Twilight Tear and My Girls!

My girls are closely related to a very famous racing filly, Twilight Tear. In fact, Violet is very closely related to her. Twilight Tear "Suzie" was born in 1941 and she was the daughter of Bull Lea and Lady Lark, Blue Larkspur's daughter. Suzie was Calumet Farm's first champion sired by Bull Lea and was 1 of 3 champions in his very first foal crop -- Durazna and Armed. It's important to note that Bull Lea was a leading American Sire 5 times, producing 58 stakes winners, 4 Horses of the Year, and 3 Kentucky Derby winners! His daughter Suzie was one of those Horses of the Year! Her trainer, Ben A. Jones, who had already trained Whirlaway, said of her that she was the best he had ever trained, though later he would train her daddy's Triple Crown son, Citation!. So, no faint praise for her! She beat Violet's Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner relative, Pensive. She even beat boys with a 2 length victory in the Arlington Classic! That was her 11th straight victory in her third year! She closed out that year when "she met two-time handicap champion Devil Diver in the Pimlico Special. The older colt was beaten in the first quarter, and Twilight Tear went on to win by 6 lengths, tying the track record set by Seabiscuit in his 1938 victory over War Admiral" (cited from the Unofficial thoroughbred hall of fame website). So, at the close of her third year, she claimed the Eclipse Horse of the Year award, the first filly to do that since 40 years earlier by Beldame. She also had taken the 2 year-old filly of the year, 3 year-old filly of the year, and Champion Handicap Mare! Her final track record was 24: 18-2-2, $202,165. She retired in her fourth year because of bleeding. She was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in the year of my birth, 1963! And she was voted 59th out of the Top 100 race horses of the 20th century. And in a 1955 trainers' association poll, she was voted the second greatest filly in American racing history, behind the fabulous Gallorette. She is related to both my girls, but is closely, closely related to Violet. Among many, they share Ormonde, St. Simon, Bull Lea, Blue Larkspur, Durazna. You can read more about this super amazing filly at the following links:

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

or

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=156

Ormonde and My Girls!

My girls are related to Ormonde (1883-1904), the 4th English Triple Crown winner. He raced 16 times in his life and won all 16 times, career earnings of $142,325. He was so successful that many famous artists painted him, including Emil Adam. In the painting below, you see Sidney R. Wombill's rendition of Ormonde beating The Bard at the 1886 Epsom Derby on his way to winning the Triple Crown. He was "roaring" so loud, he could be heard all over the track. He was such a great race horse that the Ormonde Stakes at Chester Race Course are named after him. His owner and breeder was Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster. The Duke must have been very proud because Ormonde won the Triple Crown in the St. Leger Stakes at a larking canter!! He was considered the finest race horse of the 19th century and had a kind temperment just like his dad! His dad was the sweet, handsome Epsom Derby-winning Bend Or and his mom, Lily Agnes, was sired by another Epsom Derby winner, Macaroni. So, over the course of a few generations, you see Birdcatcher, Stockwell, Bend Or, and Ormonde! After his racing career finished, he travelled the world! He went to Argentina to stand at stud for awhile, but then returned by boat to Southampton. His old trainer, John Porter, met his boat to greet and welcome him. He said that he pulled "a few hairs out of his mane and tail which I have preserved as a memento of a great and noble creature." It was the last time they ever saw each other. After a rest, in 1893, he took a steamer to New York, and then rail all the way to San Francisco Bay to stand stud at Menlo Stock Farm in California. He died on May 21, 1904, and was ultimately exhumed, so that his skeleton could be sent to the Museum of Natural History at South Kensington, UK. Here's a sweet story about him -- he would eat anything. But he had a passion for flowers. He loved to nip the boutonnieres right from the pockets of his wealthy gentlemen visitors! You can read more about this gentle, speedy boy at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormonde_(horse)
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Ormonde.html
or
http://www.horseracinghistory.co.uk/hrho/action/viewDocument?id=844

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

Bend Or and My Girls!

My girls are related to Bend Or, 1877-1903, a horse who won the Epsom Derby, Epsom Gold Cup, and St. James' Palace Stakes, during a 14:10-2-0 career. His regular jockey, Fred Archer, winner of 13 consecutive British jockey titles said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden. He was unusually gentle. He was a beautiful golden chestnut, with white flecks on his coat, and black spots on his mane, shoulder, and quarters. He passed those markings onto his children, so they were called Bend Or spotting. He was noted for his courage, class, beauty, and kindness. He was owned his entire life by Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, first Duke of Westminster, the richest man in England in the latter half of the 19th century. His groom, Richard Chapman, said, "He was the sweetest-tempered horse in the world. A child could do anything with him." His attendant, Ben Jenner, said, "Bend Or was as docile as a lamb, but he had the courage of a lion. I was always very fond of him." Another sign that he was a sweetie-pie is that he was very attached to a cat, and always travelled to his races with him. He retired with shin problems, and in his photos at stud, you can see that his fetlocks had taken serious damage too. But he managed to produce some of the most fabulous horses, including Phalaris, Bona Vista, The Tetrarch (who was voted Britain's 2-year-old of the 20th century), and the Australian racing star Phar Lap. He sired the English Triple Crown champion, Ormonde, who won all 16 of his starts and was perhaps the finest race horse of the 19th century. Now, my girls are directly related to Bend Or in multiple ways. Violet carries Phalaris, Bona Vista, The Tetrarch, Fairy Gold, Orion, and Ormonde, in multiple instances. Hailee has Sylvabelle, Bona Vista, and Ormonde!. You can read more about this gentle giant at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_Or
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/BendOr.html
or
http://www.horseracinghistory.co.uk/hrho/action/viewDocument?id=830

Violet's English Triple Crown Relatives!

So, we have a Triple Crown series in the United States with the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. But England has had a Triple Crown Series for many years before our young one! Their Triple Crown consists of the 2,000 Guineas (at 1 mile), the Epsom Derby (at 1 1/2 miles), and the St. Leger Stakes (at 1 mile 6 furlongs and 127 yds). Of the 15 English Triple Crown winners, I found after a casual search that Violet is related to 9 of them! She's related to the very first four, and then her last Triple Crown winner was in 1918. Here are her famous English Triple Crown family members: West Australian (1853), Gladiateur (1865), Lord Lyon (1866), Ormonde (1886), Isinglass (1893), Flying Fox (1899), Rock Sand (1903), Gay Crusader (1917) and Gainsborough (1918). The last English Triple Crown winner was in 1970, by the name of Nijinsky. Gainsborough, Violet's most recent English Triple Crown family winner, is in the photo. His sire was Bayardo who also sired Gay Crusader. Gainsborough's dam was Rosedrop, a filly who won the 1910 Epsom Oaks. When Gainsborough retired, he had a brilliant stud career and produced many stakeswinners, such as Violet's Hyperion, and also produced many major studs and breeding mares. Suave, as well as fast! You can read more about the English Triple Crown and Gainsborough at the following links:

http://www.sportingchronicle.com/racing/englishtriplecrown.html

http://www.horseracinghistory.co.uk/hrho/action/viewDocument;jsessionid=3FF8916E880D7EC8C17217C47121DCEB?id=868

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