Breaking News! Genuine Risk Passes at 31!

Genuine Risk passed away peacefully this morning, just after being turned out into her paddock at Virginia's Firestone's Newstead Farm. Here she is in a photo from August 2006 with the world famous photographer, Doug Prather. She was the second Kentucky Derby filly winner (of 3), and the best filly as far as Triple Crown race records. She won the Derby and then placed in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. She's also the first Kentucky Derby winner to be bred to a Derby winner, Secretariat, though she failed to conceive. She also happened to be the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner before passing.

Her final record was 15: 10-3-2, and she bore two foals, both boys, neither raced. They are named Genuine Reward who stands at stud, and Count Our Blessings who was gelded. Her parents were Exclusive Native out of Virtuous by Gallant Man. Both my girls share many relatives with her, including Equipoise and Case Ace. Rest in peace, you Champion girl!

Buckpasser and My Girls!

Buckpasser was a Claiborne Farms foal born in the year of my birth, 1963. He was by Tom Fool and Busanda by War Admiral. Please read the first link below to read just how deep and rich and impeccable his pedigree was. He was astonishing in his family tree! Among his cool family members was Equipoise, or "The Chocolate Soldier," a horse that both Hailee and Violet share in their heritage.

And astonishingly good-looking. The famous painter, Richard Stone Reeves, according to the Unofficial Thoroughbred Hall of Fame, said that "Buckpasser was the most perfectly proportioned thoroughbred I have ever seen." He only gave two other horses the designation of being in a "class with Buckpasser" -- Secretariat and Affirmed. Reeves said, "I would deny anyone to find a fault with Buckpasser."

He was a good boy who had perfect manners and was gentle. And he was lazy in the lead, but always managed to eke out a win in a relaxed powerful fashion. His final record was 31: 25(21), 4(3), 1(1) with $1,462,014. Among his wins, he took the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Brooklyn Handicap, Arlington Classic, Travers Stakes, and Metropolitan Handicap. His dad, Ogden Phipps, retired him a bit early because he had quarter crack problems. He then became an outstanding broodmare stud. He produced 142 stakeswinners, including 11 champions before passing in 1978.

Among his awards, he earned the following Eclipse Awards, the 1965 Champion 2 year-old colt, 1966 Champion 3 year-old colt and Horse of the Year, and the 1967 Champion Handicap Male. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1970. And was voted #14 of the Top 100 thoroughbred race horses of the 20th century.

My girls are related to him through many connections, but some immediate ones are Menow, Bull Dog, Equipoise, War Admiral, Blue Larkspur, and La Troienne.

Get this! Last summer, when Barbie and Montgomery and I went to Claiborne Farms, we went into the main office which was panelled in wood and dark green and brass, etc. And this is the place where I leaned over to take a look at a beautiful leather halter hanging on the wall and saw that the brass tag said Buckpasser. Can you believe? I saw one of this champion's halters in real life. What a wonderful boy. I hope he's lazing about, running sweetly, and goofing off in heaven!
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/buckpasser.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckpasser
or
http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/buckpasser.htm
or
http://www.brauliobaeza.com/hoy_buckpasser.html
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqRgpmplwvs
or
http://www.stallions.com.au/historical/buckpasser.asp

Kentucky 2007: Buckpasser's Grave

Here is a photograph of Buckpasser's grave, the 1966 Horse of the Year and #14 of the Top 100 Race horses of the 20th century. His amazing record ended with a 31: 25-4-1, and he was voted a 2 year-old and 3 year-old Champion and Champion Handicap Male twice. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1970.

He was also a playful horse who liked to toss riders, but sweet and gentle around the barn. But he was a very lazy impossible work horse. He only liked to race against stiff competition for adoring screaming fans. And even then, he only liked to run just enough and not an ounce more. He only once pulled away in a race. He was always just winning by a hair's breath or neck. His riders had to have perfect timing because Buckpasser thought wide margins were for idiots and he would pull himself up, if he felt like, "Yep, I beat them. I'm done."

He was a beauty. The artist Richard Stone Reeves, who painted his Horse of the Year portrait said, "Buckpasser was the most perfectly proportioned thoroughbred I have ever seen." And felt that he was a mannerly sweet horse. Dr. Manuel Gilman, a New York racing official said, "Generally, every horse has about a hundred faults of conformation. I would defy anybody to pick a flaw in Buckpasser."

He was by Tom Fool (1953 Handicap Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year) and Busanda by War Admiral (Horse of the Year) and her dam's dad Blue Larkspur was also a Horse of Year. So, Buckpasser was all stocked up on good breeding! He even had Equipoise in him for endurance along with speed!

When he retired, he sired 36 stakes winners, and was the broodmare sire of 142 stakes winners, including 11 Champions!

I received help for this Blog from the Thoroughbred Champions Top 100 Horses of the 20th Century book, as well as websites listed below. I am also going to post a fun interview about Buckpasser by his jockey, Baeza, as well as youtube footage of several of his races!
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/buckpasser.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckpasser
or
http://www.brauliobaeza.com/hoy_buckpasser.html
or
http://www.stallions.com.au/historical/buckpasser.asp
or
http://www.classicphotos.com/turf/lt7.html
or
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/editorial/article.cgi?id=6785
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=38
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zqRgpmplwvs
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0j_-7esL5s0
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rUpVHqkss_o
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pUhp7BjoKGQ
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l2eZNv2nmHY
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N0Sy-ZyeMa0
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CR5TnmSDo3I
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=X8frxLao1bM

Miesque and My Girls!

Miesque was a 1984 filly who is owned by a Greek shipping tycoon, Stavros Niarchos. She won championships in every country she ran in. Her final record was 16: 12, 3, 1, and all of her races except one were Group 1 stakes races. She won 10 Grade 1 races!!! In France, she earned the Champion Juvenile award as a 2-year-old, and when she was shipped to the U.S., she won the Breeder's Cup at Hollywood Park, and then turned around and won it a second time the next year at Churchill Downs, at her last race! In the first Breeders' Cup, she was in a field of 14, and the second 12! She was the first race horse ever to win two Breeders' Cups back to back. When she was 3, she ended her racing year with 5 championship awards!!! She earned Champion 3-year-old filly in France and England, Champion Miler in France and England, and Champion U.S. grass mare. When she was 4, she won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf horse, as well as France's Champion Miler and Champion Older mare. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, and inducted into the French Hall of Fame. She was voted #82 of the Top 100 Race Horse of the 20th century!

When she retired, she became an awesome broodmare. Her children are very famous. Her last foal was a 2005 colt out of A.P. Indy by Seattle Slew by Weekend Surprise by Secretariat. This 2005 foal is being trained to race at Newmarket, England! But her first baby, her first bombshell smashing success as a mom is pictured above, Kingmambo, a major stakeswinner who is now retired to stud at Lane's End Farm...and he is so special that his 2007 stud fee is listed as "private." If you have to ask, you can't afford to breed to her baby!

Of course, my girls are related to sweet little, regular-running, championship earning, good mama Miesque. They share many connections, including Nearctic, Princequillo, Hyperion, Mahmoud, Equipoise, Nasrullah, and Count Fleet.

This good mare has races named after her at Hollywood Park and in France! You can read more about her at the following links:

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

or

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=341

Violet, Hailee, Rags to Riches, 3 peas in a pod!

Here's a picture of Rags to Riches right after her historical win with her beautiful blanket of white carnations. Doesn't she look happy! Anyway, Rags, Violet, and Hailee share relatives. Rags to Riches' dad is A.P. Indy (who won the Belmont) and her mom is Better than Honour (who produced last year's Belmont Stakes winner, Jazil). So, apparently, Better than Honour deserves a special mother's day card, since she keeps producing Belmont-winning babies! You go, girl!! Rags to Riches also has the very special Secretariat and Seattle Slew in her tree. And what I think is very cool is that she has Busher, War Admiral's rockin' sockin' daughter. Now, here are some of the relatives my girls share with Rags: Blushing Groom, Bimelech, Nasrullah, Traffic Court, War Admiral, Baby League, Bubbling Over, and Equipoise, among many others. In fact, Violet can be proud that they share the same great-grandpa (Rags has Blushing Groom on the bottom, Violet has him on top). And Hailee can be super proud that they share Bubbling Over and Baby League! I am so proud to own a filly thoroughbred, and in the first year that Violet is part of my family, her close filly relative wins the Belmont in historical style. It's good to be part of the equine power girls!!!

Hailee and Violet's Equipoise!!!

Hailee and Violet are related to one of the most famous handicap horses of all time! Equipoise was born in 1928, and his record was 59-29-10-4. He earned $338,610 in his lifetime and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. He was also voted the #21 of the Top 100 20th century race horses by Blood Horse magazine. Among his many stakes wins, he won the Pimlico and Whitney. He was called the Chocolate Soldier by his fans. He was the U.S. Champion 2 year-old in 1930, and U.S. Champion Older Horse in 1932, 1933, 1934. He was Horse of the Year in 1932 and 1933, a rare feat to be voted twice. He died young, but was voted Leading Sire in North America in 1942. In the Pimlico, he was left at the gate, but then raced so fast that he raced right out of 2 of his shoes. His jockey, Sonny Workman was asked whether that Pimlico was his greatest race. He replied, "My greatest race? Hell, it may have been the greatest race anybody ever saw." He carried heavy weight. In fact, he gave 26 lbs to the runner-up, but still won the Metropolitan. He also set a world record at Arlington Park. He appears at least twice in Hailee's pedigree through her Top Deck line. Equipoise was bred to Frilette, Man 'O War's daughter from a cross to Frillery, Broomstick's daughter. Broomstick is the sire of Equipoise's mom, Swinging, as well as the sire of the mom of Equipoise's Frilette -- a double Broomstick cross on the dam side of the grandparent line. Equipoise produced Equestrian, the AQHA Hall of Fame sire and sire of Top Deck. So, this royal pedigree is part of Hailee's Easy Jet line. For Hailee, Equipoise appears on both the sire and dam side of her daddy. For the sire of her daddy, Speckled E.T., it goes Jagajet, Easy Jet, Jet Deck, Moon Deck, Top Deck, Equestrian, and Equipoise! For Violet, he appears at least once in her Classicist line where he is helping to make another great Handicap horse, Stymie. You can read more about Equipoise at the following links:

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=66

or

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745970,00.html

Swing On and the girls!

Both my girls are related to Seabiscuit, the champion race horse (#25). Violet is directly related to Seabiscuit's dam, Swing On, and both Violet and Hailee are related to Seabiscuit through two family lines, Whisk Broom and Equipoise (#21). Swing On is dam to Brown Biscuit in Violet's family tree. It makes me super happy that Violet is related to Seabiscuit's mom. That's so sweet and cool. My mom, Ann, is super nice. My sister, who is a mom, is super nice. So, I'm just certain that Seabiscuit's mom, Swing On was super nice too.

Whisk Broom (26-10-7-1) is in the Racing Hall of Fame, and he was the U.S. Handicap Triple Crown Winner. In 1913, he was the U.S. Horse of the Year and U.S. Champion Handicap Horse. He raced in both Great Britain and the United States.

Equipoise (51-29-10-4) is known as the Chocolate Soldier, and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He was the Champion 2-year-old colt, and in 1932 and 1933 the Champion Male Handicap Horse. In 1932 and 1933, he was Horse of the Year, and in 1934, he was Champion Male Handicap Horse. He won many races, including the Keene Memorial, Pimlico, the Metropolitan Handicap (1932 and 1933), the Stars and Stripes, the Suburban Handicap, the Whitney Stakes, the Philadelphia Handicap, the Dixie Handicap, and the Whitney Gold Trophy. He set a world record at Arlington Park.

In this photo, you see Seabiscuit (my girls' indirect relation) beating War Admiral (my girls' direct relation) in the famous match race. Can you believe that my horses are a part of this little slice of our American history?

Video footage of the Famous Match Race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=158

or

http://www.tbgreats.com/seabiscuit/