Iron Liege and Venetian Way!

This blog entry is about a couple of horses and a great jockey. The 1957 Kentucky Derby winner was Iron Liege ridden by Bill Hartack, shown below on the track. He was in a big showdown in the Derby against Gallant Man, but Willie Shoemaker just took a few seconds standing up, thinking he had won too early, and Iron Liege won by a nose. GM's owner was so upset until Shoemaker said, "I'm sorry, John, I made a mistake."

The 1960 Kentucky Derby winner was Venetian Way, also ridden by Bill Hartack. The track that day was referred to as "used chewing tobacco" because it was damp (according to Red Smith). VW was the third favorite, behind Bally Ache who had beaten him 3 out of 4 encounters. But VW won with the fastest win ever recorded on an off track. VW is shown with his roses in the winner's circle.

And then there is Bill Hartack who was the youngest person ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame at the age of 26. He was a fightin', competitive, tough jockey. On November 27th, this year, newspapers noted that this great champion passed away at the age of 74. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and he was found dead of heart disease at a hunting cabin while on vacation. He was the child of a coal miner in Pennsylvania whose mother died when he was 8. He didn't want to become a coal miner, so he began a very young, very early career as an exercise rider and bush track rider. But he was quickly snapped up by Chick Lang, his manager, who saw how hot he was as a property.

He won 5 Kentucky Derbies, 3 Preaknesses, and 1 Belmont Stakes, among his many, many, many achievements. His Derby winners were Iron Liege (1957), Venetian Way (1960), Decidedly (1962), Northern Dancer (1964), and Majestic Prince (1969). Can you imagine? Only one other jockey has won the Derby 5 times!! Mr. Hartack never married.

Anyway, my girls are related to Iron Liege and Venetian Way multiple ways. They are related to IL through Bull Lea, War Admiral, and Sir Gallahad, most directly. And they are related to Venetian Way through Eight Thirty, Bull Dog, Black Toney, Sickle, and The Tetrarch.

Bend Or and My Girls!

My girls are related to Bend Or, 1877-1903, a horse who won the Epsom Derby, Epsom Gold Cup, and St. James' Palace Stakes, during a 14:10-2-0 career. His regular jockey, Fred Archer, winner of 13 consecutive British jockey titles said Bend Or was probably the greatest horse he had ever ridden. He was unusually gentle. He was a beautiful golden chestnut, with white flecks on his coat, and black spots on his mane, shoulder, and quarters. He passed those markings onto his children, so they were called Bend Or spotting. He was noted for his courage, class, beauty, and kindness. He was owned his entire life by Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, first Duke of Westminster, the richest man in England in the latter half of the 19th century. His groom, Richard Chapman, said, "He was the sweetest-tempered horse in the world. A child could do anything with him." His attendant, Ben Jenner, said, "Bend Or was as docile as a lamb, but he had the courage of a lion. I was always very fond of him." Another sign that he was a sweetie-pie is that he was very attached to a cat, and always travelled to his races with him. He retired with shin problems, and in his photos at stud, you can see that his fetlocks had taken serious damage too. But he managed to produce some of the most fabulous horses, including Phalaris, Bona Vista, The Tetrarch (who was voted Britain's 2-year-old of the 20th century), and the Australian racing star Phar Lap. He sired the English Triple Crown champion, Ormonde, who won all 16 of his starts and was perhaps the finest race horse of the 19th century. Now, my girls are directly related to Bend Or in multiple ways. Violet carries Phalaris, Bona Vista, The Tetrarch, Fairy Gold, Orion, and Ormonde, in multiple instances. Hailee has Sylvabelle, Bona Vista, and Ormonde!. You can read more about this gentle giant at the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_Or
or
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/BendOr.html
or
http://www.horseracinghistory.co.uk/hrho/action/viewDocument?id=830