Top Flight and My Girls!

Top Flight was a young lady with not that great a pedigree. Her parents were not big winners, but they had genetic potential! By the end of her brief racing career, she retired as the all-time top money-earning filly, which she held for 14 years. She was the first 2-year-old to earn more than $200,000. Her final record was 16: 12-0-0, and $275,900. She beat colts, was unbeaten in 7 starts at 2, including 3 times when she ran against colts. Indeed, she beat Burgoo King, a Kentucky Derby winner, twice!! At 2, she won the Futurity Stakes, Pimlico Futurity, Saratoga Special, Spinaway Stakes, Matron Stakes, Arlington Lassie, and Clover Stakes, and at 3, the Acorn Stakes, Coaching Club American Stakes, Arlington Oaks, Alabama Stakes, and Ladies' Handicap.

She was enrolled in the Hall of Fame in 1966, and was voted 66th of the Top 100 Race Horses of the 20th century! She passed in 1949 and she is buried at CV Whitney Farm which is part of Gainesway Farm. At the link below, you can read about their famous equine cemetary and see Top Flight's stone. Anyway, she had 7 foals, including a stakes winner, and the sires were Gallant Fox, Man o' War, Peace Chance, and Mahmoud.

My girls are related to her, primarily through Commando, Broomstick, Audience, and St. Simon. This photo is from an Ebay ad, and pictures here in Turf and Sport Digest . She was bred by Harry Payne Whitney, but he passed away in 1930 before he got a chance to meet her. So, his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, owned and raced her!

You can read more about her at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Flight_Handicap

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=153

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Graves/cem/GraveMattersWhitney.html

Moccasin and My Girls!

My girls are related to Moccasin, a champion racing filly and broodmare! Moccasin was born in 1963, just like me, and she looks so much like Violet. She was a chestnut with two white hind socks and a white fore sock on the left side. Here is a picture of her grandchild K One King that she produced through her son Apalachee out of Round Table. Moccasin is considered a Blue Hen, having produced 9 foals, with 8 runners, 7 winners, and 7 stakeswinners! She is in many good blood lines, and is even the third dam of Hail Atlantis. Her notable kids include Apalachee (of course) and Indian, Nantequo, Brahms, Belted Earl, Scuff, and Flippers. Her own race record was so good at age 2 that she was voted co-Champion U.S. Horse of the Year -- the only time a 2 year-old filly took such an honor. She was also voted U.S. Champion 2 year-old filly. She was bred by and raced for Claiborne, and ran her races so convincingly that they looked like easy victories by a wide margin. She had 8 undefeated races in a row. Her final record was 21: 11-2-4 for a total earnings of $388,075. She was so good that the Moccasin Stakes in Hollywood Park were named after her. Her sire was Nantallah out of Nasrullah and her dam was Rough Shod. Here's something interesting -- her full-sibling is Ridan, the horse that Violet's relation, Jaipur, defeated in the famous match race the Travers Stakes. This girl is buried at Marchmont Farms in Paris, Kentucky. She is related to my girls in many ways, including the following: Nasrullah, Blandford, Isinglass, Stimulus, Sir Gallahad, Commando, Orme, Ormonde, Love Wisely, and St. Simon. You can read more about this amazing competitive filly and excellent mother at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moccasin_(horse)
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Graves/cem/GraveMattersMarchmont.html
or about Moccasin's sire Nantallah and his famous pedigree:
http://www.reines-de-course.com/nantallah.htm
or about Moccasin's dam Rough Shod and her famous pedigree:
http://www.equineinfo.com/roughshod.htm
or about Moccasin's boyfriend, Round Table:
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/roundtable.html
or about Moccasin's grandchild, K One King:
http://www.reines-de-course.com/k_one_king.htm
or an example of a mixed-horse related to Moccasin:
http://www.ckappaloosas.com/mares.html

Violet and Colin!!

Violet is related to Colin, born in 1905 and with a perfect race record at 15: 15-0-0. His lifetime earnings were $178,110 and he earned the 1908 3-year-old Champion of the Year Award, as well as the 1907 and 1908 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. He was inducted into the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in 1956, and was voted #15 by Blood Horse magazine for Top 100 race horses of the 20th century. He won many stakes races, including the Belmont!! His perfect record stood unchallenged for 80 years before repeated by Personal Ensign. He is related to Violet through her Classic Music line. He helped produce the famous Stymie in that line. His grandsire is Domino who produced Commando who produced Colin out of an English stakeswinner filly named Pastorella. He was trained by James G. Rowe, Sr., the Hall of Fame trainer who has trained the most horses who were inducted into the Hall of Fame. He trained Sysonby, Hindoo, the first Kentucky Derby winning filly, Regret. He trained the following horses who were also inducted: Miss Woodford, Luke Blackburn, Whisk Broom, Commando, and Peter Pan. He gave his horses profound personal care, and in the case of Colin this included traveling with him, so that he could care for a swollen, mis-shapen hock. During his day, Rowe was considered America's greatest trainer. But all he wanted put on his tombstone were the words: He trained Colin! You can read more about Violet's Colin and about Colin's trainer, Mr. Rowe at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_(horse)

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Champs/AmChamp3yoMale.html

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=49

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/trainer.asp?ID=285

or

http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/colin.htm

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Colin.html

or

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/colin.html

Violet's Rugged Well-Used Stymie!

I am very proud to say that Violet is related to Stymie through her Classicist line. Stymie was born in 1941 and had a final track record of 131-35-33-28. Can you believe that he raced 131 times in his career? He began as a claiming race runner and was doing poorly, until a trainer saw his potential and saw that he was frightened of people and needed consistent handling. In two years, he had been to the post 57 times! Once they sorted out his troubles and found his distance, he just burned up the tracks. He was Champion Handicap Horse of 1945 and was voted the #41 Top Race Horse of the 20th Century by Blood Horse magazine. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1975, and was so famous, some say as famous with average Americans as Seabiscuit, that he had the Stymie Handicap named after him. He was beloved for his very exciting style of racing. He was a hero to racing fans because of his heart-stopping come-from-behind finishes, sometimes by as many as 20 lengths. In his career, he beat Gallorette and Assault at The Metropolitan Handicap (a race he won twice). And he beat Assault, Natchez, and Phalanx in the International Gold Cup. Remember that Assault was a Triple Crown Winner and Gallorette the highest money-earning filly of her time. So, by the time his long, long, long career was over, Stymie had gone from losing claiming races to a leading money winner in the world. He won 25 stakes races while competing against some of the best horses of all time!! His career was ended by a sesamoid bone fracture. His owner took the winnings he earned from Stymie and built Stymie Manor in Maryland. And when Stymie passed, he was buried at Hagyard Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Charles Hagyard of the world famous Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Veterinary owns this place. Stymie has an amazing pedigree all to himself. His dad and mom are Equestrian and Stopwatch. He has Man 'O War on the dam side of both his dam and sire. He also has Commando's kids, Peter Pan and Colin (#15 of Top 100 race horses 20th century) in his recent family tree, and lots and lots of Broomstick, Ben Brush, and Hindoo. Remember that Commando won the Belmont Stakes in 1901 and then his two boys won in 1907 and 1908. And Ben Brush and Hindoo are Kentucky Derby winners, and Man 'O War himself won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and probably would have won the Derby, if his owner, Samuel Riddle had entered him! Anyway, Stymie has Colin twice on both sides of the dam and sire of his mom. Colin is the sire of the sire of his mom. And his daughter is bred to Man 'O War to produce the dam of his mom. What I think is really lovely is that Stymie's daughter, Classic Music, was bred to Princequillo to produce Classicist. That's lovely because that means that two big-hearted lines were crossed to produce a filly. What's more, Classicist was bred to Jaipur, and so you have three big-heart lines meeting -- Nasrullah, Princequillo, and Classic Music!! You can read more about this tough, hard-running guy at the following cites:

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/stymie.html

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stymie_(horse)

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stymie

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Graves/cem/GraveMattersHagyard.html

Hailee's Lena's Bar!

Lena's Bar is Hailee's great-great-grandma on her daddy's side. She was bred to Jet Deck to produce Easy Jet. She was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2003, and her Quarter Horse race track record was 76-24-18-10. Her sire was Three Bars and dam was Lena Valenti. She had six children, 4 boys, 2 girls. Easy Jet had a full brother named Jet Smooth whose children won $2,546,842 on the track. Lena's Bar has a royal pedigree herself, including Commando, Sweep, Eclipse, Pocahontas and Derby winner Ben Brush. Through Lena's Bar, Hailee is related to two English Triple Crown winners, Diamond Jubilee and West Australian. Look at the photo -- she looks just like my sweet, independent, fierce little mare! You can read more about Lena's Bar at the following link:

http://www.qhd.com/horse/stallion.asp?id=23302&sex=mare

Commando and my girls!

Commando was the 1900 Champion 2-year-old colt and Horse of the Year and 1901 Champion 3-year-old colt and Horse of the Year. He earned Horse of the Year twice before retiring with a 9:7-2 record. He won the Belmont Stakes, and Carlton, Montauk, Zephyr, and Junior Champion Stakes. He died very young of tetanus, but not before siring 10 stakes winners from 27 foals. He sired Colin, Celt, and Peter Pan. Just think, he won the Belmont in 1901, and then his kids Peter Pan and Colin won in 1907 and 1908. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1956. Hailee is related to him through her Jet Deck, Three Bars, Custus Rastus, Flying Bob, Miss Chicaro, Lady Heart, Sir Bim, Lightning Bar and Black Beggar lines. She has multiple occurrences of Peter Pan (10) and Ultimus (3), Commando's kids. In fact, Ultimus has a double Domino cross on both his sire and dam's side. Violet is also related to Peter Pan, Colin and Ultimus, but I did not explore the number of instances. However, she has Colin through her Stymie line which means that she has nice heavy doses of him with criss-crosses through Man o' War. You can read more about Commando at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_(horse)

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=50

or

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/commando.html

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Domino.html

Domino and My Girls!!

"Here lies the fleetest runner the American turf has ever known and one of the greatest and most generous of horses." Epitaph on Domino's headstone. My girls are both related to Domino, one of the fastest sprinters in racing history. Born in 1891, he was undefeated at age 2, won 19 of 25 starts and earned $193,550. He won 8 stakes races. He died of meningitis in his second season at stud, so he left behind only 20 foals, 19 unnamed. Among his 19 named children, 8 became stakes winners, for an astonishing rate of 42%. Just 9 of his children went on to breed. His best son, Commando, won the Belmont Stakes and sired the Belmont winner Peter Pan. Disguise defeated the English Triple Crown winner, Diamond Jubilee. Because of his unusual color -- seeming chestnut in some lights and coal black in others -- he was nicknamed "the brown phenomenon" and "the black whirlwind." He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1955, and he is considered the backbone of the Quarter Horse breed.

As part of his history, he had a yearling handler, African American Albert Cooper. And his family of owners, two brothers, were torn apart by the Civil War, with Domino's branch, led by Major Barak Thomas joining the Confederate Army -- which, of course, nearly broke him, if it weren't for the value of his mare, Hira, who foaled Himyar, Domino's daddy!

Hailee, has Commando at leaset 4 times, Disguise at least 5 times, and Running Stream and Pink Domino a few times.

Violet has Commando at least 7 times (!), Pink Domino at least 5 times, and Running Stream.

The Pedigree post said that he was "brilliant, beautiful, a prepotent sire and a case study in linebreeding. Domino was all this and more -- grown men wept at his burial.

You can read more about this amazing, important sire at the following links:

http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/domino.htm

or

http://www.pedigreepost.com/archives/DominoLesBrinsfield.html

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=60

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Domino.html

Winning Colors and My Girls!!!

Winning Colors was born in 1985, and she was the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby in 1988. In the Derby, she took command early to hold off the champion Forty Niner. Her lifetime earnings were $1,526,837 and she had 19 starts, and 8 wins. Among her wins were the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Oaks. She was called "The Amazon" because she was so big and bold. During her life, she needed surgery for breathing problems, but still came back to racing. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2000, the same year as jockey, Julie Krone. She earned third in the Preakness and was voted Champion 3 year-old. She is related to both my girls. Among their shared relatives are Nasrullah, Gainsborough, Man 'O War, Rock Sand, Commando, Voter, Bend Or, Hastings, Pensive, Black Toney, Teddy, and Bull Dog! In these photos, you see her winning the Kentucky Derby and in the winner's circle with her roses (happy girl!). Then you see a photo of her as an older lady who turned grey! You can read more about this amazing mare at the following link:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=348

Hailee's Grand-Sire Three Bars (TB)

I am proud to say that Hailee is related through at least 4 lines in her family tree to Three Bars, a very famous thoroughbred who is cross-registered in the APHA and AQHA. He has had enormous influence on thoroughbreds, quarter horses, paints, and appaloosas. He has distinguished himself in racing, halter, and cutting. He was the fastest horse in the U.S. at 5 furlongs, setting track records. He was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame for Racing. His mom's, Myrtle Dee's, nickname was "Speedburner". She set a track record in Ohio. Her dad, Luke McLuke won the Belmont, and she's also related to Commando (another Belmont winner) and Ben Brush who won the Kentucky Derby. In Hailee's family tree, Three Bars appears on both her sire and dam's side, heavy on both sides of her sire's line, and on the sire side of her dam's side. In fact, on her mom's side, he is the grandsire of Doc Bar, and as I'll write later, Doc Bar as a cutting horse, set records that no stallion has ever equalled! You can read more about Three Bars on the link at Circle D Horses in Ignatius, Montana. They are reporting a story published in Horseman magazine in 1968:

http://www.circledhorses.com/three_bars_story.htm

You can also read about him at the following link:

http://www.bbarcquarterhorses.com/Three%20Bar/threebarshistory.html

At that link, be sure to read the January 2004 Performance Horse article "Hybrid Vigor and the Three Bars Factor," discussing the amazing genetic impact Three Bars has had on horses!