Gallant Fox' Winner Kid, Omaha!

Omaha, born in 1932 and passing in 1959 at age 27 was the son of the second Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. Omaha was in a field of 18 horses when he won the Kentucky Derby, and his win in the Belmont Stakes sealed the concept of a "Triple Crown" as reporters sought a shorthand to describe what he and his dad had done, and, of course, Sir Barton too as the first!

He was bred and owned by William Woodward, Sr. and foaled at Claiborne Farms. His trainer was also his dad's trainer, Jim "Sunny" Fitzsimmons, and his jockey was Willie Saunders.

His final record was 22: 9-7-2, and he won the Wood Memorial and Travers Stakes, among others, and was sent to England at age 4 where he won the Victor Wild Stakes and Queen's Plate and did well in other races. He was a late bloomer, not coming into his own until age 3, probably because he was so long backed and grew to 16.3 hands! He earned the Champion 3-year-old colt Eclipse Award and eventually was inducted into the National Racing and Museum Hall of Fame. He was voted #61 of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th century.

He wasn't a real success as a stud at Claiborne, so he ended up in Nebraska where he stood at stud for $25! He wasn't a total bust -- he produced a filly who was the great-granddam, of the granddam, of the dam of Nijinsky! Not too shabby!! When he passed, he was buried near the entrance of the now-closed Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, Nebraska -- his namesake town!!

In a related story, when I was a youngster with my freshly-minted Ph.D., I lived in Lincoln and took riding lessons from a woman named Allison. She brought horses for me to try on the odd occasion, and once had me try a chestnut filly fresh off the track from Ak-Sar-Ben. I had hopes of one day adopting a retired track horse from Omaha, but even then didn't have quite the stomach and was looking for a solid riding horse! My girls are primarily related to Omaha through Sir Gallahad and the Ajax line!

You can read more about him at the following links, and even see footage of his Triple Crown races:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SinMwpXmpjQ
or
http://www.thoroughbredchampions.com/biographies/omaha.htm
or
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/triple-crown/winners.aspx
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=114
or
http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/omaha.html

Kentucky 2007: Nijinsky's Grave

Here is the grave of Nijinsky, the Canadian born racer who is the last English Triple Crown winner! He was born in 1967 and passed in April 1992 from laminitis. He is noted as an "imposing, musuclar horse with anything but a gentle nature." He was purchased by an American who sent him to Ireland where he was the 2 year-old Champion in both England and Ireland. Thirty-six years passed between Bahram, another famous English Triple Crown winner and then Nijinsky's wins! And we have not had another since!

After winning his Triple Crown, he lost the Prix d l'Arc de Triomphe at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris to a horse named Sassafras! I mean, really! Sassafras!. After another place and a final record of 13: 11-2-0, he was sent to spend the rest of his life siring majestic babies at Claiborne Farms! The Sun, a British newspaper, voted him "Horse of the Millenium" and he even had a movie devoted to him narrated by Orson Welles, he was so important!

He is the only sire in thoroughbred history to have colts who won the Kentucky Derby (Ferdinand) and Epsom Derby (Golden Fleece) in the same year! What's sad is that his kid Ferdinand was sent to the slaughterhouse by his Japanese owners when they decided his babies were just not fabulous enough.

My girls are related to him most immediately through Nearctic, Mahmoud, Bull Lea, Blue Larkspur, Menow, and Man 'O War. Nijinsky's parents are Northern Dancer and Flaming Page, and so he has Omaha (a Triple Crown Winner) and Omaha's dad, Gallant Fox (another Triple Crown winner) in his pedigree!

You can read more about this Canadian bred fabulous horse at the following links, and you can even see youtube footage of him winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the St. Leger!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijinsky_II
or
http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/thoroughbred/1976/Nijinsky_II.asp
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing
or
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/stallion-directory/reference.aspx?doc=northerndancer
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmO6WttLCqQ
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I70rZCoHGQg

Kentucky 2007: Sir Gallahad's Grave

Here is a photograph of the beautiful Sir Gallahad's grave. His record in France was 23: 10-3-3 and in England 1: 1-0-0. He was a "big, robust colt of regal mien" and when A.B. Hancock, Sr. saw him in a photograph, he knew he had to bring him to America. Here's what a British reporter said of him, "When he gets into action he bids us look at him a second and yet a third time for he strides along in effortless style."


He was brought to the United States as part of the first stallion syndication ever, as Hancock and his friends, Wililam Woodward, R.A. Fairbairn and Marshall Field pulled together the $125,000 necessary. It was worth it! He was brought over in 1926 and in his first foal crop, he produced the 1930 Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. He was at the top of the leading sires list 4 times, and the lead broodmare sire 12 times, 10 times consecutively! He produced 567 foals in his lifetime. He was so successful as a sire that it inspired Hancock to go back to Europe and bring back Blenheim for syndication. And bingo, zappo, yazza! Blenheim produced the 1937 Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway, in his first crop. Yowza!

Here's the sweet thing. He was so sweet, affectionate, and goofy about flirting with his tongue. So gentle, that Hancock, Sr. once said, "Gallahad has given me more pleasure than any horse I ever was connected with." How nice is that!?


Anyway, his mama, through Teddy, is the superstar Plucky Liege. This filly produced 12 foals (5 fillies, 7 colts) and among her colts she produced 6 stakes winners, 3 of which were classic winners, and 4 who became leading sires. Violet has 3 of these great colts in her pedigree -- Sir Gallahad himself, Bull Dog, and Admiral Drake -- all hugely significant sires in the U.S. and Europe!


My cites for this blog entry are Hewitt's Sire Lines and Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments. Thanks to those sources!

Kentucky 2007: Gallant Fox's Grave

Here is the gravestone of Gallant Fox, the second Triple Crown winner in history. He is the son of Sir Gallahad and Marguerite by Celt. His record was 17: 11-3-2 and $328,165. Among his amazing achievements, he is the only Triple Crown winner to sire another Triple Crown winner -- Omaha (1935).

He is buried at his Claiborne home, along with his mom and dad.

You can see Youtube videos about his Triple Crown win, and his kid's win at the following links:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BvXXNoyIYRQ
and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SinMwpXmpjQ

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

A lovely video of our Triple Crown Winners

We have had 11 Triple Crown winners in our American history:
Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew(1977), and Affirmed (1978). These Youtube Videos are truly lovely, sweet, sentimental, goofy documentaries about these 11 champions!


And here are two photos of War Admiral and Count Fleet, the two triple crown winners coursing through Violet's veins!!! Aiyay!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nprhskem-is
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lA238PqUCco

Breaking News! Fat and Happy Hailee!!

Today has been a banner day! This morning at work, I was meeting with a nice person and we started talking about our mutual love for horses. His father-in-law owns a race farm in Bowling Green, Kentucky and he shared how he used to help care for the thoroughbreds when he was a boy. His dad-in-law's winning horse during his boyhood was one related to Gallant Fox and Omaha! Then, as if that weren't enough, Barbie sent photos of my beautiful girl out and about with her friends. Here she is with some of her herdmates, and here's another photo where she has a big fat glow about her! She is bodacious, let's face it! A beautiful happy girl!

Gallant Fox and my Girls!

Here's a photo of Gallant Fox, the second Triple Crown winner in history (1930) when he was a baby. He is standing with his mom, Marguerite. His dad is Violet and Hailee's own Sir Gallahad! He raced17 times for a final record of 11, 3, 2. He was owned by William Woodward and under his care won the Wood Memorial by 4 lengths over a field of classic hopefuls, beat 14 other horses to win the Kentucky Derby, won the Arlington Classic, and won the Saratoga Cup. He lost the Travers Stakes to a 100-1 shot, Jim Dandy, the same track where Man 'O War lost to Upset. Gallant Fox and Man 'o War's losses at Saratoga were part of the reason why that track is called "The Graveyard of Champions!" He ended his race career as a top money-earner, a 3 year-old Champion of the Year! He retired where he was born, at Claiborne Farms, where in his very first foal crop, he produced Omaha the next Triple Crown winner. He is blessed as the only Triple Crown winner to sire another Triple Crown winner!!! When he passed, they buried him next to his mom and dad (my girls' relatives). Gallant Fox was voted #28 of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th century and was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. You can learn more about him at the following links, including seeing some really great film footage of his wins at the Youtube site! They are hilarious because they talk about his "gregarious" style of racing. He liked to be in the pack or come up from behind. Though he could beat horses by lengths, he just generally liked running along with his pals!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvXXNoyIYRQ&NR=1
or

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=77

or

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

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/SirGallahad.html#GallantFox

Dahlia and my girls!

My girls are related to the super-achiever, Dahlia! Dahlia was born in 1970 and her dad was originally Nelson Bunker Hunt and then later Paul Allenson. She is a macho, but elegant and girly girl, produced from Vaguely Noble's first crop. She won major group or Grade I races in 5 countries and was the first filly to earn more than $1 million!!! Her original trainer said that she "did everything just beautifully. She raced in France, Ireland, England, the United States, and Canada! She won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes two years running, a major achievement and the sole time a filly did so! She won the Benson & Hedges twice. And she beat 9 classics winning colts! During her career, she was known for explosively powerful, blasting bursts of speed, and could handle rough treatment and come from long distances behind to win. Her final record was 46: 15-3-7, with $1.5 million. She ran from age 2 through 6!! She travelled over 30,000 miles for work during her lifetime. Finally, she settled down to spend her last days at the Diamond A Farm by Versailles, Kentucky! She passed in 2001. She earned 7 championships, including 2 Horse of the Years in England. She was the U.S. Champion Turf Horse of 1974, and she has the Dahlia Handicap named after her at Hollywood Park Racetrack AND the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse. In 1981, she was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame, and was votd #50 of the top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. When she retired, she foaled 13 children, including 6 stakes winners, and 4 Grade 1 winners -- a HUGE achievement. Some of her baby daddys included Bold Forbes, What a Pleasure, and Northern Dancer!! She had a girl friend, a dear friend as a pasturemate, Estrapade. They shared the same dad, and they shared the same tragedy of having a baby weaned from them early and passed to a nurse mare because they couldn't produce enough milk. They bonded! My girls, Violet and Hailee are related to Dahlia multiple ways, including through Hyperion, Gainsborough, Sir Gallahad, Gay Crusader, and Nearco. In fact, Dahlia is also related to Gallant Fox through her Sir Gallahad connection! Lucky girl!! You can read more about this elegant, well-travelled, girly super-girl at the following links:

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=53

or

http://www.reines-de-course.com/estrapade.htm

or

http://www.racinginfo.uk.com/horses/dahlia.htm

Fabulous Saratoga Race Track

Saratoga Race Track was opened in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 3, 1863. It is the oldest sporting event in the United States. In fact, Saratoga holds the Travers Stakes, continuosly running since 1864, the oldest horse race in the U.S.! You will remember the Travers Stakes because that's the one where Violet's relative, Jaipur, beat Ridan in one of the Top 100 moments in racing history!! Saratoga has a 6 week meet and holds many races, some of the most important being the Woodward, Travers, and Whitney! Saratoga is nicknamed "The Spa" and "Graveyard of Favorites." It earned the latter nickname because some pretty famous horses lost there. Man o' War lost his only race against Upset, Secretariat lost his only race to Onion, and Gallant Fox lost his only race to Jim Dandy. Tough to be a favorite and a champion at Saratoga!!! Anyway, here's a photo of Saratoga, and then here's a 2005 photo of Angel Cordero, always a Saratoga favorite, riding Afleet Alex, Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner, at an end-of-career party for Alex. If you want to read more about this historically significant race track, check out the following links:

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

or

http://www.nyra.com/index_saratoga.html

or

http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic29-1-2/saratoga.html

Sir Gallahad and my girls!!

My girls are related to the handsome, sweet Sir Gallahad. A.B. Hancock fell in love with him and worked very hard to purchase him. Finally, his English owner stated an astronomical sum, so Hancock got three of his other friends, William Woodward, R.A. Fairbairn, and Marshall Field, to form a syndicate, probably the first stallion syndicate in America! And so the handsome stallion came to live at Claiborne Farm! It was a good idea because as the Blood Horse publication, Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments says of him, he "displayed the breed's most desirable traits: size and scope; a muscular, well-built body; intelligent eyes; a kind expression; and a quiet manner. He liked nothing better than to have his tongue pulled and to receive an affectionate pat." He was so loveable and sweet that Hancock said, "Gallahad has given me more pleasure than any horse I ever was connected with." His dad was Teddyand his mom was Plucky Liege. She was almost kidnapped by the Germans during WWII, but they passed her up because she looked downtrodden and starved...poor thing!! Anyway, in Sir Gallahad's very first foal crop, he produced the Triple Crown winning Gallant Fox. The gentlemen in the syndicate felt so lucky that they ordered another stud from England, Blenheim (also a relation of my girls), and right away in his first foal crop, he had theTriple Crown winning Whirlaway! Can you believe how lucky those guys were!!! Anyway, Sir Gallahad topped the leading sire list 4 times in his life, and was a North American broodmare sire leader 12 times, including 10 times consecutively!! You can read more about Sir Gallahad at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gallahad_III

or

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