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

Azeri and My Girls!

In 2002, Azeri earned the Eclipse Horse of the Year Award, the first filly since Lady's Secret. She also earned the Champion older female in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Her trainer, Laura de Seroux, was the first woman to train a Horse of the Year winner. The award ceremony that year included Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, and Chris Cooper, as they were promoting Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit. So, describing Azeri's grace on the track, Laura de Seroux accepted the award, saying "This is Azeri's Oscar." She said that her filly had all 3 elements of a champion -- class, brilliance and consistency. Laura de Seroux said, "Horse of the Year should be there all year. You did not elect her by default, but by the purest criteria." She was a heavy winner of the Eclipse of the Year Award, earning 189 of 228 votes, and all 227 votes for those who voted for Older female. That year, she had won 10 out of 11 starts and earned $2,227,740. For her entire racing career, she started 24: 17-4-0 for total earnings of $4,079,820. She's owned by the son of her breeder. Her breeder passed before ever seeing her run, so she is especially beloved by the son now. She retired and is boarded at Hill 'N Dale Farms where she was barren to Storm Cat in 2006, but delivered her first colt foal to A.P. Indy on February 14, 2007 -- Valentine's Day!!!! She's to be bred to Storm Cat again this year! Of course, my proud girls are related to her. They share many relatives including the following: Case Ace, Nasrullah, Teddy, Man o' War, Whisk Broom, Count Fleet, Bull Dog, Blue Larkspur, Bull Lea, War Relic, Hyperion, War Admiral, Traffic Court, and Bubbling Over! You can read more about this important filly at the following links:

http://www.drf.com/eclipse/2002/winners/winners.html

or

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

Stockwell and My Girls!

My girls are related to the 1849 born Stockwell who was considered "the very incarnation of ugliness" and "a bit savage," but also considered to be a very fine racer and the "emperor of stallions." He was 7 times the leading sire in England and the leading sire of the 1860s. His progeny through Phalaris were responsible for 70% of the stakes winners in the 1990s. Violet shares these Phalaris connections through Nasrullah, and Turn-To. Northern Dancer and Raise a Native are also part of this illustrious history, though only indirect relations to my girls. Hailee shares in Stockwell's glory through his English Triple Crown-winning progeny Lord Lyon, as well as his other progeny Man o' War and Doncaster! Stockwell is responsible for carrying the Eclipse line through to the modern day thoroughbred. When I look at my girls, I can see his nobility shining through. What beautiful girls I have! You can read more about their champion relative at the following links:

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

or

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

or

http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Bios/Stockwell.htm

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

All Along and My Girls!!!

My girls are related to All Along, a very important filly with a number of major "firsts" to her credit. She was a French filly owned by Daniel Wildenstein, a renowned French art dealer and highly successful horseman. She won numerous prestigious races in France, England, and Japan, and was one of the top fillies of the last part of the 20th century. Her track record was 21: 9-4-2. She won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1983 and was immediately shipped to Canada where she won the Rothman International, and two weeks later won the Turf Classic at Aqueduct in Jamaica, New York, followed shortly after by a win at the Washington D.C. International in Laurel, Maryland. She had four consecutive major wins in three different countries in just 41 days!!!! It's no wonder that she won the 1983 Eclipse Horse of the Year Award in America and the 1983 Horse of the Year Award in France too. That year, she also earned Older Grass Female. In fact, she was the first foreign-based horse to win the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year!! As a 4-year-old, she became a world champion Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse. And she was the first filly since Regret in 1915 to win the Eclipse Horse of the Year! She won the Champion Older Female Runner in France twice. She earned $3,018,420 over her career in racing, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. AND she was voted #68 top race horse of the twentieth century by Blood Horse magazine. She retired to Three Chimney Farms in Midway, Kentucky and bore 13 children, 11 of whom started, and 4 who were winners!!! She was pensioned in 2003 and then euthanized in 2005 at the ripe age of 26 due to infirmities from old injuries. The late Daniel Wildenstein's son, Alec Wildenstein, said of her passing, "She took us—my father, my brother and myself—on a joy ride like no other, culminating in an achievement we scarcely dared to dream about, which was Horse of the Year in America. Sad as it is to lose her, I am glad she had such a long and healthy life in return for all the happiness she gave us." Of course, my girls are related to this beautiful girl. They share many relatives including these champs: Princequillo, Nasrullah, Bull Lea, Hyperion, Gainsborough, Discovery, Man 'O War, Sweep, Teddy, Bend Or, and Phalaris. You can read more about this great racer and great broodmare and great family member at the following links:

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/news/nrm-news-view-story-detail.asp?varID=57

or

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/2005-02-25-all-along-dies_x.htm

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=5

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

Hailee and Violet's Luke McLuke!!!

Hailee and Violet are related to Luke McLuke who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes by 8 lengths. He is the grandsire of Three Bars on his dam side, having produced Myrtle Dee. Hailee is related to him through her Miss Night Bar line and through her other several Three Bars lines. Violet is related to him through her Mark-Ye-Well line through Luke McLuke's daughter, Nellie Morse who was crossed with a Man 'o War son. He's a big handsome boy! He is very influential as a foundation stallion across several important breeds! He is registered as a Thoroughbred, but also cross-registered with the AQHA and APHA!!

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

Rock Sand and my girls

My girls are related to Rock Sand, the 1903 English Triple Crown winner and damsire of Man 'O War through his daughter Mahubah. His record was 20-16-1-3. Look at how beautiful he is, you can really see that War Admiral takes after him! You can read more about their English Triple Crown winner at the following links:

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

or

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

Invasor and the 2007 Dubai World Cup!

On Saturday, March 31st, 2007, Invasor won the $6 million Dubai World Cup -- the duel in the desert!! He earned $3.6 million for his first place effort for the Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum who had purchased him for his Shadwell Stable for the sum of $1.4 million. Invasor was born in 2002 in Argentina and was the winner of the 2005 Triple Crown in Uruguay. He won the 2006 $5 million Breeder's Cup, as well as the Pimlico, Suburban Handicap, and Whitney Stakes. Out of 12 starts, he has won 11. His only loss occurred in the UAE when he came in 4th. He has earned the U.S. Horse of the Year, and the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Horse. His jockey is 18-year-old Fernando Jara, and his trainer is the New York-based Kiaran McLaughlin. Of his latest win in Dubai, his owner said, "I am over the moon. I've had a lot of good horses, but Invasor's one of the top horses that I've owned ever. It was great how he won in America. It's best when he wins here." So, of course, Violet and Hailee are related to this champion runner. His grandsire on his sire's side is Blushing Groom, which is the great-grandsire on Voilet's sire side. They also share War Admiral and Man o' War among many other connections! You can read more about this champion at the following links:

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

or

http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=17932

or

http://www.shadwellfarm.com/news/

Personal Ensign and my Girls!

In 1984 Personal Ensign was born. She is an amazing mare. At age 2, she broke her left rear pastern and required a surgical implantation of 4 stainless steel screws. She came back from this major event by having a perfect race record. She raced 13 times for 13 wins! Among her stakes wins was a 1988 Breeder's Cup win in a muddy field of 9 horses, including Goodbye Halo and Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors. She came from far behind to win by a nose in what is considered the most exciting finish in Breeders Cup History. She retired following this race as the first undefeated champion in American racing in over 80 years! She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and was voted by Blood Horse as the #48 of the Top 100 race horses of the 20th century. She earned the Eclipse Award for U.S. Champion Older female in 1988, and earned $1,679,880. She was voted Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 1996. Her last foal was a 2006 colt by Forest Wildcat. She's now pensioned as of this year at Claiborne Farm and the breeding shed manager said that at age 22, "She's still in good shape, looks good, and gets around fine. She'll be spending time out in the field with other mares." She's an amazing example of the importance of animal biomedical research. She required major orthpedic surgery and then in her breeding career, she needed major uterine surgery. My girls are related to Personal Ensign in numerous ways. They share these recent relatives: War Admiral, Hyperion, Gainsborough, Man 'O War, Swynford, Isinglass, Pharos, Canterbury Pilgrim, Teddy, Blue Larkspur, Sweep, Ben Brush, La Troienne, Nasrullah, and Princequillo. You can read more about this champion mare at the following sites! Make sure you read the news story about her thrilling "come from behind" victory in the Breeders Cup or perhaps her trouncing of the boys in the Whitney Handicap.

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

or

http://breeding.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=35388

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=117

or

http://horseracing.about.com/library/blpensign.htm

Dreaming of Anna -- Kentucky Oaks Contender

The Kentucky Oaks is run every Friday before the Derby and has run since 1875. The Oaks has a purse of $500,000. This year, one of the early contenders is Dreaming of Anna, pictured here. Do you see a resemblance with Violet? I hope so! They are heavily related. Blushing Groom is Dreaming of Anna's grandpa on her sire side, and Violet's great-grandpa on her sire's side! Dreaming of Anna has won many races so far, including the $2 million Breeders Cup for Juvenile Fillies last year. She is owned by Frank Calabrese who named her after his sister, Anna Andersen, who passed away at age 48 from cancer. Dreaming of Anna earned the 2006 Eclipse Award for Champion 2 year-old filly and not only is she expected to be a potential winner of the Oaks, she is scheduled to breed with Storm Cat for the 2007 season! Lucky girl! She is related to both Violet and Hailee, of course, and is profoundly related to Violet through shared pedigrees with the following relatives (among many): Blushing Groom, Count Fleet, War Admiral, Man 'O War, Nasrullah, and Princequillo. You can read more about this classy little filly at the following link -- where you can watch a few videos of her as well:

http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&style=purple&id=21701

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

Bull Lea and Violet!

Violet is related to Bull Lea through at least 3 lines. Bull Lea was a Calumet Farms stud. He raced 27 times, winning 10, taking second 7, and third 3 times. He was the sire of 57 stakes winners, broodmare sire of 105 stakes winners, including Violet's Mark-Ye-Well. He was the leading sire from 1947-1949, 1952, 1953, and leading broodmare sire in 1958-1961. Impressively, he sired Citation, the number 3 race horse of all time, Horse of the Year, and Triple Crown winner!! Violet is directly related to Bull Lea who produced Meadow Maid who was crossed with Nasrullah on the dam side of Violet's sire. Bull Lea also produced Durazna who was crossed with Count Fleet to produce Manzana. So, of the top 5 race horses of the 20th century, Man 'O War, Secretariat, Citation, Kelso, and Count Fleet, Violet is heavily directly related to Man 'O War and Count Fleet, and indirectly related to Secretariat and Citation through very impressive "big heart" gene and stakes winners lines, and very heavily, closely, but indirectly related to Kelso. I hope Clairborne Farms doesn't find out about my royal princess!

Barbaro passes, January 29, 2007

Co-owner Gretchen Jackson: "Certainly, grief is the price we all pay for love."

Today, Barbaro was euthanized at the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, after 8 months of intensive treatment for an injury sustained in the 2006 Preakness Stakes. Prayers to his family of owners, riders, caretakers, grooms, veterinarians, fans, companion animals, and equine friends.

Sweet Hailee and Violet are related to this big-hearted champion. Violet shares his family through her Blushing Groom, Nearco, Nasrullah, Man 'O War, and Black Toney lines. Hailee is part of his family through Man 'O War and Black Toney. But we are all part of God's family.

May God care for his darling creation. Barbaro, 2003-2007.

Secretariat Running His Own Private Belmont Stakes!

Both Hailee and Violet are related to the 1973 Triple Crown Winner, Secretariat, though not directly. Hailee is related primarily through her Man 'O War heritage. Violet, on the other hand, is related to Secretariat multiple ways! she has several lines of Nasrullah, Nearco, and Princequillo, among other connections to Big Red. I am so proud to share in Secretariat's heritage through taking care of his sweet Violet! Those who know Violet personally think she really shows her relation to the Champion who won the Belmont by 30 lengths in a breezy, relaxed, loose finish! Violet is a big red, sexy girl!!

Video footage of Secretariat's Triple Crown races:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=135