations of love and life are also occasions for “re-memory” as the novelist Toni Morrison calls the act of remembering in a reflective way. In my own case, I rememory the Christmases of my childhood, when my grandparents were alive and their house was a fairyland of lights and ornaments, and Christmases with my father, who was the most expert of turkey-carvers, and who died suddenly when I was only 31 years old.  These memories are part of who I am. Every Christmas brings me back to my grandparents and my Dad. In that sense, they have achieved a kind of immortality, living on as they do within me. 

This short piece on THE VAULT is inspired by the importance of rememorying not only the famous thoroughbreds, but also those whose contribution to the sport — and our passion for it — was as great. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have given THE VAULT your support. I have received wonderful comments from so many readers! Special thanks to Steve Haskin who, busy as I know he is, always takes the time to drop me a note of encouragement each time I publish a new article.

I have also to thank photographers extraordinaire Lydia Williams (LAW), Barbara Livingston, Bronwen Healy, Amber Chaflin, Emily Shields and Lindsey Ames Sanquenetti for so generously sharing their beautiful photographs with THE VAULT and its readership. I have wanted to celebrate my passion for thoroughbreds and the sport since I was a little girl. THE VAULT has made this dream possible through readers like you and the wonderful photographers whose work has so enriched the writing.

I wish each of you a very Happy Channukah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the holidays bring you joy and laughter, the company of friends and family and good tidings throughout 2012! 

The magnificent Molasses Bill and his trainer, pictured here in 1946.

I am a collector of thoroughbred photographs, something that started about twenty years ago with the desire to track down an actual photo of one of my equine favourites, Terlingua, Secretariat’s daughter and the dam of Storm Cat. It was a modest goal at the time. Since then, my collection has exploded to epic proportions. Such is the course of any passionate pursuit: it starts by timidly entering into the dance and, before you know it, you are dancing out your joy each and every day!

In the course of searching out collectible photographs, I have come across legions of thoroughbreds who never hit the headlines more than once or twice in their day, if at all. Their names could fill an encyclopedia: Ned Reigh, Amazing Princess, Novelty, Thanksgiving, Savage Beauty, Quando, Pot O’ Luck, Merry Pete, Street Song, Sorteado, Battlin’ Satin, Famous Victory, Casual Friend, Billionaire, Staffordshire, Monte Carlo, Gosum, Mowsatre. I stumble upon these equine ghosts because I am hopelessly in love with early horse racing photography. It captures a golden age in a completely different visual sensibility that is hard to generalize. But from what I have gleaned over the years, the pre-1950 horse racing photographer was more interested in communicating the reality of the sport than in getting a perfect, promotional image. Accordingly, among the more conventional track photos abound images of “ordinary moments” in the lives of the thoroughbred, his/her trainer, jockey and groom. These oldies are so compelling, so charming, that it is tough to resist them.

When a photo captures my imagination, I spend a little time trying to research its equine subject — often, to no avail. The records of these obscure athletes — the colts, fillies and geldings who worked hard on racetracks throughout the USA and Canada, but who never gained superstar status — together with the biographies of their trainers and owners, elude even the most skilled researcher.

While horses like Man O’ War, Seabiscuit, Exterminator, Citation, Secretariat, Ruffian, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are irreplaceable as ambassadors of our sport, its history is writ large at the uppermost levels of equine society, a little like Shakespeare, whose plays focused on the lives of the aristocracy. The Belmonts, Whitneys and other founding racing dynasties were the focus of much record-keeping and writing in the past and that trend continues today.

The reason is obvious: we ordinary folk are more fascinated by the lives of the greats than we are the daily drudgery of the common hoard . Understandable, to be sure. But what happens in the wake of this cultural tradition is that history sustains huge gaps in its very fabric and, consequently, becomes distorted. So it is that the stories of racing communities and their horses become lost to us forever, as witnessed in the mountains of old press photos that depict thoroughbreds whose names mean nothing today. Prancing onto the modest tracks that proliferated throughout the land, with all the pomp and circumstance of soldiers going into battle, these “forgotten” thoroughbreds were the true ambassadors — and heroes — of the turf. It was they who brought the magic of horse racing to millions of people, making it possible for the working man or woman to participate in the sport of kings.

Enter Molasses Bill (1933) and Jimmie (1941).

Molasses Bill was an elegant dark chocolate gelding, a son of Challenger II (1927) out of a mare named Molasses Jane (1926). The colt was bred and raised at Branncastle Farm, owned by William Brann, the breeder of Challendon and owner of Gallorette. Challenger II was a son of the great British thoroughbred, Swynford (1907) who won 8 of his 12 starts, including the St. Leger and Eclipse Stakes, and sired Blandford, St. Germans and the great Saucy Sue, winner of the Oaks and 1000 Guineas. On his dam’s side, Molasses Bill boasted the ancestry of Domino (1891) and Commando (1898), as well as Ben Brush (1893) — the sire of Regret, the first filly to ever win the Kentucky Derby — and Ben Brush’s son, Broomstick (1901) — all brilliant race horses.

Swynford with his groom.

Domino, one of the greatest thoroughbreds who ever lived.

Domino's best son, Commando.

The incomparable Ben Brush, a champion on the turf and in the shed.

Ben Brush's son, Broomstick.

Feel the pride: Molasses Bill and his trainer, George Alexandra.

Molasses Bill was a sprinter of more than average talent — and stamina. The gelding made 262 starts between the ages of 2-16 years of age, with a record of 61 wins – 44 places – 33 shows.  In other words, he made good in over 50% of the races he contested. His lifetime earnings were a little shy of $51,000 USD, which would be worth roughly $ 610,600 USD today. Racing both in the USA and Canada, Molasses Bill gave Canadian racegoers the “greatest thrill of the afternoon” when he ran to a dead heat finish in the Inaugural Handicap at Blue Bonnets Race Track in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 22, 1938. Here’s the link to the article that ran in THE MONTREAL GAZETTE :

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dIkxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Z6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6571%2C2451830

Owned by E.D. Slavin in 1938, Molasses Bill changed hands at some point thereafter since, by 1944, his owner is a Mrs. Winston W. Adams and his trainer is George Alexandra. Whether or not the gutsy gelding was always trained by Alexandra could not be determined. However, we do know that Molasses Bill also campaigned at Suffolk Downs and Narragansett Park and records suggest that the former may well have been his home base. In 1942, as a 9 year-old, Molasses Bill won 3 races in a row. Still running at the age of 16, the son of Challenger II raced 16 times, with 4 wins, 2 places and 2 shows. The gelding was deep through the heart and, it would seem, never gave up without a battle even when he was a senior competing against babies. In the very few accounts that are extant, it would appear that his mettle was not only respected, but also gave him a following of devoted fans from Montreal to Suffolk Downs. What became of him after his retirement is unknown, but one finds oneself wishing that he was treated with the deep respect he so richly deserved in his old age.

Molasses Bill leads the field home (1946). On the back of this photo is noted: "Some people say that he actually stretches out his nose near the finish line!"

Another grand campaigner was a chestnut gelding named Jimmie (1941), by Chance Play (1923) out of Nursemaid (1928). Jimmie was a homebred of a Mrs. Roy Carruthers of Versailles, Kentucky. Jimmie’s bloodlines are as distinguished as those of Molasses Bill.

As a grandson of Fair Play (1905) and the mare Quelle Chance (1917), Jimmie’s pedigree on top boasts the names of the brilliant and bad-tempered sire, Hastings (1893) and of Spendthrift (1876), the Belmont winner and accomplished “mudder,” together with Australian (1858) the leading sire and founder of the Fair Play line. Bend Dor (1877), a son of Doncaster (1870) and the excellent broodmare Rouge Rose (1865), as well as Rock Sand (1900), the broodmare sire of the incomparable Man O’ War and winner of the English Triple Crown in 1903, round out Jimmie’s blue-blood ancestry.

A portrait of Jimmie. (Pardon the markings -- these were put on the actual photo to indicate where a crop should be made before going to press.)

On the bottom of Jimmie’s pedigree, we again find Domino and Commando, as well as Sweep (1907), another outstanding son of Ben Brush. Sweep was a champion 2 year-old (1909) and 3 year-old (1910) who went on to become the broodmare sire of two Triple Crown winners: War Admiral and Whirlaway. Finally, Jimmie’s bloodlines also feature the two-time winner of the Ascot Gold Cup, Isonomy (1875). ( Like many American thoroughbreds of their day, both Jimmie and Molasses Bill were descendants of accomplished British horses, several of whose names appear in their pedigrees from the 2nd through the 5th generations.)

Only paintings of Australian exist, of which this one is arguably the most famous.

A fuzzy image of Spendthrift and his groom.

The beautiful Rock Sand pictured at his stable in England, after winning the British Triple Crown.

Jimmie’s racing career is as hard to track down as that of Molasses Bill, although extant pedigree information declares him to have been a black-type winner. We do know that Jimmie made a total of 95 starts, winning 21, placing in 15 and finishing third in 11, with lifetime earnings of over $60,000 USD, the equivalent of roughly $611, 600.00 USD today.

Jimmie actually got a headline on June 30, 1945, when he was the second choice to the favourite, Amber Light, in the $10,000 Cadillac Handicap at the Detroit Fair Grounds. His second-place ranking was based on the fact that Jimmie had run second to the same horse earlier, in the Boots and Saddle Handicap. Sadly, despite our best efforts, the results of the Cadillac Handicap could not be found anywhere. However, a year earlier, Jimmie qualified for the $25,000 added Chesapeake Stakes and in an article in the April 1944 DRF, the inference is that Jimmie deserves to be there. Jimmie’s second headline appears in the DRF in April, 1944 — “Jimmie Convincing Winner At Pimlico” — in which he “dusted off” the other 3 year-olds in a win that was seen to qualify him to be entered into the Preakness; Jimmie covered six furlongs in 1:14 and change and had to be eased up after the finish. Racing at Pimlico in late May of 1945 for his owner, Mrs. Carruthers, Jimmie fought hard to finish in 4th place against a longshot called Harford. At Havre de Grace in April of 1946, Jimmie is up against three very good colts — Warren Wright’s Pride, Pentagon Stables’ the Doge and H.L. Straus’ New Moon. In June of 1948, Jimmie is entered in a claiming race at Delaware Park, but in May of 1949, the gelding is one of the top picks to either win or place against a horse called Dr. Roche in a column in the DRF entitled “Havre de Grace Selections.”  At this point, Jimmie was an 8 year-old, which might explain why further information about him is scant. One hopes that, as a homebred, he was retired to live out his life under Mrs. Carruthers’ care but, like Molasses Bill, there is no information about Jimmie after he was retired.

What, you may ask, does all of this have to do with the spirit of the season?

Surely the Spirit of Channukah and Christmas showcases a moment in time when the lowly creatures in a stable and a handful of ordinary folk rose from obscurity to greatness, the former in the presence of a baby who would devote his life to bettering the lives of all people and the latter, due to a resolve, hope and faith so great that they were willing to stand firm against impossible odds. And, although we don’t know the names of the brave who brought Channukah to us, or of those lowly beasts in Bethlehem, we honour their memory.

The Molasses Bills and Jimmies are the source of The Narrative of horse racing — they are the current in a river of stories, hopes and dreams that carried us forward to the community of today. Tattered though their stories may be, when we share in the re-memory of these two gallant geldings and the people who loved them, we do honour to the other “forgotten ones,” without whom there would be no memories of a Golden Era of horse racing — and no desire to support and protect a noble tradition.

Season's Greetings from Molasses Bill (above), Jimmie and THE VAULT.

p.s. I am proud to say that I own all the press photos of Molasses Bill and Jimmie that appear in this article. One day soon, they will be framed and mounted along side my beloved photo of Will Harbut walking Man O’ War. I like to think that both Will and the first Big Red would understand — and would welcome their place in thoroughbred history.

JUST CALL ME “NELLY” — AUSTRALIA’S BLACK CAVIAR

Australian thoroughbred horse racing has known its own share of champions, some of whom are well-known around the world: Phar Lap, Carbine, Kingston Rule (a distinguished son of Secretariat) and the incomparable Makybe Diva. Aussie thoroughbreds race on the grass, in the tradition of Great Britain and Europe. 

THE VAULT looks at a great thoroughbred mare who is quickly becoming the stuff of Australian legend: the incomparable Black Caviar. Our narrative is enriched, once again, by the stunning photography of Bronwen Healy, Australia’s renowned photographer of thoroughbreds. If you love horses and great photography, you’ll love her blog, “The Image Is Everything”  (http://bronwenhealyphotography.blogspot.com/view/sidebar)

Nelly, aka Black Caviar, feeling feisty after a bath.

To those who know her best, she’s Nelly. Yup. A thoroughbred whose reputation has garnered her a worldwide following is just plain Nelly to her trainer and handlers — even though they know that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse. And they’re enjoying every minute of her career, from her morning swims to her blazing down the homestretch to her repertoire of equine antics and daily routines.

Black Caviar as a yearling

The beautifully-conformed yearling daughter of Bel Esprit (1999) and Helsinge (2001) was consigned by Swettenham Stud in 2007, selling for A$210,000      ($ 216,000 USD) to a group of owners: Mr G J Wilkie, Mrs K J Wilkie, Werrett Bloodstock Pty Ltd, Mr C H Madden, Mrs J Madden, Mrs P A Hawkes, Mr D M Taylor, Mrs J Taylor.  Swettenham Stud is one of Australia’s primary stud farms, begun by the late Robert Sangster, business tycoon and thoroughbred owner-breeder who’s breeding program produced super-sires Sadler’s Wells and Zabeel. Following Sangster’s death, his son Adam took over the Australian branch of Swettenham and it was there that little Nelly was born in 2006.

The filly was the first foal of Helsinge, an unraced daughter of Desert Sun (1988), a son of the superlative sire Green Desert (1983) and grandson of the mighty Danzig (1977). Phenomenal as Danzig was as a sire and broodmare sire, Green Desert has been equally impressive at stud. The feisty stallion, pensioned in 2010, is a sire of sires whose sons include the incomparable Cape Cross (sire of Sea The Stars), Oasis Dream (sire of Midday). Invincible Spirit (eclipsed the record for winners in a given year, producing 42 individual 2 year-old winners in 2010), Desert Style (sire of Paco Boy) and Shinko Forest (sire of millionaire Tao Tao).

Prepotent Green Desert, showing some of his spirit and vibrant personality!

On top, Desert Sun’s pedigree also includes the likes of British champion Sir Ivor (1965) and the great producer Courtly Dee (1968) — who descends from the Nasrullah and Man O’ War sire lines — and was 1983 Broodmare of the Year based on the accomplishments of her talented daughter, Althea (1981). On the bottom, Desert Sun boasts Epsom Derby winner Crepello (1954), as well as some great French thoroughbreds, notably Pharis (1936) and Bois Roussel (1935). Desert Sun is a highly successful sire down under, the best of his offspring being the wonderful New Zealand-bred mare, Sunline (1995), who retired a multi-millionaire with dual victories in the Cox Plate and a number of other prestigious Australian Grade 1′s. Black Caviar is without doubt his other most famous descendant.

The handsome Bel Esprit, sire of Black Caviar

Helsinge, dam of Black Caviar, shown here with her filly foal by Australian champion, Redoute's Choice

Desert Sun, sire of Helsinge and Nelly's grandaddy

Nelly’s sire, Bel Esprit, another millionaire, is a son of Royal Academy (1987) by British Triple Crown winner Nijinsky II (1967) ex. Bespoken (1990), a daughter of champion sprinter, Vain (1966). Vain literally dominated Australian racing from 1968-1970, winning 12 of 14 starts and running a closing second in 2. Vain, a beautiful chestnut with a determined heart, was Australian Champion Race Horse in 1969-70 and was also inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. As a sire, he produced 44 stakes champions including Bel Esprit.

Royal Academy (Nijinsky II ex. Crimson Saint)

The gorgeous Vain, champion sprinter, Horse of the Year and prominent sire

Black Caviar was subsequently sent to the stable of distinguished trainer Peter Moody in Melbourne. Moody grew up in outback Queensland, earning his training stripes as an apprentice to Tommy Smith and Colin Hayes and then serving as foreman for 10 years to Sydney-based trainer Bill Mitchell. Moody then moved to Melbourne early in this decade, and went on to develop one of the strongest stables in the state with an enviable team of top class horses including 2009/10 Australian Racehorse of the Year Typhoon Tracy (2005). Moody claimed his first Melbourne Trainers Premiership last year, eight years after moving to Caulfield. Other notable Moody horses prior to Typhoon Tracy have been Amalfi (1998), a colt by Carnegie (1991) who won the VRC Derby and was Moody’s first big winner, as well as other fine horses, including Ancient Song(1998) winner of the VRC Salinger Stakes, Sky Cuddle (2000) winner of the Emirates Stakes, Testifiable (2002) winner of the Malaysia Airlines SA Derby, Cinque Cento (2001) winner of the 2007 BTC Doomben Cup and Riva San (2004), a grandaughter of Sunday Silence and one of only 4 fillies to ever sweep the Queensland Oaks/ Derby double. And although several of these are fillies, it’s fair to say that Nelly is the best that Peter Moody has ever trained.

Moody’s training style is what one expects of a master teacher: he takes his equine students as far as they can go, preparing each of the 60 horses currently in his stable according to their own strengths, from sprinters to Melbourne Cup runners. With his Nelly, Peter Moody has forged a very special connection, one the filly responded to with all her heart, as evidenced by Black Caviar’s first “public trial” at Cranbourne Training Centre and her first real race, as a 2 year-old:

The filly started one other time as a 2 year-old, stretching out to 1200 metres and winning handily. As a 3 year-old, Black Caviar raced and won three times, twice at G2 levels. But the filly also sustained injuries to her shoulder, after her second race where she had stumbled at the gate, and then a leg injury that was sustained after her victory in the G2 Australia Stakes against older horses. Her 3 year-old campaign, though short, saw the beginning of her winning relationship with jockey Luke Nolan, who has ridden her ever since.

Black Caviar and Luke Nolan in 2010.Black Caviar and Luke, August 2011

As she rested and rehabilitated for the opening of her 2010-2011 season, a time-off that included swimming as well as grazing and time with her “special friends,” Peter Moody and the mare’s connections were planning an opportunity for their undefeated champ to step up into G1 company at Flemington, in the Patinack Farm Classic. Plans for the Patinack were deftly embedded after two more G2 appearances.  Once she had won those first two — and won them handily — “the heat was on” to see if the big, dark mare with the cool and sensible disposition could strut her stuff with top-form competition.

Nelly relaxes with her special friends.

Of course, she won the 2010 Patinack, much to the delight of her fans, trainer and connections. In the Coolmore Lightning Stakes, Black Caviar’s first start of 2011 and her second G1, the courageous Hay List (2005) a gelding who descends from Storm Cat and Seattle Slew, was back to take her on again. How good is Hay List? Good enough to have won 14 of 19 starts and placed in 3 by the close of his 2011 racing season. So it was that on the eve of the Coolmore Lightning, the stage was set for a battle worthy of Affirmed and Alydar, or Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, or Ferdinand and Alysheba…..

Hay List shows off his winning form, with Glen Boss (Makybe Diva's former jockey) in the irons.

The talented mare would round off her 2010-2011 season with 11 consecutive wins, 5 in Group Ones, beating the determined Hay List into second another two times in the process. Her winning form in 2010 and 2011 would earn her WTRR Champion Sprinter of 2010, as well as the title of Australian Horse of the Year in 2011. By May 2011, her last race of the season, Black Caviar had been rated by Timeform at 130, tying with the undefeated Frankel for Best Thoroughbred in the World. Nelly took it all in stride. She was, however, still running exclusively in 1200 metre sprints, while carrying weights of 56-58 kg. each time. Were she not such a big, strong typey mare, such additional weight would have been punishing. In Australasia, thoroughbreds’ birthdays are on August 1, so Nelly’s last race was run just before her 5th birthday. Here she is in her last win — #13 — of the 2010-2011 season:

Title tells the story!

By now, Peter Moody was thoroughly besmitten with his superstar. So much so that this next series of photos by Bronwen Healy should probably be subtitled: “Who Loves You, Baby?”

Peter Moody with his Nelly.

Kisses....

What a glow!

And another caress....

...and more kisses.....

Delighting in his girl's accomplishments

Black Caviar’s 2011-2012 season kicked off on October 8, 2011 with a win in the G2 Schillacci Stakes, followed by a 15th straight win in the G2 Schweppes Stakes. Moody wasn’t so much setting her on a backwards course as he was giving her the time to step up for the 2011 Patinack Classic, given her age. It turned out to be a shrewd move, since after her Patinack win, it became clear that Black Caviar was feeling the wear and tear of still another racing season. Her jockey, Luke Nolan reported that she just didn’t feel “quite right” to him, despite the win. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that the champion had aggravated a muscle tear in her back. So at this writing, our Nelly is being given a much-deserved vacation. Assuming she’s back in form for her debut in the Australia Stakes on January 27, 2012, the central goal is to stretch her out beyond the familiar distance of 1200 metres in preparation for an appearance at Royal Ascot in 2012.

Black Caviar goes down to the start

At the BTC Cup, May 2011

Winning the G2 Schillaci Stakes (October 2011)

Looking at Black Caviar’s pedigree, she owes at least some of her sprinting prowess to Vain, while also inheriting similar potential from Crimson Saint (1969), a daughter of Crimson Satan(1959) and a Blue Hen who produced not only Royal Academy, but full siblings Terlingua (1976), the dam of Storm Cat and Pancho Villa (1982) by the mighty Secretariat. During her racing career, Crimson Saint was an accomplished sprinter, described by Wayne Lucas as his “favourite mare” of the day. Sprinting influences aside, Nelly’s ancestry over 4 generations indicates that she has what it takes to stay a longer course.

One thing is certain: Black Caviar’s trainer and owners will only do what’s absolutely best for their champion. She is respected and loved by all of those closest to her and they know she is a thoroughbred who will always answer a challenge, making it important that she is not asked to go beyond her own potential.

Her return will likely dominate thoroughbred racing come January 2012 — and what a special, special way to kick off the new year!

Following her final win of 2011

Ms. Nelly: We can't wait !!!

NEWS FLASH!!!!

These just in — taken by Bronwen Healy — NELLY AT THE BEACH. Enjoy!

Black Caviar loves to swim, so the beach is about as good as it gets!

How great is this?

Bathing beauty

RESULTS: FANTASY BC CLASSIC, LADIES CLASSIC and TURF CLASSIC

NOTE: THE VAULT WILL BE BACK WITH A NEW ARTICLE ON BLACK CAVIAR WITHIN THE NEXT 15 days or so. APOLOGIES TO MY READERS BUT ‘TIS THE SEASON OF FUND-RAISERS AND I AM SWAMPED WITH VOLUNTEER WORK! 

To our readers: Steve Haskin, senior Blood-Horse correspondent, states that it is almost impossible to compare any two thoroughbreds over time, given changes in track conditions and distances, other horses competed against and the normal contextual details that make any thoroughbred in any century or even decade a completely unique individual. Here at THE VAULT we would agree, so please study these results with that in mind. Those winners in each fantasy BC Division were selected based on career performance, stamina and ability. Where possible, the thoroughbreds they defeated were also calibrated. 

The point in writing these articles was both to add to the fun of this year’s Breeders Cup, as well as to remember many great thoroughbreds from out of the past, the majority of whom raced prior to the inception of the Breeders Cup. 

Apologies for the delay in posting these results, but it was truly unavoidable and unanticipated. 

Next time: THE VAULT takes a look at the accomplished Black Caviar, featuring more stunning photographs by acclaimed Australian photographer, Bronwen Healy. 

RESULTS

1. BREEDERS CUP TURF CLASSIC

For first, a DEAD HEAT between the two thoroughbreds of impeccable talent and reputation: the mighty KELSO and the fleet SEA-BIRD.

PLACE: The brilliant, if lightly-raced Lammtarra

SHOW: The last British Triple Crown winner, NIJINSKY, who showed fatigue in the final stretch given a year that saw him take the UK Triple Crown and miss winning the Arc by a hair.

2. BREEDERS CUP LADIES CLASSIC

The winner here was the incomparable Gallorette, with Bewitch a head behind and the fillies Cicada and Gallant Bloom in a DEAD HEAT for third.

3. BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC

As many had anticipated, the wonder filly, RUFFIAN, led a tightly-packed field home to win by 2 lengths. In second, COUNT FLEET, who encountered difficulties manoeuvring in the stretch. Another DEAD HEAT for third: Spectacular Bid and Whirlaway, who crossed the finish a mere half a length behind Count Fleet.