Sanfoin and My Girls!

Sainfoin was the 1890 Epsom Derby winner. He started 11 times and won 4. He was a successful stud who produced the English Triple Crown winner, Rock Sand. And he's felt very strongly in thoroughbred lineage. My girls are related to him through his best connections. Violet carries him multiple ways, especially through Nasrullah whose Nearco has Sainfoin and whose Mumtaz Begum has Sainfoin's full sister, Sierra. Of course, Violet also has Rock Sand. Both Hailee and Violet carry Sainfoin through his daughters, who were bred to Fair Play and produced our darling Man o' War! Sainfoin was pretty studly because he was a 3X3 cross to Stockwell!

Man o' War's funeral

Man 'o War loved his groom, Mr. Will Harbut. And in 1947, Mr. Harbut passed. Less than a month later, Man 'o War passed, dying of heartsickness for his lifelong friend. More than 2,000 people attended his funeral. And he was laid in state for several days, so people could come see their champion and perhaps pat him. Mr. Samuel Riddle commissioned a statue of him and that statue stands over his grave at the entrance of the Kentucky Horse Park. I think that is so fitting -- the Kentucky Horse Park has Man 'o War, son of Fair Play and Mahubah by Rock Sand. He had 379 children in his life, and some are buried with him at the park. You can read more about this champion and his passing at the following links. Also, at the first link, you can hear a radio broadcast of his funeral, posted by Claiborne Farm!

http://www.claibornefarm.com/media/manowar-funeral.shtml

or

http://pets.webshots.com/album/90368468QeeTZw

or

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/horse_park_man_o_war.htm

or

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/museum/history.php?chapter=102

or

http://www.geocities.com/spooner2a/mow.html

or

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

West Australian and My Girls!

In the past 150 years of racing the English Triple Crown, only 15 horses have won it. My girls share in the pedigree of the very first one, West Australian. Here he is in a painting by Harry Hall. West Australianwas born in 1850 to Melbourne and Mowerina, a filly born from the champion-producing, Emma, daughter of Touchstone. West Australian was a vigorous descendant of the Godolphin Arabian line. His jockey was Frank Butler, and original owner was John Bowes. The trainer was John Scott. West Australian's record was 11: 10-1-0. And he won the St. Leger in a canter. Of this accomplishment, Butler said, "I only touched him with the whip once and I was glad to get him stopped!" He ended his amazing race career with a 20-length victory in a stakes race. Unfortunately, he was not celebrated for his stud work in his life time. He produced Australian and Solon and through these and his other kids, produced amazing horses, such as Spendthrift, Kingston, Hastings, Fair Play, Man 'O War, Spearmint, and Plucky Liege. These are all noble horses in Violet and Hailee's pedigree. So, it wasn't until much later that he became known for his amazing contributions to the genetic heritage of thoroughbreds. Sort of like a Van Gogh among horses. In fact, he was even overshadowed in death. He died 3 days before Stockwell at age 20, while he was living in France. And so the media covered Stockwell's death in great detail and mentioned West Australian as an afterthought. We got wise later. He later received honors and memorials for his special gifts. You can read more about Violet and Hailee's English Triple Crown winner at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/WestAustralian.html
or
http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/library/engtrip2.htm

A Pony Takes Rolex by Storm!!!

This weekend is Rolex at the Kentucky Horse Park! I am sorry to be missing it, but have to focus on work for now! This year is a special Rolex because for the first time in history a PONY is competing in this major Four Star event!! Theodore O'Connor is being ridden by Karen O'Connor, a U.S. Olympian and spouse to David O'Connor, Olympic Gold Medalist and President of the United States Equestrian Federation. Theodore O'Connor's pet name by Karen is Theadorable. He is only 14' 1 3/4", so he is officially shorter than my sweet Hailee! He was 7th after the dressage test and he is 9th now, after the cross country. I hope he kicks butt tomorrow at the stadium jumping competition. I can hardly believe that he managed the huge, maximum-sized jumps of the cross country. And they say that this year's cross-country is much longer than any previously! Karen says of Teddy, "He doesn't know he's small. He thinks anything is possible!" What a good pony! I believe that Hailee could produce such fabulous kinds of ponies too! Anyway, he is 3/4ths thoroughred and a dash of Arabian and Shetland. And guess what? No surprise. He is heavily related to Violet and Hailee. He has Count Fleet, Reigh Count, Fair Play, Teddy, Discovery, La Troienne, Plucky Liege, Nasrullah, Sir Gallahad, Bend Or, and Questionnaire in his blood lines, to name a few of their relations. He even has Honest Pleasure in his background, an indirect relation to my girls! You can read more about this macho, history-making pony at the following links:

http://www.oconnoreventteam.com/horses_teddy.html
or
http://www.sportponiesunlimited.com/Sportponies_Unlimited_Connor.html
or
http://pets.webshots.com/album/500898533mACuGZ
or
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2007/04/185.shtml

Hastings and My Girls!

Man 'o War's grandpa on his sire's side is Hastings, born in 1893 near Versailles, Kentucky. His parents were Spendthrift and Cinderella. His race record was 21: 10-8-0 with a lifetime track earnings of $16,340. He was a great race horse, and ran some amazing courageous competitive races. He won the Belmont Stakes. He was purchased by August Belmont II for a record-setting $37,000. His mom, Cinderella, was ugly, mean-tempered, small and weedy. Even her heritage is dubious, as people question the likelihood of her parentage between two family lines. But his dad, Spendthrift, has a veritable royal pedigree, including the first English Triple Crown winner, West Australian. Hastings was a mean, combative, somewhat violent horse who fought his trainers, jockeys and handlers. He was notorious for biting other horses, during races. He was so naughty when he retired to the breed shed that they had to build a ramp between his stall and his turnout, so that people wouldn't have to handle him. He was routinely approached by people holding big ol' sticks!! He was even combative at the end of his life when he was paralyzed, and eventually put to sleep. But here's the thing -- he produced awesome, stakes-winning colts and fillies, including, of course, Fair Play, Man o' War's dad. Even his very first crop had smashing horses, though he was only bred to middling to fair mares. So, it's not surprising that he was the leading sire in 1902 and 1908. He produced major babies, from middling mares to great mares. He was all about baby-making!! Though, yes, he sometimes did pass on his crankiness that he earned from his mama. You can read more about him at the following links:

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

or

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

My Girls and Fair Play!

My girls are related to the very famous Fair Play born in 1905. His race racord was 32: 10-11-3. He led the American sire list in 1920, 1924, and 1927 and was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1956. Some of his famous children were Man 'O War, Chance Play (the 1927 Hourse of the Year), Mad Play (1924 Belmont Stakes winner), Chance Shot (1927 Belmont Stakes winner), Mad Hatter (1924 Champion Handicap Horse) and Display (1926 Preakness Stakes winner). His impact on the hertiage of throughbreds is inestimable. In fact, 11 members of the Hall of Fame trace to him through their tale male line. He was bred and owned by August Belmont, and when Mr. Belmont passed, his horses were scattered in a dispersal sale. On that day, Mr. and Mrs. Peter A.B. Widener II arrived at the sale, where they bought him. Of this day, Mr. Widener said, "The course of our lives had been changed by a golden horse. The horse was the grand old man of the American turf, Fair Play, sire of Man 'O War. I'll never forget him as he stood in the sale ring. The bright Kentucky sun streamed down upon him, burnishing his chestnut sides, as if with gilt. He looked a king. The energy of the 20-year-old horse, his royal impatience, got me." You can read more about this influential stallion and see pictures of him, his cemetary, and his kids at the following links:
http://pets.webshots.com/album/90145804tFqKFr?start=0
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/fairplay.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Play_(horse)
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Widener
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/FairPlay.html
or
http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Bios2/Bios-EF/FairPlay.htm
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=69

May Good Things be with you

My girls are related to Mahubah, Man O' War's mom. She started 5 times with a 1-0-1 record. She was considered Fair Play's wife because she was only bred to him and foaled 5 times between 1916 and 1920. She was out of the British Triple Crown winner Rock Sand. Her children were Mazda, Man O' War, Play Fellow, My Play, and Mirabell. She was bred to Fair Play because she was so gentle and sweet and they were hoping that she would even out Fair Play's hot temper! She is buried with Fair Play at the foot of his statue at Normandy Farm in Lexington, Kentucky! Mahubah's name means "may good things be with you." You can read more about this amazing family at:

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

or

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

Violet's Discovery!!

Violet is related to a gentleman whose nicknames included "The Iron Horse" and "The Big Train." Discovery earned $195,287 during his track life, with a 63-27-10-10 record. Among his starts, he won The Brooklyn Handicap and Whitney Stakes three times (1934, 1935, 1936), with the latter he won twice by 10 lengths! He won the Detroit Challenge Cup by 30 lengths, and also won the Arlington Handicap. When he was running, he carried an average of 31 lbs. He was voted U.S. Champion Handicap horse twice! And he won the 1935 Horse of the Year! That latter achievement was amazing because he was named Horse of the Year in the same year as Omaha won the Triple Crown. It was the first and only time in history that a Triple Crown winner wasn't named Horse of the Year. Not surprisingly, Blood Horse voted him #37 of the Top 100 race horses of the 20th Century. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1969. Turf Historian, John Hervey, said of Discovery, " There is no other horse in the entire range of Turf history, American or foreign, that ever attempted to do anything so tremendous or came anywhere near Discovery in doing it so successfully." He has a race named after him, "The Discover" which was originally run at Belmont Park and is now at Aqueduct. This grandson of Fairplay, born in Lexington, had a 21 year stallion career and is so very famous for producing amazing daughters. Among his kids are Bail Bond, Conniver, Dark Discovery, Geisha (dam of Native Dancer), Miss Disco (dam of Bold Ruler), My Recipe, and Traffic Court (dam of Hasty Road). Violet shares in this rich pedigree through Traffic Court who bore Hasty Road (winner of the Preakness Stakes). Hasty Road's child Third Martini was bred to War Admiral and Count Fleet's grandchild, Three Fingers, to make Three Martinis, great-grandpa on her damsire side! You can read more about Discovery at the following links:

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=59

or

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

Hailee's Bubbling Over

My girl, Hailee, is related to Bubbling Over, the 1926 Kentucky Derby Winner and sire to Burgoo King, also a Derby winner. In these photos you see both Bubbling Over and his son. Bubbling Over was blind when he won the Derby. He raced 13 times, won 10, placed twice, and showed 1. He won such races as the Nursery Handicap, Champagne Stakes, Blue Grass Stakes and placed at the Pimlico and Breeders Futurities. For Hailee, he was bred to Algeria who had lots of Fair Play and Whisk Broom. Their daughter, Airegla was bred to Bimelech, the winner of both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, and son of Black Toney, a very famous sire. Hailee has a family cemetary at Darby Dan Farms in Lexington, Kentucky. You can read more about Bubbling Over at:

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

or

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2002/derby_history/derby_charts/years/1926.html

or

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,751479-1,00.html

My Girls are Ruffians!

What can be said about Ruffian? She was born in 1972, never defeated, never headed. Every time she raced in her 8 stakes races, she won and set a record. She won the Filly Triple Crown just breezing along. She perished in a match race against Foolish Pleasure. Her jockey, Jacinto Vasquez, had the choice to ride either horse in the match race and he chose the big black girl. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1976. My girls are heavily directly related to this wonder of a girl. I am awed. I remember with vivid clarity the day Ruffian died. We were living in Canada, and mom and I were watching the news and heard the story. Violet and Hailee are related across every single branch of Ruffian's family tree. They share many relatives, including Nasrullah, Sweep, Domino, Traffic Court, Sir Gallahad, Plucky Liege, Teddy, Broomstick, Blue Larkspur, Black Toney, Discovery, Whisk Broom, Commando, Love Wisely, Hindoo, and Fair Play. What's strange is that Ruffian has Man o' War's daddy in her pedigree, but not the Grand Man himself! Anyway, Ruffian is a lovely macho girl and she was a real role model to girls like me in the 1970s. Be big, be bold, compete, have a big, giant heart. You can read more about this short-lived, lovely miraculous girl at the following links. The Youtube link is very sad -- someone went to a great deal of effort to write a lovely song to her:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=128

or

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

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96wka0rBHWM

or

http://www.championsgallery.com/Ruffian/Ruffian.html

or

http://thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/ruffian1.htm

or

http://www.equinenet.org/heroes/ruffian.html

or

http://horseracing.about.com/library/pics/blruffian.htm