Northern Dancer -- 1964 Kentucky Derby!

Okay, I'll just start by saying that not enough praise can be heaped upon the royal head of Northern Dancer, so this blog will only hint at his fabulousness. He is the Canadian colt who won the 1964 Kentucky Derby, my first Derby officially as a member of this planet! He was born very late, May 27, 1961, and was a small little guy. He did not sell at an auction, so his breeder, E.T. Taylor and his wife, Winnie, kept him. He went into training and did very well. He did exceptionally well in his second and third year, but still was not favored in the Derby.

On Derby Day, Bill Hartack rode him to a tight win over Hill Rise. He was ridden also during his career by Ron Turcotte. What was amazing about Derby day was just how blistering fast he raced. He came from behind, got in front, Hill Rise put up a battle, but couldn't do it! The last quarter went in 24 seconds! His was the fastest Derby until Secretariat! He won the Preakness, but then went third in the Belmont. He won the Queen's Plate in Canada, to their true thrill and pleasure! But then was retired because of heat or a bowed tendon. His track record was 18: 14-2-2.

He stood at stud in Canada in 1965, but the demand was so strong for him that he was ultimately sent to stud in Maryland. It is impossible for me to tell you just how amazing his stud career was! Just impossible. His stud fee skyrocketed until it stood at more than $1 million. He was voted the 20th century's sire of sires. He had champion babies on four continents. When he was 21, a French syndicate put up $40 million for his breeding rights! In fact, in 2004, all 18 starters in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris were related to him! One of his yearlings, Snaafi Dancer, sold for $10.2 million! In 1984, all 14 of his yearlings averaged at sale at $3.3 million. He was pensioned in 1987, and died on November 16, 1990, being euthanized after a bout of colic. He was sent home to be buried at his birthplace, Taylor's Windfield Farms in Oshawa, Ontario. Ultimately, he had 635 registered foals, 467 winners, and 150 stakes winners. Get this, Northern Dancer is responsible for more Breeder's Cup winners than any other sire!

There's no way I can list all of his accomplishments, awards, recognitions, and memorials, so here's a little sampler. He was voted #43 of the Top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1976. He was voted into Canada's Hall of Fame. He earned Champion 3-year-old colt! He earned the top of many sire lists. He made it to a Canadian postage stamp! He has streets named after him in the United States and Canada. Of course, he has statues of himself!

My girls are related to him most directly through Nearco, Hyperion, Mahmoud, Discovery, and Chicle.

You can see video of him and read about him at the following links. Upon his death, the CBC really did a lovely job of interviewing people who loved him about his special unique qualities. There's even a funny little story by one of his favorite track writers who said that Northern Dancer, while nice, had to be watched or he would kick your head into the bleachers! What a stud!! What a marvellous, wonderful, small little, kick-butt stud!
http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/thoroughbred/1976/Northern_Dancer.asp
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Dancer
or
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-41-365-2014-10/on_this_day/sports/northern_dancer_death
or
http://horseracing.about.com/od/latestnews/a/aa031605a.htm
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=111
or
http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=14238
or
http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/northernd.htm
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/northerndancer.html
or
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DC1339F934A25752C1A966958260
or
http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/northerndancer.html

Two Lea and My Girls!

Here's a picture of Two Lea's victory cooler that she won in the 1952 Ramona Handicap. Two Lea was a Calumet filly who ultimately earned the #77 spot on the list of the top race horses of the 20th century. During her career, she raced hard with short stretches between races, and she competed while struggling with ringbone and soreness. She was sometimes raced 3X in a single month, like the time she raced for a third time in one month against Kentucky Derby winner Ponder and was beat by him only at the end. This match was in the Santa Maturity. Despite her ringbone, she earned a career record of 26: 15, 6, 3. In her third year, she shared championship honors with Wistful and later in her career earned Champion older mare as well as was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1982. She once raced in the Santa Anita Handicap with Citation and Ponder, but all three were beaten by Noor. Later in her career, she was on extended break due to ringbone and when she returned to the track, she showed visible scarring and knots from her firing procedures. In her final season, she raced 11 times and won 6, with 5 of those wins occurring in stakes races. In fact, she won 2 of her last 3 starts. And in one very splashy race, Calumet Farms took 1-2-3 in the Vanity Handicap with Two Lea, Wistful and Jennie Lee! When she retired, she proved to be a truly amazing broodmare as well. She produced Tom Fool, who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and came in 2nd in the Belmont. She also produced Hall of Fame horse, Tim Tam, and through a cross with Nasrullah, produced stakes winners Pied d'Or and On-and-On. She died in 1973 at the wise age of 27! My girls are closely related to Two Lea.. Her father is Bull Lea and she also has Sweep, Chicle, Friar Rock, Spearmint, and Ballot as some of their shared relatives! You can read more about this great champion and fighting mare at the following links:
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=157
or
http://www.racehorseherbal.com/Memorabilia/Cooler/cooler.html

Hailee and her sister Violet!

Hailee shares some small sweet connections to Violet. She has Violet's Mint Sauce in a few of her lines, including the Rosewood, Percentage and Chicle lines. She also has Violet Melrose and Violet in their shared Helene de Troie lines!! I just think that's very sweet. Remember too that they share a horse named Laura and Violet has a Gay Laura too. So, we all happily share a few namesakes, just like family should!