When I write I try to get under the surface of mere facts to weave a story. But as I delved into the extant articles about him, I discovered that there is very little out there about Battleship, even though he is, without question, one of Man O’ War’s most accomplished offspring. Facts related to him are not only scant, they are downright sparse.
Since Battleship was a steeplechaser rather than a runner on the flat, it seems that he was easier to forget. Even looking back at newspaper reports of the day, one is struck by their brevity and lack of genuine interest, as though his steeplechase credentials were somehow second-best to those of traditional turf champions.
As I continued to research, I came across the news that author Dorothy Ours (who wrote the most recent book about Man O’ War) is now working on a book about Battleship. Apparently, she has devoted two years or more to just doing the research, a retrieval that is, in every sense, akin to an archeological dig.
I was delighted to learn that Ours is piecing the fragments of Battleship’s story together into a coherent and definitive narrative, since he is one of the truly great figures of the thoroughbred pantheon. Small of stature he may have been, but Battleship carried Man O’ War’s heart — and did it proud.
Beginning at the end of the nineteenth century, chasing, hurdling and steeplechasing in the United States enjoyed much the same popularity as it did in the United Kingdom (UK). Although the roots of National Hunt racing lie in eighteenth-century Ireland, where it rapidly became a popular mainstream sport, in the USA chasing was more associated with the accoutrements of post-colonialism.
Despite the association with colonial days and elitism, “the chasers” in the USA were certainly not neglected in the early days. As a guideline, consider that in their tome, Thoroughbred Types 1900-1925, Vosburgh, Lanier, Bryan and Cooley devote 85 pages to steeplechase and cross country thoroughbreds, a little less than a third of the volume. Their names are long forgotten — Grandpa, Good And Plenty, Cherry Malotte, Kintore, Herculoid, River Breeze, Algoma, Sally Combs, The Virginian — but these horses were fearless competitors, winning the Maryland Hunt, the American Grand National and other races. And, as the authors point out, few of these great thoroughbreds ever ” (went) down.”
(Whether here or “across the pond,” each type of National Hunt race has its own features. A hurdle race, for example, typically involves a minimum of 8 hurdles over 3.5 feet high and is run over a distance of at least 2 miles. On the other hand, a chase involves horses jumping fences of 4.5 feet minimum and courses that range from 2 – 4.5 miles. In both the USA and the UK, the steeplechase is restricted to thoroughbreds that have a hunter certificate. The most famous steeplechase in the UK is the Grand National; in the USA, the American Grand National shares the stage with the Maryland Hunt Cup, even though the latter isn’t a steeplechase, but a hunt, or chase.)
….As our story opens, National Hunt racing in the USA is a little less than a decade away from a crisis point, largely caused by the association of the sport with the monied class. Critics of the day, like John “Salvator” Hervey, noted that this “inner sanctum” seemed less interested in defending their sport than they were in socializing, and largely failed to defend the abolishment of what some saw as a barbaric practice. There were other problems, too: a failure to stagger hunting and steeplechasing events, so that they didn’t run at the same time; the reduction of purse money in major races; a perceived lack of competent horses; and the monopoly of the sport by a small number of stables. It was quite ironic to find National Hunt racing in this pickle: in 1908, when the Hart-Agnew Act shut down racetrack wagering and plunged flat racing into chaos, it was steeplechasing and other types of jump racing that kept racetracks like Belmont and Pimlico open.
It is into this world, on March 19, 1927, that a chestnut colt-foal was born to a mare named Quarantaine (1915) at Walter J. Salmon’s Mereworth Farm, in Kentucky. The little fellow was to be his dam’s last foal and hopes for his future were high — he was a son of the mighty Man O’ War, out of a mare who was a proven producer.
Salmon had imported the mare from France in 1924. At that time, Quarantaine had already produced four brilliant fillies: Mademoiselle de Montigny; Quoi, winner of the Prix de Diane (Gr.1) (French Oaks) and the Prix Vermeille (Gr. 1) and grandam of En Fraude, winner of the Prix de Diane in 1937 and champion 3 year-old in France, as well as the producers Quarantola and Quine IV. Prior to the arrival of her last foal, Quarantaine had given Mereworth the winner Indian Corn, as well as a filly, Quarante, who would go on to become the dam of the good steeplechaser, Santi Quaranti.
In the thoroughbred world of the early twentieth century Walter J. Salmon was a giant. A New York real estate developer by profession, Salmon’s capacity to breed winning thoroughbreds at his Mereworth Farm was already established by the time Quarantaine arrived there. Mereworth had raced Preakness winner Display, whose son, Discovery, was bred by Salmon at Mereworth. Display was one of three colts who won the Preakness for Salmon; the other two were Dr. Freeland and Vigil. Discovery raced for Alfred Vanderbilt in the 1930’s and was a hardy competitor. But, significantly for Salmon’s reputation as a canny breeder, Discovery went on to become the broodmare sire of both Native Dancer and Bold Ruler.
Salmon was considerably interested in the early genetic theories of one Dr. Harry Laughlin, whom he subsidized for well over $75,000 between 1923-1932 to come up with the genetic traits of winning thoroughbreds, using Mereworth stock as the basis for his research. In collaboration with Laughlin, Salmon bred Discovery and arranged to have Quarantaine sent to Man O’ War. In the latter case, the aim was to produce an individual who would carry important influences from American, French and British bloodstock.
The little chestnut, who was named Battleship, was tiny. As a result, he made his first start at Bowie Race Track late in his two year-old season, finishing well back in the pack. But in his second attempt, this time at Keeney Park in Florida, Battleship won over a big field of non-winners in a 6f. race. At 3, the colt raced eight times, winning three, the most prestigious being the James Rowe Memorial Handicap. He finished in second place twice. After his victory in the James Rowe, Salmon decided to enter the colt in more prestigious races. But Battleship returned a non-winner from the Chesapeake Trial Purse at Havre de Grace with an injury to his right front foreleg.
The injury proved difficult to overcome and, despite the best of care, Battleship seemed to have gone lame. Then, in the context of a conference at the University of Kentucky on the use of X-ray plates as a diagnostic tool, Battleship was presented to the delegates as a case-in-point. In turn, when looking at his X-rays, the veterinarians concluded that Battleship had an incipient small ringbone at the coronet and that this could be overcome by trimming the toe of his hoof down and leaving the heel of the foot high. The latter could be accomplished with the support of a specially-designed shoe. Salmon implemented their recommendations and Battleship returned to the track as a 4 year-old, winning half of his 12 starts that year and bringing his career record to 22-10-2-3. His earnings of $18, 380 were respectable, but not spectacular. But when Battleship came up lame again at the end of the season, Salmon — with some regret — made the decision to sell him.
At about the same time, horsewoman Marion du Pont Scott was enjoying success in hunt and steeplechasing events with another son of Man O’ War, Annapolis. She let it be known that she was in the market for another horse who had shown some ability on the flat and had a similar pedigree.
The du Pont family lived on their Montpelier Estate in Virginia, once the home of the fourth American President, James Madison. William du Pont, the family’s powerful patriarch, was a business magnate; his daughter, Marion, had the means to pursue her passion for thoroughbreds as an owner and breeder. It was Marion and her brother, William du Pont Jr., who together designed many of the most famous venues of the National Hunt, notably the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area (on the site of the present Fair Hill), home to the National Steeplechase Association Headquarters and its Maryland race course, as well as Delaware Park (Delaware), Camden Race Course (South Carolina), home of the Carolina and Colonial Cup races and the Montpelier Steeplechase Hunt Races, which took place on the family estate.
Marion du Pont Scott’s horses competed in both National Hunt and flat racing under the nom de course, Montpelier Stable, wearing their owner’s French blue, dusky rose and silver silks. Other than Annapolis, Montpelier Stable campaigned Trouble Maker (winner of the arduous Maryland Hunt Cup in 1932), as well as the homebreds, Mongo (1963 American Champion Male Turf Horse), Soothsayer (1972 Eclipse Award, Steeplechase Horse) and Neji (thrice winner of the American Grand National and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966). Her last champion was the mare Proud Delta (1976 Eclipse Award, Champion Older Female).
Sound at last, the colt’s training over jumps could begin, and Laing proved a patient, skilled trainer. First, Battleship was asked to clear post-and-rail, foxhunter style, running with hunt clubs in the area. The 15.2 hand chestnut was no taller than some cobs, but he proved to be an astute learner — if a little too careful over the jumps. Initially, as his “gentleman” rider, Caroll K. Bassett joked, it seemed as though Battleship took as long as 16 minutes to negotiate a brush jump! (Laing was overseas, riding du Pont Scott’s Trouble Maker in the 1932 Grand National at Aintree.) Although Battleship came in third, Bassett was impressed at how high he jumped and the care he put into clearing each obstacle in his path. He told du Pont Scott that her Man O’ War colt was showing some promise in his new career.
What neither Bassett nor Laing may have known was that Battleship had always been the kind of individual who wanted to take his time. For this reason, he had earned the reputation of being lazy, since he had to be really pushed to do his best during his short career on the dirt. Nor was Battleship a “morning person” — although the colt never showed any sign of a mean streak, he was inclined to bite and kick if roused before he was ready.
But despite these quirks of temperament, Battleship soon learned to jump faster and seemed his best over softer courses, like that at Belmont Park. In the Aiken Hunters Steeplechase at Belmont, arguably one of Battleship’s best races, the 6 year-old shone. He went flat out with a horse named Inception for the first 2 and 1/4 miles, to win comfortably. He repeated in the 1934 American Grand National at Belmont, over turf that was muddy and slick, carrying 147 lbs. to the veteran, Arc Light’s, 146.
American jump races were noted for their distance and difficulty, and like the demanding Maryland Hunt Cup, the American Grand National was a severe test of courage, jumping ability and stamina. Run over a distance of 2 1/2 miles, the steeplechase course featured towering jumps. Jumps that would have daunted a horse of fainter heart than Battleship.
But undaunted he was and, in the same year that saw him charge to victory in the American Grand National, Marion du Pont Scott’s rising star also won the Malvern Hill Steeplechase at Richmond, the Billy Barton at Pimlico and two at Brookline, the National Hunt Cup and the Hunter’s Steeplechase. Battleship concluded his 7 year-old season with a record of 14 starts, 9 firsts and $ 11, 520 USD in prize money.
Three weeks after his win in the American Grand National, Battleship was in light training under the guidance of Selby Burch when the colt developed a slight bow in the middle of a tendon. Burch and Marion du Pont Scott enjoyed an honest, open relationship and the latter made no secret of the fact that she was devoted to Battleship, rejoicing in his victories and applauding his effort. There was no point in challenging the horse gods, Burch knew, so Battleship was shipped back home to Montpelier and given a rest. There, a veterinarian was called in to examine the leg. Dr. McCarthy line-fired* it, while noting that Burch’s decision to suspend his training at the first sign of heat in the limb had spared Battleship still another potentially career-ending injury. (* In veterinary surgery, line-firing is a method of treating chronic inflammations, consisting in burning parallel lines in the skin, over the seat of inflammation, with a feather-edge firing-iron or thermocautery: used principally in cases of chronic tendinitis, spavin, etc., of the horse.)
The little warrior was given a lengthly sabbatical until the spring of 1936. During his recuperation, du Pont Scott began to explore the possibility of sending Battleship to England to compete in National Hunt events there, with the eventual goal of entering him in the 1937 Grand National at Aintree. She consulted extensively with trainer Reginald “Reggie” Hobbs, who had trained and/or prepped horses for her previously. Hobbs’ concern would have been concentrated on Battleship’s size: most National Hunt horses in the UK were in the range of 16-17 hands. However, du Pont Scott prevailed, albeit with the caveat that she would leave it up to Hobbs to decide whether or not her tough little stallion could handle the rigours of the UK’s most distinguished steeplechase. On July 24, 1936, Battleship and another son of Man O’ War in the Montpelier Stable, a gelding named War Vessel, were shipped to Hobbs’ stable in Lambourne, England.
In 1937-38, Battleship took on nine park courses, winning only one. Even if he’d only managed a solitary win, Battleship was fit, happy and still competitive at the age of 11. Marion duPont Scott pressed Reginald Hobbs to run her horse in the 1938 Grand National. In the end, she got her own way.
Arriving in Liverpool, Battleship seemed to know that this would be “The Race” of his career. Normally a good doer, he sustained an attack of nerves that affected his digestive tract. Marion du Pont Scott had also arrived to see him race against the very best steeplechasers in the world. Outfitted in a black blinkered hood, with specially designed long reigns for his tall jockey and calks brazed into the sides of his aluminum plates, du Pont Scott’s champion prepared for battle.
America’s pony went to the start at odds of 40-1, carrying 160 lb. weight and 17 year-old Bruce Hobbs, the youngest jockey to ever compete in the Grand National. The only commentary his presence elicited was that he was an American horse, a son of the legendary Man O’ War. The other entries towered over him and Battleship indeed looked like a pony as the horses paraded before the grandstand. As far as competitors went, Battleship was up against Royal Mail, the previous year’s winner, Cooleen, who had finished a close second to Royal Mail in 1937, Workman, who would win the Grand National the following year and Royal Danieli, the thoroughbred who would push the tiny stallion to the edge of his endurance.
Originating in 1839, the Grand National is run over a distance of 4 miles, 4 furlongs. It comprises 30 fences, or jumps, that the horses are required to clear twice before the race is over, with the exception of two — The Chair and the Water Jump. The majority of entries in any given year never reach the finish, due either to sheer fatigue or injury to jockey and/or horse. Becher’s Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn are regarded as the most treacherous obstacles of the gruelling course, and rightly so: they have been the downfall of literally hundreds of horses and riders over the years. The “National,” as it is fondly called by the British, is as keenly contested as any revered flat race. Grand National winners like Golden Miller, Red Rum, Arkle and Best Mate are beloved in the UK, having triumphed over the greatest of adversity to become heroes in their own time.
Such was the challenge — and the expectation — for the chestnut son of Man O’ War.
And now the scene is set.
Here’s the race, just as it happened, complete with voice over. Watch for Battleship, wearing the black hood, number 5. You’ll see him at the very beginning and then, off and on, throughout the race. At the last, note the little fellow’s size compared to Royal Danieli, as Battleship dashes to the wire on the near side of your screen.
(VIEWERS PLEASE NOTE: Horses and jockeys are shown going down in this footage, some with serious injuries.)
Following a good rest, plans were made to ship Battleship home, where he would be paraded at the Foxcatcher meeting sponsored by William du Pont, Jr., Mrs. Scott’s brother, before being retired to stud at Montpelier with Annapolis and Lancegaye, the sire of Cavalcade. John “Salvator” Hervey reported that Battleship arrived home looking “…extremely well, weighed 1,040 lbs. possibly 50 lbs. over his weight in the National paddock.”
At stud, Battleship sired only 57 foals, largely due to the fact that he was viewed as a steeplechase stallion. Of these, he got three excellent jumpers: War Battle and Shipboard, steeplechase champions of 1947 and 1956, respectively, as well as the 1952 American Grand National winner, Sea Legs. However, these three were geldings and of his other progeny, none carried Battleship’s name forward.
The plucky little fellow remained a great favourite of his owner’s and was taken out under saddle for an hour each day until he became a very senior citizen. Battleship lived to the age of 31, dying in 1958. He was buried at Montpelier.
In 1969, Battleship was inducted into the American Hall of Fame.
The author is indebted to “American Race Horses 1938” by John “Salvator” Hervey, to author-illustrator C.W. Anderson and to the Daily Racing Form Archives, the Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun for making this article possible. A special thank-you to the fabulous “Mudmont” of the TVG Community.
Wow! Abigail, you’ve done it again!! Your research and then your writing it and sharing the photos have presented a great introduction to a son of Man O’ War, my original Thoroughbred love! How sad that I’ve never heard of Battleship, or at least not that I can remember. Your wonderful article gives me a preview and now I will look forward to Dorothy Ours book on him as well. Thank you so much for sharing all your efforts and your talents with us, Abigail – you are a treasure!
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Celeste: So glad to hear back from you & very pleased to know that you enjoyed this story. It was, as I hinted, MURDER to piece together. I kind of dropped living & hunkered down to write it! I’m certain that Dorothy Ours’ book will be brilliant — I can’t wait to read it either!!! Battleship deserves to be honoured. He really was a great, great champion thoroughbred. Love & hugs always, Abigail
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What a great piece. I worked at Montpelier for ten years and walked passed his grave every day. There was a room in the mansion called the red room, and it was filled with trophy’s and pictures of Mrs. DuPont horses. I think they removed it when they redid the mansion, but it was my favorite room in there.
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Eveline: Thank you for leaving this message. It’s so interesting that you worked at Montpelier!!! I understand from author Dorothy Ours that Mrs. DuPont’s photos and so forth are actually still available digitally at Montpelier in their archives…proud as I am of my article, I know Dorothy Ours will turn up all kinds of facts & stories that I had no clue how to access. To think that you walked passed Battleship’s grave every day….and remember the Red Room before it was disassembled…I’m certain that Battleship’s Grand National Trophy must have been in there. Wow — an honour to meet you, Eveline. Truly. Abigail
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Absolutely wonderful
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Thanks so much, Carol! Readers’ comments are just so precious to me & especially in this case, as writing about Battleship really was a HUGE challenge!!!
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Dear Abigail: Seabiscuit left more questions than answers after his courageous racing career. Those of us who love horses but do not have the grasp on their stories we may come to learn by your refined research and epic will to enlighten the world to equine worth, would appreciate it if at some point in your volumes, you would bring his lineage to the fore. The little I have been able to piece together led me to conjecture that it was his sire line, carrying some of the strengths that would show up years later in the great Zenyatta, that might give his progeny more worth than nay-sayers have recorded. He left a colt down the line, foaled in 1985, by `Sucha Pleasure` out of a Seabiscuit descendant. A brief study up that sire line leads to the name of `Hail To Reason.` You have written of this great sire, in research about the `mtDNA` bounces down from male/sire to female/dam and so forth. Not having the knowledge to describe this phenomenon makes asking the right questions difficult. There is still a son of `Mixed Pleasure` [`Bo`] — that above mention-mentioned colt sired — named `Windy Land` [`Puff`]. `Bo` has been retired to `Old Friends` at 27; Puff` is now 13. {Please, if you are willing, and do consider writing about these off-spring, forgive the more than sketchy inquiry, which seems unrelated to this article, but nudged me into writing you}. Sincerely, Kathryn Cogswell
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Kathryn: Loved your idea, but it will take longer to research this. But I’ve added it to my topic list for this year and will, hopefully, even get to it before Christmas. But I’m not making any promises, because some of these articles (like the one on Battleship) have taken s long time to research! But I promise you — I will get there!!!! Great to hear from you, Kathryn & I send you serious Dumpling hugs from Montreal!
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Wonderful story, Abigail. Reminded me in some respects of the great Istabraq, who you wrote about last year, which was my first introduction to “steeplechasing” or hurdle racing. Battleship was worth every bit of your effort to piece together his story, since his achievements are still unmatched in the sport, even today. He very much deserves to be remembered and honored, and through you, and Ms. Ours, he apparently will no longer reside in obscurity. Brava!
The reminder about Istabraq caused me to realize that so many of your fans may be recent and their memories might not go back to the beginning of your blog, and therefore, would not know what to search for. Would it be possible to do a title index with links to your other stories? I would love to have a list to refer to to retrieve past columns. For your readers who might not be aware of Istabraq’s story, here is the link to: Secretariat’s Heart: The Story of Istabraq: https://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/secretariats-heart-the-story-of-istabraq/
Hugs!
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Ann Maree: I so appreciate your support, delta lady. I think little Battleship was worth it too and, as always, I learned so much about his world in doing the research. I can’t wait to buy Dorothy Ours’ book though, because I know she had access to all kinds of sources that I had no clue even existed. Battleship so deserves this kind of celebration & remembrance. He was a great, great champion. I like your idea re: an index, but must see how to do that….. Love & hugs, dear friend, Abigail
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What did you think about my suggestion for a Title Index for all of your blog posts? AM
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Hi hon. Love the idea but must see how I can do it on WordPress…..GREAT suggestion! HUGS
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Abigail! You’re under starter’s orders to do as Ann Maree outlined! Been bugging me for ages…all that brilliant work lying fallow in the archives due to no linking. So many of those referred to are already subjects in past articles – it’s a rotten shame that a quick switch can’t liberate them. Word Press must have a system that would work…their arch enemy does! LOVE IT ABIGAIL!
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BE IMPRESSED, MISSY! There is now a SEARCH engine (not very good, though. I tried it, eg for Secretariat, it brought up the piece on Saratoga where he’s a passing mention only!!!!)…plus the titles of old blogs now rotate on a daily basis!!!! Love & hugs, Abigail
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Thank you for “tweaking” this issue…just a little more, and it will be perfect!! I know you likely don’t use the search or the monthly blog posts menu, so let me explain what the user sees: Before you made the most recent changes, the Search box would return “snippets” of several posts and the user could scroll down and find the one they had searched for. I have a feeling the others were ones that had been posted in the same time period. Now, we only are getting one of the “snippets” in that time period and you have to scroll down to the bottom of the snippet and click on “older” to get to the searched-for item! If you could put the Search feature back like it was, that would be wonderful!!!
Now, about the Monthly tab: What would be ideal would be for the Monthly tab to bring up the “snippet” version of all posts during that month. Now, what happens is, it shows the newest post for a particular month (snippet version), and you have to scroll down and then click on “older” to see all of the posts for that month. Not terribly efficient, but, certainly better than before when as Liz says we had no way to access all that wonderful material and your hundreds of hours of work were “lying fallow”!!! You may not realize it, dear girl, but your work will be used by other researchers and they need a way to access it!!
I still use and prefer Blogger….it offers more formatting options. As to security issues, please refer to my post on my Timeline about Norton’s. I just spent a wonderful hour while their technician remotely fixed and took out a “malware” that was preventing me from using search engines, of all things. Because I have Comcast, I have the free Norton’s on my home desktop computer, and I have two subscriptions for my other two computers. I would not use anything else! They are great, and as a customer, they don’t charge me for this service. Gives me great peace of mind to know they are “out there” and can “fix me” when things go wrong!!
Big hugs, and I’m so proud of you! See what happens when you get famous! Everyone wants to have access to all your wonderful material!!!!
Love, Ann Maree
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Ann Maree: HELP! I didn’t have a SEARCH button on there before. Do you mean whatever was up yesterday?
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Abigail, I loved this story of Battleship! I read your blogs faithfully as you are so gifted with the written word and the research of your subjects is so thorough. I learn something with every story. This story of Battleship is special to me as I live near historic Montpelier, VA and my husband and I have attended numerous Montpelier Hunt Races (held in November each year). I know of Battleship because of his owner Marion du Pont Scott and her connection/ownership of the historic Montpelier property. However, I did not know all that Battleship had to overcome in order to win his greatest race, the Grand National. Thank you for sharing his story for a new generation of racing fans. What a brave little horse he was!
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Kim: Thank you so very much for your kind & interesting comments. I am always so delighted to hear from VAULT readers, hear their own stories and make connections with other horse lovers. How neat that you live near Montpelier and attend the Montpelier Hunt Races. I’m so pleased to share more about Battleship’s story — although it’s a modest effort. Dorothy Ours will, I know, come up with stories and details that I know nothing about, so I’m really looking forward to reading her book about this great thoroughbred champion. Come back again soon — next up is a piece on Danedream, winner of last year’s Arc, to be followed by Snow Fairy. But, then again, I wanted to do something on still another jumping son of Man O’ War, the great Blockade……LOL! Abigail
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Abigail,
OMG, how thrilling, I can’t imagine why there is so little info on this wonderful brave horse, son of the great MOW. I again am so impressed with the effort you put into these articles, the research must take a long time to compile especially when the info is so scant. It was very exciting to get to know this fabulous thoroughbred thru your eyes. Thanks again
Hugs, Sue
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Sue: Wonderful to hear from you, as always. So glad you enjoyed my effort here — it really was a battle to piece Battleship together from the few resources at my disposal. I needed to shut down almost everything in my life for awhile to string the facts into a narrative that didn’t sound like a book report!!!!! But probably the best of the best was learning that Dorothy Ours is writing her next book about him, because as I researched I realized that he was a truly great thoroughbred champion. However, his genes didn’t really carry on through his progeny so it’s even more crucial that his story be told & Dorothy Ours is just the writer to do it. Love & hugs, Abigail
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Thanks for a great story!
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Christina: So glad you enjoyed it and many, many thanks for taking the time to write.
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Thank you for the story of Battleship. I never knew about his victories. Your writing and the way you put the pictures into the story brought it to life. I was impressed by the size of the jumps he had to conquer in his victory – what an accomplishment !
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Abigail, you did have a Search window before…you probably didn’t notice it, but it was there….it may have been a default window…not sure, as I don’t know much about WordPress. The Search window was located where the present one is, but, the feature of it was it returned several post snippets from the same time frame (I’m guessing) and the viewer could scroll down and select the one they had searched for. You may have an option which asks how many items to show when someone does a search, or even for the drop-down month/year window, I would think, would have an option to show more than one post at a time. Sorry to have to make you work so hard!!! Don’t panic! We can wait!!! We aren’t going anywhere! Hugs!
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Okay. It’s fixed…I think. Please check when you have time. The reason it stopped bringing up more than one SEARCH or ARCHIVE was because to enable it to do that, you need to have a scroll effect on the page. MEANING: Now, after Battleship, the next 3/4 articles in chronological order appear. I had turned that feature off, because I liked just having the most recent article on the page. Didn’t realize it limited everything else as well!!!! So now I feel like a genius, thanks to you.But would you mind buzzing over & just checking it? And do you think the scroll following Battleship will turn readers off? Thanks! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
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Abigail, I truly love your writing and enjoyed being introduced to Battleship by you. Thank you so much.
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Mary: Thank you for your encouraging words. As I said (above) this was a really tough article to write because Battleship’s story is just short of in pieces, probably because he was a steeplechaser. I’m SO looking forward to Dorothy Ours’ book on him Lovely to hear from you! Abigail
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Abigail – Another tremendous article! It was so enthralling to read this piece and I enjoyed the photos and video immensely. I can’t wait for Dorothy Ours’ book to come out. I have her book on Man O’ War, which ranks among my favorite books. Thank you for sharing your incredible research and beautiful words.
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Bunny: You may be horse racing’s “youngest blogger” but I want you to know that I think you’re brilliant. I’ve read almost everything you write and marvelled at your writing skill & style and your sharp analysis. And I really MEAN it. Perhaps part of the reason has to do with my own past — I adored thoroughbreds and then, at around 19 or 20, gave it up, more or less, thinking that this was part of my “passage” into adulthood, i.e. and its invective that we leave our youthful passions aside. My life has taught me that this was a terrible mistake. By which I mean that when we leave our soul behind, we can lose ourselves. I wrote about this some in my Terlingua article on THE VAULT and in the short piece I did on Secretariat, that featured the iMovie film I made of why & how his life was such an inspiration to me. Here are THE VAULT links to these “pre-Bunny” writings: https://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/following-terlingua/ AND https://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/224-secretariat-at-the-belmont/
I was an educator in my professional life — and I loved it — but part of my heart always belonged to the thoroughbred and, especially, thoroughbred history (hence THE VAULT’s subtitle “horse racing past & present.”)
I hope that you build this endowment you have to become our next Steve Haskin!!! And: I started a Facebook group called “Zenny’s Tribe” with Ann-Maree Matthews. A great group of racing enthusiasts! Consider joining us & please use me as your reference (Abigail Anderson).
All-in-all, my life is so much richer with you — and my beloved thoroughbreds — in it! Hugs from Abigail
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Abigail – Your words are so kind and much too generous! I have so much more to learn about writing well – it makes my head hurt! I am homeschooled and I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by people who are enthusiastic about mastering the art of reading and writing. I think the most common question I get asked is “How did you learn to write so well?” This always irritates my mom! : D Mostly because she believes it is not all extraordinary and she worries I will become complacent. Although my family has not embraced the same level of passion for horse racing that I have, they have sacrificed and supported me wholeheartedly on this unbelieveable journey. Each one of them constantly critique my work, pushing me to rewrite and dig deeper. My mother occasionally reminds me: “If the Thoroughbred is your true love, than you owe it your complete heart. There is no choice other than to write well. Let your words be your gift to the Thoroughbred. Give Your Love the justice it so deserves.”
Your writings exude an honest element of passion I so adore! Every time I finish one of your pieces, I state – loudly, I might add! – “Blood-Horse should be begging Abigail Anderson to write for them! This is what will attract fans – real fans – to horse racing!” I love your piece on Secretariat! The book and video you mention in your article were given to me from a very dear friend a few years ago. I cherish them deeply!
Mr. Haskin is a wonderful, dear advocate for the Thoroughbred and the sport of horse racing. I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Haskin last year at the Breeders’ Cup. We actually had breakfast together! I consider him a true ambassador to the sport. Another question I am often asked is, “Do you want to be a turf writer?” Always expecting me to answer with an emphatic YES, my answer never satisfies anyone. “I am on a path that brings me very close to my beloved passion, the Thoroughbred. I will stay on this path, trying hard never to change my focus. I’ll take things as they come my way.” My parents say that is a politician’s dream answer – the non-answer answer! Haha!
Thank you for the wonderful invitation to join “Zenny’s Tribe”! I would love to!
Also, I am headed to Keeneland for FallStars weekend and then on to the Breeders’ Cup for another glorious week! Any chance I would see you at either?
Thanks, Abigail, from the bottom of my heart for your warm sentiments! Yes, life is richer because of you!
Bunny
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Hi again Bunny. Slow to respond due to a very nasty virus! It seems that we share so much — Steve Haskin, loving Nathaniel & etc. — that I just love this growing connection. I wish I could say that I was going to the BC this year but I’m not able to pull it off, unfortunately. But I will one year soon and whether it’s there, at Saratoga or in Kentucky, I’m booking you for breakfast, lunch or dinner!!! Take good care, Bunny, and HAVE A BLAST!!!! Hugs from Abigail
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Hi Abigail,
No worries on replying! I hope you are feeling better. It’s taken me so long to get back! I’ve been quite busy with writing and preparing for the Breeders’ Cup. I leave early Saturday morning and can’t believe it’s already upon us!
I just loved your piece on Nijinsky since he is one of my favorites. The story is completely enthralling. It’s fascinating to imagine Mr. Engelhart being cautioned that Nijinsky – one of the world’s greatest racehorses – might never make it to the races! Such outstanding handling between O’Brien and Piggott. Have you read the book titled “Vincent O’Brien’s Great Horses” authored by his wife? A friend gave it to me as a gift. It is among my favorite reads!
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Hi there Bunny! Lovely to hear from you & to share my excitement @ having the latest on Frankel picked up by THE PAULICK REPORT.
Fabulous that you are going to favour us with writing about the Breeders’ Cup. Excited to read it. I’m actually thinking of doing something on the BC for THE VAULT but still mulling over the possibilities. NIJINSKY is one of my GREATEST LOVES! (I really do think that you & I are serious soul-mates because we keep loving the same things!) Yes, I do have that exceptional book and it is absolutely one of my favourites. Do you know about abebooks.com? It’s a world-wide used & new bookstore with GREAT prices on books — might be useful if you’re building up a reference library. Love & hugs, Abigail
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It was a pleasure to read about one of Man o’ War’s forgotten sons.
In 1938, in addition to Battleship, Man ‘o War’s son, Blockade won the first of three victories in the Maryland Hunt Cup and another son (War Admiral) and grandson (Seabiscuit) met in a match race and Seabiscuit was named horse of the year.
As a side note, Mahubah’s mtDNA (which can only be passed on by her daughters, as it resides in the egg, not the sperm) is still producing very good race horses. Stay Thirsty is tail female to Mahubah, as are Whywhywhy, Andromeda’s Hero and Golden Ticket.
Can you tell that Man o’ War is one of my favorite horses? I was corrupted as a child by Walter Farley and C. W. Anderson.
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J.L. Moe: Do pardon the time it’s taken me to reply. I was recovering from a really nasty virus. I indeed can tell that you are a lover of Man O’ War. SO AM I!! And, just like you, I too was a corruptee of CW Anderson & Walter Farley. There is an article on THE VAULT about Will Harbut & Man O’ War that took about 3 years to research that you might enjoy, and another called “Horses Are Possibilities: for Shari Voltz” that pays homage to Anderson & Farley. Mahubah has certainly been influential — and lasting — in her mtDNA influence. Wonderful to know that these great thoroughbreds go on in time. It’s interesting that you mention Blockade, as he was going to be next after the article on Battleship but that didn’t work as I’d planned and Danedream got written up instead! I will be doing Blockade, though, within the next few months I hope. Abigail
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Abigail,
No worry about the delay in replying. I do understand health issues, as I have a few myself. I just read “Horses Are Possibilities..” and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have a signed copy of Marguerite Henry’s Misty in my library that my parents gave me, as well as 100+ Breyer model horses, which are the only type of horse I can own (I’m allergic to horses and severely allergic to a soil mold that grows on dead plants). I discovered a wonderful author of animal stories when I attended college — S. P. Meek, and always enjoyed the animal tales of Jim Kjelgaard. King of the Wind was such an inspiration for me that, for the longest while, I thought that Secretariat’s rival, Sham, was named after the Godolphin Arabian (his name in the book was Sham) instead of being so named because Sham’s dam was Pretense,
That brings up another thing I like about Man o’ War — many of his foals were named in such a way that you knew they were his, and many of them were just plain clever. I have some favorites: one that instantly comes to mind are the two full sisters out of The Nurse: Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale. In real life both were nurses renowned for working during wars. I admire owners who are clever with names, especially if they keep the tradition going over several generations, like with the mare, Plum Cake, whose daughter, Yule Log, had a daughter, Christmas Past, who had a daughter, Christmas List, who had a son, Check it Twice. I’ll leave it at that, but drop me an e-mail if you’d like more examples.
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Battleship was just one more piece of the puzzle in Man O’ War’s life. Battleship had Man O’ War’s heart, desire, and gut to push through all the odds to achieve his success.
I loved the read because it is a success story at it’s finest. Much like Seabiscuit’s story, it it took ‘ a village’ of his owner, trainer, jockey and himself to make Battleship a Champion.
I LOVE all things Man O’ War !
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