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

Spendthrift and My Girls!!!

Both my girls are related to Spendthrift, the champion racing sire who was the foundation for Man 'O War. He was born in 1876, and was his own sire's greatest runner. He is from the male line of the Godolphin Arabian and his grandpa was the first English Triple Crown winner, West Australian. His owner, Daniel Swigert, named him Spendthrift to memorialize his wife's spending habits, since she loved to travel to NYC and go on huge shopping sprees. A year later, Mrs. Swigert named Spendthrift's younger brother, Miser!. He was known as a fine-tempered horse who was easy to ride, very eager to please. He was also philanthropic. The winnings from his third race were donated to a fund for those who were plagued by Yellow Fever! What a good boy! He won the Belmont Stakes, and in the Lorillard Stakes, he was kicked at the gate and left behind at the start. But he still came from behind to win!! He was co-champion 3-year-old with Falsetto. His final race record was 16: 9-5-0, and he was retired fairly early because of problems with the soles of his feet. He produced amazing babies, during his stud career. This fine animal had several owners and stood at several studs, but finally ended up at Overton Chenault's farm on Winchester Pike outside of Lexington. No matter where he stood, he was a fine stallion! After all, he is Man 'o War's great-grandpa on his sire's side and the sire of Hastings who won the Belmont Stakes, for example. On Spendthrift's dam's side, Aerolite, his grandpa is Lexington whose track record is 7:6-1-0 and who was the leading American sire 16 times and who is in the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame! You can read more about Spendthrift at the following links:

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

or

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Australian.html#Spendthrift1

or

http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Bios2/Bios-S/Spendthrift.htm

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

Winning Colors and My Girls!!!

Winning Colors was born in 1985, and she was the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby in 1988. In the Derby, she took command early to hold off the champion Forty Niner. Her lifetime earnings were $1,526,837 and she had 19 starts, and 8 wins. Among her wins were the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Oaks. She was called "The Amazon" because she was so big and bold. During her life, she needed surgery for breathing problems, but still came back to racing. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2000, the same year as jockey, Julie Krone. She earned third in the Preakness and was voted Champion 3 year-old. She is related to both my girls. Among their shared relatives are Nasrullah, Gainsborough, Man 'O War, Rock Sand, Commando, Voter, Bend Or, Hastings, Pensive, Black Toney, Teddy, and Bull Dog! In these photos, you see her winning the Kentucky Derby and in the winner's circle with her roses (happy girl!). Then you see a photo of her as an older lady who turned grey! You can read more about this amazing mare at the following link:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=348