We all know our own racing venues pretty well, but keeping track of international racing to the same degree can really be a challenge. This year at Royal Ascot 2012, the stars of thoroughbred racing are aligned — Frankel, Black Caviar, So You Think, Fame and Glory, St. Nicholas Abbey, Helmet, Sepoy, Ortensia and a host of other elite thoroughbreds whose names are less familiar to many.

This article reviews some of the top horses and their connections who are slated to run at Royal Ascot next week. The content is designed to keep our readers on top of all the key information as it is known at this time. The goal is to provide VAULT readers with an informed viewing context. 

We doubt that readers will digest all of the content in one sitting, so the article will remain posted until Wednesday, June 20th for those who might want to visit again before specific races, or read up on some of the winners. Then, on Wednesday Part Two will be posted and cover the remainder of Thursday at Ascot, as well as Friday and Saturday.

NOTE REGARDING ROYAL ASCOT COVERAGE IN N. AMERICA: TVG begins its live coverage of Royal Ascot on Tuesday, June 19th and HRTV will provide re-caps in the evening throughout Royal Ascot, for those who won’t be able to tune-in for the live coverage. Just check SCHEDULE on the HRTV home page. If you’re not on HRTV, the UK’s Racing Post has a ROYAL ASCOT page where all of the races will be shown, though probably after the fact. (Not entirely sure whether the live stream is available without registering.) As well, there is the UK site, At The Races. Just go to this address and click on the VIDEO tab. Most races will be posted, although not in real time. The e-address is: http://www.attheraces.com/ascot 

Too, Blood-Horse, DRF, Thoroughbred Times, The Paulick Report and other popular North American racing websites will likely post the results of the most prestigious races the same or next day. In Canada, CBC Television televises Royal Ascot on June 23 for one hour only (sigh!) from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. (We’re assuming that Black Caviar’s run will feature, as well as Frankel’s.)

RACE CARD

In the UK, the racing program is referred to as a “race card.” As of today, the cards still reflect all the horses who’ve been nominated. Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s So You Think, for example, is listed in more than one race.  Below is the schedule for the full  5 days of Royal Ascot 2012, courtesy of the UK’s Racing Post. Entries in each race should be finalized about 24 hours before the race. If you refer to the Racing Post link (above) there is a section labelled CARDS that will be updated and tell you exactly who is running on the day.

FRANKEL

Frankel and his regular jockey, Tom Queally.

First up is the undefeated FRANKEL (Galileo) who runs on Tuesday in the 1-mile Queen Anne Stakes. This will be Frankel’s first race at a mile. The brilliant 4 year-old will be taken on by 3 from Coolmore-Ballydoyle (Aidan O’Brien): Excelebration (Exceed and Excel) whom Frankel has already beaten, champion So You Think (High Chaparral) and 7 year-old Windsor Palace (Danehill Dancer). Australia’s Helmet (Exceed and Excel) has also been nominated, but may start against Black Caviar in the Diamond Jubilee instead. Should he run against Frankel, Helmet is not to be underestimated. He was a 2 year-old superstar in Australia and has continued his winning ways, albeit erratically because he tends to act up on race day and ruin his own chances. But he has the speed and, if he’s sharp, the determination. Frankel will have his half-brother Bullet Train (Sadler’s Wells) in there too. Bullet Train has raced with the champ twice and tends to play the role of pacesetter, even though he’s a very good colt in his own right.

Here’s trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, talking about his colt’s chances:

BLACK CAVIAR

Black Caviar and jockey, Luke Nolan.

Arguably, the other superstar to grace the turf at Royal Ascot 2012 is Australia’s Black Caviar. She will have her regular jockey, Luke Nolan, in the irons and we assume that Peter Moody, her trainer, will also be present — Moody is currently training his great mare from afar, relying on modern technology to watch her works each day. (Nolan has landed Medicean Man in the King’s Stand on Tuesday and may pick up more mounts prior to the Diamond Jubilee.) At the present time, 57 horses have been nominated to go up against the undefeated mare in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the last day of the meet, Saturday, June 23rd. That number will change as we get closer to race day, so be sure to check the race card on the Racing Post site. At present, Black Caviar’s rivals include 4 from Aidan O’Brien: Power (Oasis Dream), Reply (Oasis Dream) and the fillies After (Danehill Dancer) and Wave (Dansili). And as if that’s not enough, there’s Society Rock (Rock of Gibraltar), a colt who won this race at Ascot last year and loves the going there. Too, Australia’s Helmet is also nominated, as is Roger Charlton’s Bated Breath (Dansili). Charlton is rated 4th best trainer in the UK and feels his colt’s chances against the Aussie heroine are better than good. These last 3 have also been nominated in other Royal Ascot races, so there may be defections.

Still, as the Australian racing community sees it, their superstar mare will make all of the running, even though she’s had to travel halfway around the world to do it.

We start our video line-up with Black Caviar’s arrival at Newmarket, followed by a look at Society Rock’s trainer, James Fanshawe and then wind up with pre-race ditties and analysis, courtesy of TVN Racing Network (Australia) under the title “Black Caviar’s Destiny.” Note the ties sported by announcer Bruce Clark and analyst Mick Sharkey — TOO CUTE!

THE KING’S STAND STAKES (Tuesday, June 19)

The King’s Stand is going to be very competitive this year and we might expect several defections from the Diamond Jubilee to run, since it is also a sprint. Chief among these might be the promising Bated Breath (Dansili). Ortensia (Testa Rossa) who has already had 30 starts and is 11-3-4 is going to be a contender for certain: the 7 year-old Aussie mare is on a winning streak, having just completed a hat-trick of victories, including a come from behind effort in the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan.  Other horses of interest include Little Bridge (Faltaat) who has had 19 starts, winning the last 2, Sole Power (Kyllachy) who has a track record of 24-4-5-4 and might be sitting on a big effort and Tangerine Trees, who has won 12 of 35 starts and won twice the last 3 times out. Of interest: Luke Nolan (Black Caviar’s regular jockey) rides Medicean Man.

The lovely Ortensia, a 7 year-old Australian mare, is one of the favourites in this race.

Here’s the great Ortensia, pulling a Zenyatta and winning the Al Quoz Sprint recently at Meydan:

ST. JAMES’S PALACE STAKES  (Tuesday, June 19)

This prestigious race features a few familiar names from Coolmore-Ballydoyle: Daddy Long Legs (also nominated for the King Edward VII on Friday, June 23), Power (Oasis Dream) and Wrote (High Chaparral). Another starter from trainer Aidan O’Brien is Requisition (Invincible Spirit) who is lightly raced and has won his last 2 starts. The brilliant Lucayan (Turtle Bay) also looks to be running in the St. James; he’s also won his last 2 starts and can be counted on to be very well placed early in the race. William Haggas has Nine Realms (Green Desert) nominated here as well and he’s another lightly raced colt who won the last time out. Green Desert was a fabulous sire and Nine Realms could be described as promising. For Street Cry fans, Fencing, trained by the incomparable John Gosden also looks to be starting in the St. James.

Lucayan, shown here winning the Poule d’Essai des Poulins at Longchamps (France) earlier this year.

Here is Lucayan winning at Longchamp:

COVENTRY STAKES FOR 2 YEAR-OLDS (Tuesday, June 19)

The babies are on-track late in the day for the running of the Coventry Stakes. Of interest here are Annnunciation (Proclamation), Artigiano (Distorted Humour) who will have Godolphin’s skilled Frankie Dettori aboard, William Haggas’ Odooj (Pivotal) who is also nominated for the Windsor Castle (earlier on the same day), Richard Hannon’s Jalaa (Street Cry) and 2 from Coolmore-Ballydoyle: Lines of Battle (War Front) and Pedro the Great (Henrythenavigator). Given their age and experience, it’s really anyone’s race!

The fabulous Street Cry, captured here by Australian photographer extraordinaire, Bronwen Healy.

Claiborne’s War Front also finds himself represented at Royal Ascot in the Coventry Stakes.

WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES for 2 year-olds (Tuesday, June 19)

The wonderful stallion, Pivotal, is one of the UK’s leading sires.

Young sire, Acclamation, is starting to make his mark.

The last race on the Tuesday card again highlights promising 2 year-olds. Aidan O’Brien brings Gale Force Ten (Oasis Dream) and Parliament Square (Acclamation), while famed trainer, Richard Hannon, has loaded the race with 7 nominated colts: Alhebayeb (Dark Angel), Annunciation (Proclamation), Ask Dad (Intikhab), Ceelo (Green Desert), Lyric Ace (Thousand Words), Master of War (Compton Place) and Mister Marc (Acclamation). One would not overlook trainer William Haggas’ Odooj, a son of Pivotal, one of the UK’s truly outstanding sires.

British trainer William Haggas has the distinction of being Lester Piggott’s son-in-law. But far more impressive — for a trainer with a modest number of horses at the turn of the century —  is the fact that he has a 100% success rate in the the Epsom Derby and the Investic Oaks; he won the Derby with long shot Shaamit (Mtoto) in  1996 and came back again with the great filly, Dancing Rain (Danehill Dancer) to win the Oaks in 2011.  Below is an interview with Haggas that focuses on his 2012 Royal Ascot hopes, including Roy & Gretchen Jackson’s (Barbaro) filly, Sentaril.

150th Anniversary running of the Prince of Wales Stakes (Wednesday, June 20)

A highlight in this race, at least for any who has yet to see him, is HRH the Queen’s champion colt, Carlton House.  The son of Street Cry out of Talented (Bustino) is lightly raced at 4, although 2 of his three wins have come in stakes races. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute,  Carlton House is bound to be the sentimental favourite in this Jubilee year. UPDATE: So You Think has been confirmed for this race and it may set up as quite the dual!

The absolutely gorgeous Carlton House (Street Cry) owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

QUEEN MARY STAKES: 2 YO FILLIES  (WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20)

It would be fair to say that this 5-furlong race will be hotly contested since, as of today, well over a dozen of these babies have wins, places or shows already chalked up. But, they are babies. Which means that almost any of them stand a decent chance of winning.

If you’re looking for a North American connection, Smart Strike’s Madame Mojito, bred at Lane’s End, is 2 for 2. Star Up In The Sky is a daughter of Speightstown who has only run once before and came in a respectably 4th. And there’s also Jadanna, a daughter of Mujadil (USA), who is also 2 for 2.

The great Smart Strike, pictured here at his home, Lane’s End, in Versailles, Kentucky. His daughter, Madame Mojito, runs on Wednesday at Royal Ascot.

Other fillies that might sparkle include: Lady Phill (4 starts and never out of the money); JillNextDoor, a daughter of Henrythenavigator who is 2 for 2; a very good daughter of Pivotal with the unenviable name Hairy Rocket; a daughter of Tagula called Projectisle who is 2-1-1-0, as are the fillies Miss Diva (Acclamation) and Satsuma (Compton Place). Upward Spiral (Teofilo/BM sire Fantastic Light) comes in undefeated, with a maiden under her belt.

Sire Speightstown’s Star Up In The Sky may be poised to break her maiden at Royal Ascot in the Queen Mary Stakes.

RIBBLESDALE STAKES FOR FILLIES  (THURSDAY, JUNE 21)

This race is setting up to look very much like a re-play of the 2012 Investic Oaks, with most of the principals nominated to start as of today.

We should also mention that Coolmore-Ballydoyle (Aidan O’Brien) have no less than five GALILEO fillies nominated for the Ribblesdale: Was (winner of this year’s Oaks), Maybe (brilliant winner for her sire, having only lost twice in 7 starts), Kissed (2 for 2), Twirl (who is 5-1-2-1 and whose BM sire is none other than Storm Cat) and Up (6-1-2-1).

The brilliant Maybe, Joseph O’Brien up.

Other stars who ran extremely well in the Oaks and are entered in the Ribblesdale include Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s lovely filly, The Fugue (Dansili) who, despite a troubled trip was closing like an express train to finish third in the Oaks. Trained by the brilliant John Gosden, we can expect a great run from her. The Fugue’s race record to date is  4-2-0-1.

The Fugue, an exquisite filly with the heart of a lion, can be expected to run big in the Ribblesdale.

Another filly to watch, who ran second in the Oaks, is Shirocco Star (Shirocco). Then there is William Haggas’ Vow (Motivator) who, if she runs, will be looking to improve a rather disappointing performance in the Oaks.

Here’s the running of the 2012 Investic Oaks — a kind of “dress rehearsal” for the Ribblesdale, as it turns out. Note the effort from The Fugue in particular. Shirocco Star is also a contender.

NOTE: Remember to tune in next week on Wednesday, June 20 for PART TWO (Royal Ascot racing from Thursday, June 21 – Saturday, June 23)

At this writing, FRANKEL has kicked off Royal Ascot 2012 with a scintillating 11-length victory in the Queen Anne Stakes on the first day of the meeting. As both he and BLACK CAVIAR are the big draws of Ascot this year, one hopes that FRANKEL’s victory augers well for the magnificent Australian champion, who will run on the last day, Saturday, June 23rd. In the meantime, here are more tips on some of the horses in the significant races from Thursday, June 21 to Saturday, June 23. 

For those wanting to reread Part One, please see the RECENT POSTS listing on the left side of this page.

THURSDAY, June 21

NORFOLK STAKES

A magnificent individual, Bahamian Bounty stands at The National Stud and is one of the UK’s most consistent sires. His son, Cay Verde is the favourite in today’s Norfolk.

First up are more 2 year-olds running in the Norfolk. The distance is a reasonable 5 furlongs, the favoured distance for youngsters in UK racing and in many international venues. The wisdom that babies start short and then are lengthened out over time dominates the thinking of most UK and Euro trainers. As we have said earlier, these are babies and while the punters may have their favourites, almost anything is possible when you get a bunch of inexperienced juveniles together.

The favourites are Cay Verde (Bahamian Bounty ex. All Quiet) trained by the talented Mick Channon for Qatar Racing Limited. Cay Verde is 3-2-0-0 going in, having won his last two starts. Second choice is a son of Proclamation out of Rockburst, Annunciation. He too has raced only 3 times before and starts with a record of 3-1-2-0. Trained by Richard Hannon, we can expect he’ll be ready to run. Like Cay Verde, he won his last time out (maiden). A third colt worth mentioning is Gale Force Ten (Oasis Dream ex. Ronaldsay) who races for Coolmore-Ballydoyle. He’s the least experienced though, having only 2 races under his belt, although he won last time out (maiden).  An American connection comes in the form of Richard Hannon-trained Mister Marc, by Acclamation ex. Fathoming, a daughter of the beloved Gulch. Mister Marc has only raced twice as well, but ran second his last time out.

The beloved Gulch, BM Sire of Mister Marc.

RIBBLESDALE STAKES FOR FILLIES  (THURSDAY, JUNE 21)

This race is setting up to look very much like a re-play of the 2012 Investic Oaks, with most of the principals nominated to start as of today.

Coolmore-Ballydoyle (Aidan O’Brien) has one Galileo filly,  Twirl running. She is 5-1-2-1 and her BM sire is none other than Storm Cat.

Other stars who ran extremely well in the Oaks and are entered in the Ribblesdale include Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s lovely filly, The Fugue (Dansili) who, despite a troubled trip was closing like an express train to finish third in the Oaks. Trained by the brilliant John Gosden, we can expect a great run from her. The Fugue’s race record to date is  4-2-0-1 and punters have her as the favourite.

Another filly to watch, who ran second in the Oaks, is Shirocco Star (Shirocco). Then there is William Haggas’ Vow (Motivator) who will be looking to improve a rather disappointing performance in the Oaks.

Here’s the running of the 2012 Investic Oaks — a kind of “dress rehearsal” for the Ribblesdale, as it turns out. Note the effort from The Fugue in particular. Shirocco Star is also a contender.

ASCOT GOLD CUP 

The Gold Cup was the very first race to run at Ascot, decreed by the monarch who discovered the Ascot terrain, Queen Anne, in 1711. So this is a race that relives a rich, historic narrative each and every year.

The current favourite to win this prestigious race is the Aidan O’Brien-trained Fame And Glory, who won it last year. The 6 year-old son of Montjeu has garnered 43% of the betting at this point in time. And no wonder. Out of 22 starts, he’s only ever been out of the money 4 times and goes to post with a record of 22-14-3-1, having come home first in his last 2 starts. He’s a seasoned horse by a champion sire and his BM sire is the great Shirley Heights, the son of British Champion, Mill Reef. But nothing in horse racing is a sure thing and over a distance of 2 m,4 f  a good deal will be asked of him.

Overshadowed as a 3 year-old by the incomparable Sea The Stars — to whom he ran second twice — Fame And Glory carries the hopes of Coolmore into the Gold Cup.

Champion Halling, the sire of Opinion Poll, was an honest colt who always did his very best. At stud, Halling has had some useful progeny. But Opinion Poll is a superstar!

Opinion Poll tops the list of spoilers to Fame And Glory’s attempt at the Gold Cup.

Two others to watch are Godolphin’s Colour Vision (Rainbow Quest) and trainer John Oxx’s Saddler’s Rock (Sadler’s Wells), both of whom have looked very sharp in their last respective 4-5 races.

Have a look at last year’s Gold Cup. Note that Opinion Poll ran against his nemesis in 2011 as well. But it’s a year later……

FRIDAY, JUNE 22

There are two races on Friday that will spark the greatest interest.

King Edward VII Stakes

Noble Mission is Frankel’s full baby brother.

Although he won’t be the favourite going to the post, even in a tiny field of only 7 runners, it will be Frankel’s baby brother, Noble Mission, who is likely to steal most of the attention. Not only is the 3 year-old Frankel’s younger brother — more importantly, he is a full brother. And, keeping it all in the family, he’s got winning ways of his own. With only 4 starts under his belt, the colt has never been worse than second and won his last time out. Trained by Henry Cecil, Noble Mission will have his big brother’s jockey, Tom Queally, to help him turn this Grade 2 event into a real horse race.

Astrology is the current favourite to win this Grade 2 event for Aidan O’Brien and the lads at Coolmore-Ballydoyle.

As we go to press, the resounding favourite is Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s Astrology (Galileo). The colt raced last in the Epsom Derby, where he came in third and this would be considered a very good effort, given the talent of the winner, Camelot. He’s had 5 starts and always finished in the money. Astrology will be piloted by the great Ryan Moore.

Shantaram is likely to make a race out of it.

A third colt to watch is John Gosden’s Lingfield Derby Trial winner, Shantaram (Galileo). This is a very sound colt with a good deal of staying power and a really nice turn of foot. Shantaram’s race record to date is 4-1-3-0 and this race is a bit of a step up for him. But with the talented William Buick in the irons, he just might surprise everyone.

Note that all three of these fine colts share the same sire — Galileo.

The Daddy of them all – Galileo. The top contenders in the Edward VII Stakes are all sons of Galileo.

If you’re looking for an American connection, there’s John Gosden’s Thought Worthy (Dynaformer) who has the legendary Frankie Dettori up and has already beaten Noble Mission once. John Dunlop’s Farhaan is a son of Jazil, but there is some concern that the distance is not ideal for him, even though his sire won the Belmont Stakes.

CORONATION STAKES (fillies)

The Coronation Stakes is a Grade 1 and part of the British Champion Series in the UK and the race brings together some of the best 3 year-old fillies  in the world. It is, as its name belies, a very classy race with a number of champion fillies set to compete.

It looks as though Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s Maybe (Galileo) will be a scratch, as she came up with a slight physical ailment that was treated late Tuesday but might not be healed up by Friday.  However, it is Homecoming Queen (Holy Roman Emperor) on whom the Coolmore lads will be pinning their hopes. In fact, her sire has already had one win at Ascot this year: Ishvana took the Jersey Stakes on Wednesday for her owner-breeder, Anne-Marie O’Brien (wife of Aidan O’Brien). Homecoming Queen is a lovely individual who has already made 15 starts, winning 4 and in the money with another 3. Last time out, she was beaten by Samitar, who is also due to run in the Coronation. But she is the winner of the Quipco 1000 Guineas and it was a victory that takes your breath away:

A daughter of Rock of Gibraltar, Samitar comes into the race with a record of 9-3-2-2. She’s trained by Mick Channon, who is noted for his success with fillies. She’s very likely the favourite because none of the fillies who’ve beaten her are running, although she has the breeding to get the job done. And: Samitar won the Irish 1000 Guineas impressively earlier this year, beating both Ishvana and Homecoming Queen.

An interesting filly, also trained by Channon, is Laugh Out Loud, a daughter of Clodovil (Danehill). She comes into the Coronation off two wins and might well be the spoiler. As well, she’s bred to run on a deeper turf and Friday might just be her lucky day if there’s more rain Thursday. Then, too, there is William Haggas’ Cardigan (Barathea) who only makes her second start. But she won her maiden going away and has the breeding to go the distance.

All in all, the Coronation promises to be very competitive — a real thrill to watch, especially if Homecoming Queen steps up to challenge her nemesis, Samitar.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23

Any way you slice it, Saturday belongs to Black Caviar — and we’re betting even the hardiest Brit is feeling exactly the same way! In fact, it goes without saying that the Queen will find a way to meet the great mare in person and talk to all of Nelly’s connections, especially trainer Peter Moody and jockey Luke Nolan. As befits a royal equine, Black Caviar’s race will announce the official ending of Royal Ascot, although other races will be run over the course following the Diamond Jubilee.

CHESAM STAKES (2 year-old colts & fillies)

If there’s another race that peaks the curiosity, it has to be the 7 f. Chesam for juvenile colts and fillies.

Keeping in mind that the field won’t be finalized until sometime Thursday, as we go to press it’s a decidedly odd and interesting list of nominees.

For starters, there’s Mick Channon who has entered seven babies, all of whom were sired by Sixties Icon, a very good son of –you guessed it  – Galileo. As a runner, Sixties Icon won the St. Leger, Jockey Club Stakes and the Cumberland Lodge Stakes, all in England, retiring with earnings over 1 million and giving his young sire a solid reputation. Sixties Icon raced until he was almost 6 years old and these babies of Channon’s hail from his first crop, making the Chesam a testing ground for sire and progeny alike. Channon’s 6-pack: Chilworth Icon, Rated, The Sixties, Cruck Realta, Effie B, Fadeintoinfinity and Sojoum. Of course, it’s unlikely that all of these will start, but of the group, it is the filly Effie B who is most experienced having had 5 starts, winning once and only out of the money once.

Then there’s Aidan O’Brien and company with another 6 nominated. One colt hails from an untested sire: Count of Limonade, by Duke of Marmalade, one of O’Brien’s favourites during his racing years. The other 5 are all by — you guessed it — Galileo: Kingston Jamaica, Magician, Mars, Ruler of the World and The United States. And, it would appear, Magician, Mars, Ruler of the World and The United States are running for the very first time.

Other babies to watch include Lovely Pass (Raven’s Pass) who is 1 for 1; a Dynaformer filly trained by John Gosden called Chat, who is 1 for 1; Godolphin’s Tha ‘Ir (New Approach, a hot young sire) who won his last time out; and Richard Hannon’s colt, Jalaa (Street Cry) who is also 1 for 1.

DIAMOND JUBILEE STAKES (revised with new info & videos)

The keenly anticipated Diamond Jubilee Stakes is a G1 race, run over a distance of 6f and part of the British Champion Series. It’s also a Global Sprint Challenge.

Although there have been a number of defections, the numbers stand at 57 entrants and this will only be finalized later Wednesday.

The other superstar to grace the turf at Royal Ascot 2012 is Australia’s Black Caviar. She will have her regular jockey, Luke Nolan, in the irons and trainer Peter Moody will also be present, having arrived at Newmarket a few days ago. Nolan, who landed Medicean Man in the King’s Stand on Tuesday and may pick up more mounts prior to the Diamond Jubilee itself, remains confident of the champion’s chances.

Even though there are 57 horses listed, those expected to be the greatest threat just don’t have her numbers.

At present, Black Caviar’s rivals include 4 from Aidan O’Brien: Power (Oasis Dream), Reply (Oasis Dream) and the fillies After (Danehill Dancer) and Wave (Dansili).

Society Rock (Rock of Gibraltar) is a colt who won this race at Ascot last year and loves the going. Roger Charlton’s Bated Breath (Dansili) is expected to be a serious contender. Charlton is rated 4th best trainer in the UK and feels his colt’s chances against the Aussie heroine are better than good.

One never wants to underestimate Freddy Head, the man who rode Miesque to glory and trained the great Goldikova, among others. He comes to the Diamond Jubilee with Moonlight Cloud (Invincible Spirit) who has a record of 10-6-1-0 and won her last time out. Moonlight Cloud is a classic 4 year-old, who has done well on sprints, having already won at 6f a total of three times, including her last win.

Still, as the Australian racing community sees it, their superstar mare will make all of the running, even though she’s had to travel halfway around the world to do it. Her biggest obstacle might be exactly that, since Australian horses have been known to run contrary to their real ability at Ascot due to the radical change in weather and turf conditions. The weather itself is a concern and its impact on the condition of the turf, although it’s safe to say that if the course were dangerous, Nelly (Black Caviar’s stable name) would be scratched. The field itself might be very large, posing stratregic issues.

We want to go on record as stating that this brilliant thoroughbred has nothing to prove. Black Caviar and her team’s contribution to the sport cannot be estimated, except to say that it is huge. The champion’s trainer and assistant trainer have been unfailingly courteous with the press, even though the United Kingdom has gone “Black Caviar mad.” There are few who wouldn’t understand what coming to Ascot means for an undefeated superstar. North Americans appreciate the risk, given the relatively recent career of the amazing Zenyatta who, in defeat at the 2010 Breeders’ Cup, arguably ran the best race of her entire career — as our Australian friends were quick to observe.

Another fabulous shot of Black Caviar by Australian photographer extraordinaire, Bronwen Healy, one of Nelly’s “special friends.” Photo and copyright, Bronwen Healy.

We start our video line-up with a recent interview with Black Caviar’s trainer, Peter Moody, followed by an informative chat with Tony Haydon (one of Black Caviar’s best human friends) who talks about Nelly’s personality and some of her more unconventional Newmarket routines. We wind up with Nelly’s Australian fans and their special way of supporting Nelly as she races in the Diamond Jubilee, together with a chat with her jockey, Luke Nolan.

Our love rides with you, Nelly.

Run like a girl ….. and, most important of all, come home safe.

In November 2009, shortly after Robert J. Frankel succumbed to lymphoma,  one of the trainer’s patrons, Prince Khalid Abdullah (Juddmonte Farms), articulated his deep sense of respect for the Hall of Fame trainer by naming a thoroughbred after him.

The colt was of royal pedigree, born on February 11, 2008 and it must have struck Prince Abdullah that the bay son of Galileo was a fitting vessel to carry the spirit of one whose accomplishments celebrated the thoroughbred and the sport.

From the first moment he set foot on the turf as a 2 year-old juvenile, Robert Frankel’s namesake would demonstrate how a legend becomes.

(“Become” derived from the Old English becuman, meaning [to] happen, [to] come about, [to] arrive.)

Frankel watches training.

The Namesake: Frankel (Galileo ex. Kind)

Trainer Robert J. Frankel — who was quickly dubbed “Bobby” by the press, but who preferred to be called Robert by those who knew him best — was a legendary thoroughbred trainer.

Born in Brooklyn to a family of very modest means, Frankel would come up through the ranks to become successful and respected, modelling his methods after another superstar, Charlie Whittingham ( Ack Ack, Ferdinand, Sunday Silence and Exceller). Frankel ran his horses on both the East and West coasts, but it was his move to California that brought him the best horses and mighty clients. Dottie Ingordo- Shirreffs became his business associate, managing his stable and his life (by her own admission) and over the years, the two became like brother and sister.

Frankel acquired patrons like Prince Khalid Abdullah, Jerry and Ann Moss, William and Marion Frankel (no relation), the Firestones (owners of, among others, Genuine Risk), Ed Gann, Frank Stronach and Stavros Niarchos. And Frankel rewarded their faith in him. From 2000-2009, Frankel-trained horses won over 10 million dollars.

Ginger Punch with trainer Frankel in the foreground.

Some of Bobby’s stars included Ghostzapper, Mineshaft, Empire Maker, Aldebaran, Ginger Punch, Bertrando, Lesroidesanimaux (sire of Animal Kingdom), Squirtle Squirt, Toussaud (the dam of Empire Maker), Marquetry and Medaglia d’Oro (the sire of Rachel Alexandra). Most noted for his skill at developing horses to run on North American turf, Frankel horses won the Eclipse Award 11 times. Frankel himself won the Eclipse for Best Trainer another 5 times.

In his private life, Frankel was a man who inspired great loyalty and respect among staff and patrons. He was kind and revered all living things, forming close relationships with champions Sightseek, the feisty Toussaud and her son, Empire Maker. Of the latter he said, “How could he not be great? He’s out of Toussaud.”

Frankel’s other great love were his dogs: he stayed home from the 2007 Breeder’s Cup with his beloved Australian shepherd, Happy, who was dying. He let it be known that his place was first and foremost with his canine companion. Frankel seemed more at ease around horses and dogs than he was around most people. He understood them in ways that most of us don’t and, although he would have rued the comparison, he was as much an animal whisperer as he was a shrewd and strategic trainer.

Bobby with one of his beloved dogs, who travelled the country with him during his career.

Sharing a kiss with Happy.

To those of us who knew him as he appeared through the television lens, Bobby Frankel seemed a shy, modest man. Eyes frequently shielded behind sunglasses, he responded to interviews about some of his most colourful charges as though talking to the press was a kind of necessary evil. There was something about his demeanour that cautioned the uninitiated to steer away from silly questions, or inquiries that were overtly personal, even though Frankel was disinclined to be scathing. But he could be “crusty” and we accepted this quirk lovingly, because the man was a giant in the world of thoroughbred racing, the kind of genius that made you hang on his every word. But even his delight at winning his first classic race in the Triple Crown series, with Empire Maker, was measured by the time the television cameras caught up with him. Just minutes before, in the privacy of a trackside viewing room, rare footage had caught him smiling and jumping as he watched the big bay son of Toussaud cruise across the finish line.

“When the Almighty One created the horse, he said to the magnificent creature: ‘ I have made thee as no other. All the treasures of the earth lie between thy eyes. Thou shalt carry my friends upon thy back. Thy saddle shall be the seat of prayers to me. And thou shalt fly without wings, and conquer without any sword.’ “  -The Koran

The Namesake, as might be expected, is also a turf specialist. To date, his record is impeccable: 11 for 11. In his most recent victory at Royal Ascot last month, the colt awed pundits and fans alike. He quite simply put on one of the most devastating shows of equine superiority anyone had ever seen.

Frankel, following his win in the 2011 Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood is flanked by jockey Tom Queally, owner Prince Khalid Abdullah (Juddmonte Farms) and, in the background, trainer Henry Cecil.

Kind, Frankel’s dam is a daughter of Danehill (Danzig).

Danehill, depicted here by artist Suan Crawford, was cut down in mid-career in a terrible paddock accident. The son of Danzig and Frankel’s BM sire was well on his way to becoming a sire as prepotent as Northern Dancer.

Frankel’s BM sire, Sadler’s Wells, and his millionaire sons out for a walk at Coolmore Ireland. The grand old man is followed by Galileo, Montjeu and High Chaparral.

Frankel descends from a royal line, carrying the genes of Urban Sea, Danehill, Sadler’s Wells, Danzig, Miswaki, Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Buckpasser, Nearctic, Natalma, Native Dancer and Ribot in his second to fifth generations. The Galileo-Danehill cross has proved itself to be auspicious; classic winners like Maybe, Roderic O’Connor and Golden Lilac also descend from this mix.

Frankel as a yearling already shows the promise of powerful hindquarters and a good shoulder. As a colt, his build was very like that of his dam sire, Danehill. But as a 4 year-old, his conformation is also reminiscent of that of his BM sire, Sadler’s Wells.

A young Sadler’s Wells during his racing career, which paled in comparison to his phenomenal success as a sire. Photo and copyright, John Crofts Photography, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.

When The Namesake first arrived at Henry Cecil’s barn he was a hot-headed, pushy youngster who had a lot to learn. The Galileo’s do tend to be rather “hot” in temperament generally, so that aspect of things was really no surprise to Cecil. It was the colt’s attitude that got him tons of attention, right from the start.

Put simply, young Frankel not only wanted everything his own way, he also wanted the other horses to get out of his way.

The Namesake had successfully completed his initial training when he arrived in Sir Henry Cecil’s yard. Now, one of his first lessons as a race-horse-in-training would be to walk with a string of other Cecil juveniles in a more-or-less orderly fashion, followed by the famous “gallops” over Newmarket Heath, considered an ideal way to build body strength and stamina.

It can take a long time to train juveniles to walk in line and, as his distinguished trainer was quick to observe, Frankel liked to bully his peers along. He would butt at the horse in front or kick the one behind him and the whole training session would descend into havoc. On the gallops, he was a speedball unless throttled half to death. Never mean, the young Frankel was a personality to be reckoned with — spirited, overly confident and fast. Very fast.

The colt had met his match, however, in Sir Henry Cecil. Acknowledged as the pre-eminent British trainer of all time, the brilliant Cecil has been a controversial figure throughout his career. Today, at age 69, he may have mellowed some. But behind an otherwise steely gaze, the “bad boy” still glimmers — and, occasionally, makes his presence known during interviews about his most famous charge. Cecil is no stranger to the press, however. He has trained the champions Kris, Ardross, Diesis, Skip Anchor, Oh So Sharp, Commander In Chief, Bosra Sham, Twice Over and Midday, with whom he won the 2009 BC Filly & Mare Turf, among others.

Sir Henry with champion, Twice Over.

The exquisite Midday, another Cecil superstarl.

Sir Henry Cecil being interviewed by AT THE RACES (UK).

To date, Henry Cecil has been named Champion Trainer 10 times, had 25 domestic Classic winners in Great Britain alone and is Master Trainer at Royal Ascot, having saddled no less than 70 winners there over the years. Cecil is credited with having particularly good results with fillies, of which Bosra Sham and Midday are shining examples. In this, he shares a connection with American trainer Bobby Frankel.

But of all his former and current champions, it is Frankel who has given him the penultimate thrill and whom he describes as “… the best I’ve ever had. Maybe the best there is.”

Cecil certainly knew what to do about the rowdy Frankel. But would he manage to get him right? This is always what haunts the great trainers, who can not only spot a future champion, but can also get into their minds to see what makes them tick. In Frankel’s case, it was that he loved to run and just wanted to get on with it.

Brilliant jockey Tom Queally takes The Namesake through a gallop.

To allow the colt to have his own way would have probably ended in disaster. His young bones could shatter, taking others down with him. Or a rider could be paralyzed for life. Or he could develop into a monster, too dangerous to have on the turf. Or end up racing himself into the ground at the start, only to be left far behind at the finish. The answer was not to dampen The Namesake’s spirit and drive but, rather, to channel them into a productive racing style.

Going down to the start of the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket (April 30, 2011).

Frankel was ridden and handled by only the best lads Cecil had and that meant, among other things, lads with quiet hands. Together, trainer, rider and handler began to teach the precocious colt how to listen to commands, calm himself down and pace himself, as well as all the other “basics,” such as loading into a starting gate. The Namesake’s best distance was tougher to determine. Would he be a sprinter like his dam? Or a Classic individual, like his sire?

And although Frankel began to show signs that his eagerness could be harnessed, in his first win he jumped out of the starting gate, was throttled by Queally to slow him down and then, once he’d relaxed a little, responded when asked to beat Nathaniel, a really good colt who would go on to forge his own star status. Surprisingly, Cecil chose a race run over a mile for Frankel’s first start, probably to see if he had a stayer or a horse who needed a shorter distance.

In the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (2010) at Newmarket, Frankel is still contesting who’s in charge. He wins again though, despite fighting with Queally to get his head a good three-quarters of the way:

At 3, The Namesake was starting to show a more integrated side of himself, working with young Tom Queally in a much more willing and professional fashion than he had done as a juvenile. But it wasn’t easy getting there: Frankel was still a challenge to handle. The public, not really understanding anything except that they wanted him to go on winning, blamed Queally instead. Fortunately, both trainer and jockey shrugged off the criticism and maintained cool heads. By the time Frankel arrived at Glorious Goodwood for the Qipco Sussex Stakes, the transformation was complete. It is in the Sussex that we see Frankel’s signature as we have come to know it: loping along, until he gets his cue from Queally to go on. And then comes a devastating turn of foot, followed by an acceleration that tends to make the other horses look like they’re standing still.

Here he is in the Sussex, beating 5-time Grade One winner, Canford Cliffs.

When Frankel returned to race at 4, he had matured physically. Despite a build that some might find stocky, a large part of Frankel’s success owes to his ability to stretch that frame out, lowering himself as close to the ground as possible to achieve top-speed. In fact, this trait has the advantage of cutting down resistance, like an arrow or an airplane or an Olympic swimmer.

Frankel’s racing style is to get as close to the ground as possible.

And it’s not only his unlikely transformation from a bull-like presence to a torpedo on the turf. At home, Frankel’s personality is quite different than the calm fellow we see in the walking ring before a race. If trainer Cecil looks a bit bleary-eyed at times, it would be because he goes to Frankel’s stall each and every night to be certain that The Namesake hasn’t gotten himself into trouble. The colt is noted for disassembling his stall — manger, bucket….pretty much anything he can get his jaws around or pummel to death with his forelegs. He seems to regard this kind of bludgeoning as recreational. Cecil confessed that he can’t sleep at night until he’s checked on Frankel  ”…just to see what he’s gotten up to. I like to make sure he isn’t turned upside down or something….”

Kisses aside, the “real” Frankel is…..a brat!!!

Frankel’s most recent victory has been described as “the British version of Secretariat’s Belmont.” In a sense, it was the race his fans were waiting for — and the Frankel-Queally duo were most obliging. Taking on some really good competition, Frankel seemed to walk away from the entire field 3 furlongs from the finish, winning the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June by 13 lengths.

(NOTE: Below is the long version of The Namesake’s victory in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot 2012, featuring the post-race analysis of another racing legend, former jockey Willie Carson.)

For all she has been in the past and all that she promises in the future, Saratoga is a symbol to those who love the thoroughbred that is far greater than any one event, regardless of its cachet. As such, Saratoga is a subject for a writer that presents the greatest of challenges. 

Saratoga is, metaphorically, like a woman who has fully matured into the essence of herself. She may have creases and a more generous waistline, but she also has a deep lustre in her eye and a way of being in the world that bespeaks an awareness of the narratives that have informed her life. 

The great American writer H.D. was fascinated by the idea of the palimpsest and its implications in the telling of stories. A palimpsest is defined as ” … a piece of manuscript or writing material in which the original has been effaced to make room for new writing” or “something reused or altered that still bears the traces of its earlier form.” This image befits Saratoga, a place where history comes to life again each midsummer.

A generous history that embraces new narratives even as it respects the old. 

The 3 H’s of Saratoga Springs.

Named after the Iroquois “Sarachtogue” meaning either “place of swift water” or “hillside by great river,” Saratoga was recognized as a village in 1826. Gideon Putnam had earlier made a savvy investment in the little community’s future by erecting two hotels, the Grand Union and the Congress. It didn’t take long before the rich mineral waters and beautiful surroundings beckoned the wealthy, and still more hotels were built to accommodate a steady stream of affluent Victorian ladies and gentlemen.

An early lithograph of the Grand Union Hotel, which first served as a boarding house before its evolution into the opulent headquarters of the rich and famous.

The Grand Union Hotel in its heyday.

The parlor of the Grand Union bespoke luxury and fine furnishings.

The dining room boasted exquisite crystal chandeliers that were bought for a hotel in Washington D.C. in 1950, when the hotel contents were sold prior to the demolition of the Grand Union hotel. A supermarket  – Grand Union — was erected on the site.

The front piazza of the Grand Union Hotel from the Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views.

In 1863, John Morrissey arrived in Saratoga with a vision. He wanted to open a site that would feature thoroughbred horse racing and he piloted the idea in that year, in the form of a 4-day meeting. It was a great success and Morrissey joined forces with William Hunter, Leonard Jerome and William R. Travers to build the Saratoga Race Course on 125 acres, situated across from the trotting grounds. The track opened for business on August 2, 1864.

Travers, a wealthy New York lawyer and socialite, served as the track’s first president. The Travers Stakes, America’s oldest thoroughbred horse race, was named after the ebullient and well-loved millionaire and was won for the very first time in 1864 by a colt named Kentucky. A case of history turning in unexpected ways: had it not been for John Morrissey, there would likely have never been a Saratoga Race Course at all. In truth, Morrissey was not really the type of character that one would immortalize: he was brilliant, but in a world of crystal chandeliers, ladies in rustling silk and powerful men, a cocky young Irishman who’d earned fame in boxing rings and gambling houses would definitely have been perceived as the “rough edge out.”

An engraving of Kentucky, the first winner of the Travers Stakes, who won 21 of his 23 starts and won 20 races consectively. By the great Lexington, Kentucky was born in 1861. In that year, the other 2 colts sired by Lexington were Norfolk and Asteroid, who were both undefeated throughout their careers. In fact, one of the 2 races that Kentucky lost was to Asteroid! Kentucky was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1983.

John Morrissey was a champion boxer and a gambler, as well as a visionary.

Standardbreds like the great mare, Lou Dillon, came to Saratoga to compete before Saratoga Race Course opened. Lou Dillon, the first standardbred to trot a mile in under 2:00 is pictured here in 1903 driven by her owner C.K.G. Billings in an exhibition trot for her many fans. Lou Dillon thrilled spectators in Berlin, Moscow and Vienna in similar exhibitions before her retirement in 1906.

Of course, there are other races run at Saratoga that have become as famous as the Travers, each carrying its own history and narratives. Among the better known Grade I stakes are the Alabama, Coaching Club American Oaks, Hopeful, Spinaway, Whitney and the Woodward. At Grade II, there is the Jim Dandy and the Sanford, while at Grade III, the James Marvin. For the steeplechasers, there are another two graded stakes: the NY Turf Writers’ Handicap and the A.P. Smithwick Memorial Handicap.

Often, the most famous of these stories recount the defeat of a legend, adding credence to Saratoga’s darker reputation, as the “graveyard of champions.” Too, there have been performances that dazzled even the most experienced of racing fans.

Upset defeats Man O’ War in the 1919 Sanford. The loss would be the only defeat of Big Red’s career.

A gutsy Onion shown defeating Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney, a loss that was a heart-breaker for the throngs of fans who had come to Saratoga just to see the Triple Crown winner.

But then, there were moments that will never be eroded by time. Above, Ruffian winning the Spinaway. Below, the magnificent Go For Wand running in the Alabama, having scared away almost all the competition with her brilliance. She set a track record.

Go For Wand is buried in the Saratoga infield. The champion, considered by many to be the best since Ruffian, broke down in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Her bereft owners requested that she be laid to rest at Saratoga, the scene of her great victory in the Alabama.

Nor does the historical patina of Saratoga Race Course end with the narratives of great races. There are a number of graded stakes named after champion thoroughbreds too, equine beings who graced the track and became immortal: Jim Dandy, Forego, Go For Wand, Personal Ensign, Ruffian, Sword Dancer, King’s Bishop, Fourstardave, Honorable Miss, Victory Ride, With Anticipation, De La Rose and most recently, champions Funny Cide and Curlin.

Nijinsky’s brilliant daughter, De La Rose, is honored in an ungraded stakes race, as are Funny Cide and Curlin.

Fourstardave, a great local favourite, is remembered in a Grade II Stakes race that carries his name. He was laid to rest at Claire Court on the grounds of Saratoga Race Course, a rare honour that he shares with only 3 other horses.

The incomparable Personal Ensign lends her name to a Grade I Stakes race.

Funny Cide, a Saratoga-born champion and the first New York bred to win the Kentucky Derby. shown leaving his mark on the 2012 Kentucky Visitors’ Guide. The champ now resides at the Kentucky Horse Park where he can meet many of his fans.

Magnificent Curlin, shown here working over the main track at Saratoga. He’s the most recent equine star to have a stakes named in his honour at Saratoga Race Course.

A who’s who of great Americans are also associated with Saratoga, among them MaryLou Whitney, Barbara Livingston, Monty Woolley, Jerry Bailey, Danny Hakim, Steven Millhauser, Ulysses S. Grant, George Crum and Nick Steele. Another American icon — the potato chip — was invented in or near Saratoga. And the town has been the site of a number of well-known movies, among them: Saratoga (1937), The Way We Were (1973), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Seabiscuit (2003).

A movie still from the 1937 movie, Saratoga, starring Jean Harlow and Clark Gable. It was to be the actress’ last film. She died of kidney failure before it could be released.

Yes, the romance of Saratoga was not wasted on movie moguls and in its first few decades, horses who have become the elite of American racing lent their hooves and hearts to the image.

In Saratoga of old, this scene was re-enacted daily throughout the summer.

Saratoga race course captured in an old postcard of the day.

Old Rosebud pictured at Saratoga in 1913 before the running of the Flash Stakes. This photo, along with thousands of others, is housed in Saratoga’s Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

The decade of the 1870′s was framed by the battle of two equine titans in the 1872 Saratoga Cup: Harry Bassett and Longfellow. Racing right down to the wire, it was almost impossible to call the winner. But in the end it was Harry Bassett — only later would it be learned that one of Longfellow’s shoes had turned, embedding itself in the loser’s foot.

The contest between Harry Bassett and Longfellow, as represented by Currier & Ives.

In the 1880′s it was the greats Luke Blackburn (winner of 22 of 24 starts), Hindoo (who won the Travers, the Sequel, the US Hotel and Kenner Stakes at Saratoga), Miss Woodford (winner of the Spinaway and the Alabama), as well as Hanover, Emperor of Norfolk and Kingston who wowed them at Saratoga.

Luke Blackburn was a horse who tended to pull his jockey’s arms out of their sockets. By Bonnie Scotland, his broodmare sire was the incomparable Lexington. Luke Blackburn made 39 starts, winning 25, including the Kenner and Grand Union at Saratoga in 1880. As a sire, he produced one great son in Proctor Knott, the only colt Salvator could never beat.

The wonderful Hindoo won 30 of 35 starts, including the Kentucky Derby, the Travers and the Clark Handicap. He sired the pre-potent Hanover, as well as Preakness winner, Buddhist.

At the ages of 3, 4 and 5, Miss Woodford won 16 consecutive races and was America’s leading money winner at the age of 5. As a 6 year-old, Miss Woodford won 6 races in less than 2 months.  This stupendous filly was trained by James G. Rowe Sr. who also campaigned Colin, Sysonby and Commando.

Hanover won his first 17 races and ended his career on the track after making 50 starts, winning 32 and showing or placing in another 16. As a sire, he headed the American Leading Sire list for 4 straight years — a record only duplicated when Bold Ruler came along. Hanover was also the damsire of Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton.

Emperor of Norfolk was a mighty race horse who won 8 consecutive races, including the American Derby where he was ridden by the legendary Isaac Burns Murphy. As a sire, he counts Mumtaz Mahal among his descendants.

Bred by James R. Keene, Kingston was sired by Spendthrift. Kingston was one of the first horses to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga.

Perhaps, though, it is indeed America’s oldest thoroughbred horse race — the Travers — raced on America’s oldest race course, that trumps all other stakes during the Saratoga meet. Even today, it is the race that socialite, sports writer and racing fan alike cannot afford to miss. No surprise there. The sheer number of great thoroughbreds who have appeared in the Travers since 1864 is mind-boggling.

The race itself has varied in distance since the first running. From 1864-1889 it was run over 1 3/4 miles; from 1890-1892 over 1 1/2 miles; in 1893-94 at 1 1/4 and in 1895 and 1901-1903, at 1 1/8. Finally, in 1903, the distance was set at 1 1/4 miles. The Travers Trophy, known as the Man O’ War Cup, was designed by Tiffany & Co. and first presented by Mrs. Samuel Riddle to commemorate Man O’ War’s Travers victory in 1920. A gold-plated facsimile of the original cup, now known as The Travers Cup, is still presented to the winner each year. As well, a canoe that sits in the Saratoga infield is painted in the winner’s colours and a jockey statue that sits at the entrance is similarly refurbished in the jockey’s silks.

The Travers Cup and its gold-plated presentation copy, held aloft. Traditionally, a member of the Riddle family and either the Governor or Lt. Governor of New York are on hand to make the presentation.

The Great One, Man O’ War, shown working over the Saratoga track.

Man O’ War after his Travers win.

In its second running, at 1 3/4 miles, it was the filly, Maiden, who won the Travers. Her win christened a trend: in its first 5 years, fillies would win the Travers 3 times and colts, twice. In the first dozen years of the race, fillies would win four times, all going at the original distance of almost 2 miles. Their names were: Maiden (1865), Ruthless (1867), The Banshee (1868) and Sultana (1876). And of these 4, it was Ruthless who is remembered today.

Ruthless, depicted by the famous equine artist Edward Troye.

A bay filly with two white feet and a white snip on her brow, Ruthless was owned and bred by New Yorker, Francis Morris and raced for his Holmdell Stable. Her sire was an imported stallion named Eclipse (1855) and her dam, Barbarity (1854) by Simoon (1838), another British import. The pair also produced four full sisters to Ruthless — Relentless, Remorseless, Regardless and Merciless — who were very good indeed, although none was as accomplished as Ruthless. The sisters became known as the “Barbarous Battalion.” (Eclipse and Barbarity also produced colts, none of whom distinguished themselves.)

Ruthless won both the inaugural running of the Belmont Stakes and the second running of the Travers in the same year. In all, she raced 11 times and finished first or second in each start, all of which were in mixed company. The mighty mare was retired and produced 3 foals, including one by her own sire, Eclipse. Of these, only BattleAxe2 appears to have done much on the track.

Tragically, the champion was shot by a hunter while grazing in a pasture on her owner’s property in 1876 and died a short time later of her injuries.

The romance of Saratoga, represented on an old postcard from the 1930′s.

Over the years, the list of winners of the Travers consistently impresses. Twenty Grand (1931), Whirlaway (1941), Native Dancer (1953), Buckpasser (1966), Damascus (1967), Thunder Gulch (1995), Birdstone (2004) and Street Sense (2007) are only a few of the champions to be recorded on the Travers’ roster. Most recently, sires Medaglia d’Oro (Rachel Alexandra) and Flower Alley (I’ll Have Another) won the Travers, underscoring the connection between this historic contest and the evolution of thoroughbred bloodlines.

The great thoroughbred Twenty Grand, shown here during a work, won the Travers in 1931, together with the Wood Memorial, Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Dwyer, the Saratoga Cup, the Laurence Realization and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

John Nerud’s talented Gallant Man won the Travers in 1957. That same year, the colt also won the Belmont Stakes, the Jockey Gold Cup, the Peter Pan, the Nassau County Handicap and the Hibiscus Stakes. He ran second in the Kentucky Derby, when his jockey Bill Shoemaker misjudged the finish line.

Alydar shown arriving at Saratoga where he would again meet his nemesis, Affirmed, in the 1978 Travers. Although Affirmed won it, the Triple Crown champ was disqualified for interference and Alydar proclaimed the winner. It must have been a bittersweet victory given the circumstances.

Secretariat’s son, General Assembly, won in 1979.

The Lemon Drop Kid comes home to win the 1999 Travers.

Flower Alley, trained by Saratoga’s leading trainer, Todd Pletcher, captures the 2005 Travers in style. He went on to produce the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner of 2012, I’ll Have Another.

One of the most exciting Travers ever run was arguably contested in 1962, when rivals Ridan and Jaipur went at it still again ……

In 1982, Canada made history at Saratoga when her Triple Crown winner, Runaway Groom, captured the Travers and became the only horse to ever defeat the winners of the Kentucky Derby (Gat Del Sol), Preakness (Aloma’s Ruler) and Belmont Stakes (Conquistador Cielo) in one race.

It was Holy Bull in 1994 under jockey, Mike Smith. And the great champion did not disappoint……

Our tribute to Saratoga Race Course and its central place in the story of American thoroughbred racing ends with Bernardini’s breathtaking victory in the Travers of 2006.

The day was sweltering, but the elegant son of A.P. Indy hardly shed a single bead of sweat as he walked into the starting gate. That day, there would be no tragedy on the track to dwarf the winner’s talent and drive, as had been the case in the Preakness. As Bernardini turned for home, leaving Bluegrass Cat and the others in his wake, the sense that they were watching a great horse hushed the spectators. When he crossed the wire, Bernardini joined a very select group of Man O’ War and Damascus as only the third horse in American racing history to win the Preakness, the Travers and the Jockey Gold Cup in the same year. As a sire, it only took 5 years for Bernardini to sire his own Travers’ winner: Stay Thirsty (2011).

Even though it is only one layer in the palimpsest that is midsummer horse racing at Saratoga, the Travers’ remains a test of thoroughbred excellence — as revered today as it was that very first day in 1864 when Kentucky came home a winner.

Summer time and the reading is easy…..

As some of you know, before I started THE VAULT, my career was in education, as a teacher, teacher educator and a curriculum developer. A few years before my retirement, my team and I were meeting to plan a series of sessions for elementary teachers on the power of reading. At some point in our deliberations, one of the team suggested that we open a blog where teachers could share their earliest memories of becoming a reader. Each of us decided to kick it off by sharing our own story. 

So it was that I tapped into a number of personal narratives, secreted away within, that were just waiting to be re-visited ……. 

The very first Pointe Claire library, built at the end of the second World War, where I discovered a world of horses.

I was a girl not yet ten, granted the intoxicating privilege of being allowed to ride my bicycle without parental supervision to visit friends and to go to the community swimming pool and library.

My home had always been filled with books. Many of the books had been loved by my parents when they were children themselves and they had kept them to share with their own offspring. I had my own books too, as did my younger sister and brother. Many of my books had been Christmas or birthday gifts, since they needed to be ordered through a catalogue. There were no real bookstores in our tiny suburban community, nor in my grandparents town of Huntingdon, Quebec.  As might be guessed, I had a few horse stories that I adored and that were on permanent loan to me from my parents, whose books they had originally been: The Red Pony (Steinbeck), My Friend Flicka and a companion volume about Flicka’s son, Thunderhead (O’Hara), Black Beauty (Sewell) and Smoky (by Quebec writer, Will James). There were also a few brand-new books : An Album of Horses (Marguerite Henry), as well as Kentucky Derby Winner (Isabel McLennan McMeekin) and Strawberry Roan (Don Lang), part of the Grosset & Dunlap NY Famous Horses Series. 

Will James’ book included his own illustrations.

I remember my first visit to the old Pointe Claire library vividly. It was early autumn and the bike ride had been invigorating. My best friend and I arrived rosy-cheeked and excited. We had money to buy a library card in our pockets and knew that an adventure lay just ahead, inside the diminutive cottage skirted by a red-gold carpet of fallen leaves.

“Oh…” Susan whispered. “It’s only a little bigger than a doll-house…” (By which she meant the child-sized play houses we both longed to have.)

I was rather relieved, since I had imagined a place of long, book-lined rows that went on and on like a labyrinth. Small was good, too, because it was less overwhelming in terms of locating a book that I might want to read.

Up the concrete steps we walked, swinging our book bags confidently. The little door was white and weathered, with a glass fan-lite we were too short to reach. Of course, it squeaked as we pushed it open.

The smell of books was overwhelming….

It was rather dark inside, but it was a good dark as opposed to the scary kind — the kind of silvery light that promises the discovery of treasure. And a treasure it was. The smell of books enveloped us and through the dim light, courtesy of one tiny window, I made out silhouettes of shelves. They stood there like kindly soldiers, heavy with books of all shapes and size.

But that smell of books …. a gentle, musky, organic perfume suggesting warmth and comfort. All these years later, when I am in another library or used book store and I smell that same scent, I am immediately taken back to this moment in time. The moment I learned that libraries were welcoming spaces filled with possibilities.

Having arrived, our immediate concern was to determine if we were alone. Surely there was, at the very least, a librarian? We stood still before the half-dozen bookshelves and listened. A fan was whirring away somewhere, pushing around book-breath and we could just discern the soft padding of feet, coming toward us. Susan giggled nervously.

Then she appeared, emerging from the wispy shadows in a single burst, as though she had been shot out of a cannon. As tiny as the building itself, she was an older lady with steel-grey hair plaited into a thick braid that was wound into a nest and pinned high on the back of her head. Teardrop-shaped glasses arched on the end of her nose. Her eyes were as green as emeralds.

“Hello, girls!” she chimed, smiling warmly at us. “First time here? Let me show you how we’re organized ….” And she did a slow pirouette, leading us away with a pale beckoning hand.

There were well-trodden carpets between the shelves and little stools where people could sit and short, rickety ladders for climbing up to get a book. The books were arranged alphabetically, she explained, within subject categories. Each book had a number on its spine and on the inside back cover there was a pocket. That was for the book’s library card that would carry the date on which it had to be returned. Books could be kept for 4 weeks.

The world of books and book people has always been a culture all its own, and our guide lovingly introduced us to it. It was clear that she belonged among books and  loved each and every one of them in her crowded kingdom. You could tell by the way she extricated a book, sliding it out in one, smooth sweep, by the way she cradled it in her hands and by the careful manner in which she turned the pages, holding them lightly at the top corner and then turning, very slowly.

Next, we were led to a broad desk and issued our individual library card. As she printed out our names, addresses and telephone numbers at the top of each pale card, the librarian asked each of us about our reading interests. She spoke to us reader-to-reader, as though we were as grown-up as she was. We were very impressed. We hadn’t yet learned that when a reader talks to another reader, things like age don’t really matter.

My first trip to the library was like finding another home.

Then we were released to select the books we wanted to borrow. We headed for the children’s-young adult section and I squatted down in front of about two rows of horse books, all wrapped in a protective layer of mylar and just waiting to be chosen. I was in horsey heaven. But it was also a little overwhelming. After all, the library ran absolutely contrary to reading in my Grade 3 classroom, where the teacher picked the books and decided what was important or interesting about them without ever consulting us. The library was more like home, where I knew that I could read or reread what I wanted to read whenever I felt like reading. But my books at home were like old friends, whereas the library books seemed more like total strangers. After I had looked at the first three or four books, things improved. I began to get comfortable with the idea of exercising choice. Still…there was the matter of deciding which book(s) to take.

The librarian returned at some point and asked how we were getting on. I managed a murmur, Susan blurted out, “There are just too many books!”

This resulted in immediate action, first to help Susan — who, unlike me, really was in a pickle because she couldn’t think what she might want to read. I knew that I wanted to read every book about horses there. Once Susan had chosen two or three books, the librarian moved on to me.

“Well,” she said, ” I see you’re looking at C. W. Anderson. Have you read any of his books? No? Well, he’s very good and I think you would really enjoy this book you’ve already selected. That’s how I do it. I read one book by an author and if I like it, I read more by him or her.”

The book I was holding was Anderson’s Salute.

I may have taken other books too that day. I really don’t remember. But the librarian did tell me that this was a story about someone else who just adored horses, by a writer who also illustrated his books with beautiful drawings.

So it was that I was introduced to C.W. Anderson, discovering that someone else, besides my Grandpa, knew about Man O’ War. I read Salute as though it were a religious tome, savouring each line and studying each drawing as I learned about the Saratoga Cup and Man O’ War’s son, War Admiral. Best of all was Peter, the young protagonist, who seemed to be just like me. Childhood is a time of imagining possibilities and I shared many hopes and dreams with young Peter.

I really didn’t want to take Salute back to the library. But return it I did, riding extra slowly up the street to the little square building. The librarian took the book from me tenderly and then flipped through her card index. “You know,” she explained, “you can renew this book if you’d like to keep it longer because no-one else has asked for it.” Be still my heart. I nodded giddily.

“But wait,” she continued, “I have other Anderson books you might like. And you can choose a few others as well.”

Choices….choices…..

I sat on a tiny wooden stool in the horse section, lost in CW’s world, for well over an hour. Each book was more inviting than the one before it. There were children like me who loved horses and stories about famous horses. And each book was filled with CW’s drawings that I could lose myself in for hours at a time.

It was agonizing to choose only three of his books, but eventually I made up my mind:

Billy and Blaze, Blaze Finds The Trail.

So it was that a love affair began between CW, me and with my mentor at Pointe Claire library. At one point, the librarian explained how CW made the lithographs that illustrated all of his books. I remember thinking he must be very brave to re-do a perfect drawing on stone. Which prompted us to look together at a book on lithography. And this is how becoming a reader goes: it’s like following a footpath to an unknown destination. Sometimes there are forks in the path — times where a book or a story offers you other subjects that you want to know more about. Most serious readers I know behave this way, meandering from one author to another and following their instincts as they go.

That same year, for Christmas, I received CW’s A Filly For Joan at Christmas — the CW story I loved most of all. It was an irresistible blend of narrative and horse racing history. This is where I first learned about Stymie, “the people’s horse,” provoking still another talk with Grandpa who, as it turned out, was a huge Stymie fan. A Filly For Joan is part of my library almost 5 decades later, my name neatly printed on the inside cover. And I still take down A Filly For Joan and read bits of it, luxuriating in the drawings that I poured over as a girl and the dreams I dreamed within its pages. Like many of the best-loved books of our youth, A Filly For Joan is a conduit back through time in my personal life-story.

Stymie as he appears in “A Filly For Joan.”

Anderson’s drawing of Native Dancer, the Grey Ghost.

Anderson’s depiction of Triple Crown winner, Citation. The author often relied upon press photos of the day as a source for his drawings.

I also took out other books by Marguerite Henry, whose Album Of Horses I treasured. My most-loved Henry stories were Misty of Chincoteague, King Of The Wind, Born To Trot, Black Gold and Gaudenzia, Pride Of The Palio. 

I can’t say that I always loved Henry’s books. The narrative wasn’t always appealing to a reader of my age and I do remember finding many of her books a little too saccharine-sweet for my taste. But I adored King of the Wind and it engendered a lifelong interest in the founding sires of the thoroughbred, about which they are very few books, even today.

Close on Henry’s heels came Walter Farley and his Black Stallion. Right from the first page of the very first novel, I was his. As the story developed I just knew that this was one adventure I would always hold close to my heart. And in many ways, the appeal of the first novel in the series is based on its nod to the universality of the hero myth — separation from family, trials and obstacles and the courage that must be funded to triumph. All that and the absolutely compelling relationship between a wild stallion and a young boy. Children are entranced by stories of powerful children, partly because as “little people” they are more or less helpless in overcoming the authority of adults. So it was a no-brainer that I would be enthralled.

In fact, so enthused was I with Farley that, at the librarian’s suggestion, I wrote him a letter to say how much I loved The Black and his ongoing adventures and offspring. A few months went by, and then an envelope arrived with the distinctive logo of the Black Stallion in one corner. My mother presented it to me ceremoniously.

Inside was a letter from Walter Farley on Black Stallion stationary. It began like this:

” Dear Abigail,

I wish it were possible for me to meet you and all the other boys and girls who take the time to write about The Black Stallion and The Island Stallion Books. I’m sure we all have a lot in common, our love of horses. And I can’t help recalling, too, how many letters I wrote at your age to people interested in horses — all in the hope of someday having my own! Luckily, I got mine, and I hope the same thing will happen to you.”

and concluded:

“… Now I’ll get back to work while looking over the typewriter at some horses grazing in the field. Nothing could provide better inspiration! There’s an Arabian filly close by, beautiful to see as well as to ride. Her name is ‘Tina’ and she’s two years-old,now being schooled by a twelve year-old. Again, thanks so much for writing.”

The letter had 4 typed paragraphs, but there, at the end, was Walter Farley’s signature! By the time I’d finished reading, I had learned another invaluable lesson: writing matters because it does important things in the world.

The artist Milton Menasco illustrated this Farley book, as well as The Black Stallion’s Filly (below).

Next to The Black Stallion, I loved this Farley book most of all. It was a Christmas present, from my parents, who were obviously keenly following my reading interests!

The last Farley book I read was his captivating story about Man O’ War. I can close my eyes and repeat from memory the opening lines. This was another of my “Christmas books” and it played an enormous role in peaking my curiosity about Man O’ War…..and that path led to a larger body of research that I did as an adult, having reclaimed my passion for horses and the thoroughbred, in particular.  (I remain today somewhat critical of Farley’s authorial choices, since neither John Buckner nor Will Harbut appear in the narrative and they were certainly the two people who meant the very most to Big Red. But I also know that fiction is never intended to be factual, even when a book is a historical fiction — and Farley’s Man O’ War is a beautifully-told tribute to an American legend that is accessible to older children.)

Of course, all of these (modest) book adventures as a girl engendered the reader I became. I am one of those people who regard my books as part of the decor of my life, even as I bemoan their numbers — or the book shelves that have shattered under their weight. I belong to the wrong generation to ever give them up for a Kindle. I love their smell, turning their pages, getting lost in their narratives and rememorying how each one came into my life and what it meant to me at the time. My books frame chapters in a life.

But the “horse books” of my youth came with a special promise and I doubt that there would be THE VAULT had they never existed. I would also never have learned how to write without them, since reading teaches us how to write. And the books that inspire pour into the budding writer’s repertoire. This is why authors tend to suspend their reading until after the text they’re working on is done.

Too, without my “friends” CW, Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley, as well as the authors of the Famous Horses Series, my passion for the horse would have fallen on barren ground. Like my Grandpa and that wonderful librarian, their beingness led to characters that nurtured me and opened windows of possibility.

After all, we never know real people — or real horses — as intimately as we come to know them in a book.

As fate would have it, when I was first married and my son was a newborn, we lived in Pointe Claire, near a new branch of the Pointe Claire library that was located at Stewart Hall. On a mild day, I bundled up baby James and walked over to Stewart Hall to take out something to read. Once inside, I laid down my infant son on one of the library tables to open up his winter bunting. As I was taking off his little wool hat, a voice said, “Oh, my, what a beautiful baby!”  And I turned to find the mentor of my youth, her hair white but eyes still sparkling out their immeasurable warmth, standing at my side. 

I filled up with tears and to her “Oh my dear” began to cry. 

“I’m alright,” I said finally. “I’m just so pleased to find you again.”

When I write I try to get under the surface of mere facts to weave a story. But as I delved into the extant articles about him, I discovered that there is very little out there about Battleship, even though he is, without question, one of Man O’ War’s most accomplished offspring. Facts related to him are not only scant, they are downright sparse. 

Since Battleship was a steeplechaser rather than a runner on the flat, it seems that he was easier to forget. Even looking back at newspaper reports of the day, one is struck by their brevity and lack of genuine interest, as though his steeplechase credentials were somehow second-best to those of traditional turf champions.

As I continued to research, I came across the news that author Dorothy Ours (who wrote the most recent book about Man O’ War) is now working on a book about Battleship. Apparently, she has devoted two years or more to just doing the research, a retrieval that is, in every sense, akin to an archeological dig.

I was delighted to learn that Ours is piecing the fragments of Battleship’s story together into a coherent and definitive narrative, since he is one of the truly great figures of the thoroughbred pantheon. Small of stature he may have been, but Battleship carried Man O’ War’s heart — and did it proud. 

Battleship was Man O’ War’s best steeplechase son. In this shot, it is possible to see his likeness to his sire, especially through the head and heart.

It is into this world, on  March 19, 1927, that a chestnut colt-foal was born to a mare named Quarantaine (1915) at Walter J. Salmon’s Mereworth Farm, in Kentucky. The little fellow was to be his dam’s last foal and hopes for his future were high — he was a son of the mighty Man O’ War, out of a mare who was a proven producer.

Salmon had imported the mare from France in 1924. At that time, Quarantaine had already produced four brilliant fillies: Mademoiselle de Montigny; Quoi, winner of the Prix de Diane (Gr.1) (French Oaks) and the Prix Vermeille (Gr. 1) and grandam of En Fraude, winner of the Prix de Diane in 1937 and champion 3 year-old in France, as well as the producers Quarantola and Quine IV. Prior to the arrival of her last foal, Quarantaine had given Mereworth the winner Indian Corn, as well as a filly, Quarante, who would go on to become the dam of the good steeplechaser, Santi Quaranti.

In the thoroughbred world of the early twentieth century Walter J. Salmon was a giant. A New York real estate developer by profession, Salmon’s capacity to breed winning thoroughbreds at his Mereworth Farm was already established by the time Quarantaine arrived there. Mereworth had raced Preakness winner Display, whose son, Discovery, was bred by Salmon at Mereworth. Display was one of three colts who won the Preakness for Salmon; the other two were Dr. Freeland and Vigil. Discovery raced for Alfred Vanderbilt in the 1930′s and was a hardy competitor. But, significantly for Salmon’s reputation as a canny breeder, Discovery went on to become the broodmare sire of both Native Dancer and Bold Ruler.

Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s champion, Discovery, at work during his racing career. Copyright The Baltimore Sun.

Salmon was considerably interested in the early genetic theories of one Dr. Harry Laughlin, whom he subsidized for well over $75,000 between 1923-1932 to come up with the genetic traits of winning thoroughbreds, using Mereworth stock as the basis for his research. In collaboration with Laughlin, Salmon bred Discovery and arranged to have Quarantaine sent to Man O’ War. In the latter case, the aim was to produce an individual who would carry important influences from American, French and British bloodstock.

The little chestnut, who was named Battleship, was tiny. As a result, he made his first start at Bowie Race Track late in his two year-old season, finishing well back in the pack. But in his second attempt, this time at Keeney Park in Florida, Battleship won over a big field of non-winners in a 6f. race. At 3, the colt raced eight times, winning three, the most prestigious being the James Rowe Memorial Handicap. He finished in second place twice. After his victory in the James Rowe, Salmon decided to enter the colt in more prestigious races. But Battleship returned a non-winner from the Chesapeake Trial Purse at Havre de Grace with an injury to his right front foreleg.

The injury proved difficult to overcome and, despite the best of care, Battleship seemed to have gone lame. Then, in the context of a conference at the University of Kentucky on the use of X-ray plates as a diagnostic tool, Battleship was presented to the delegates as a case-in-point. In turn, when looking at his X-rays, the veterinarians concluded that Battleship had an incipient small ringbone at the coronet and that this could be overcome by trimming the toe of his hoof down and leaving the heel of the foot high. The latter could be accomplished with the support of a specially-designed shoe. Salmon implemented their recommendations and Battleship returned to the track as a 4 year-old, winning half of his 12 starts that year and bringing his career record to 22-10-2-3. His earnings of $18, 380 were respectable, but not spectacular. But when Battleship came up lame again at the end of the season, Salmon — with some regret — made the decision to sell him.

National Hunt racing was a very popular sport in the USA at the turn of the last century. This scene depicts the Maryland Hunt Club chase in 1928.

At about the same time, horsewoman Marion du Pont Scott was enjoying success in hunt and steeplechasing events with another son of Man O’ War, Annapolis. She let it be known that she was in the market for another horse who had shown some ability on the flat and had a similar pedigree.

Marion du Pont Scott, known as the First Lady of Racing, shown taking one of her horses over a jump. (Note that she’s riding side-saddle.)

The du Pont family lived on their Montpelier Estate in Virginia, once the home of the fourth American President, James Madison. William du Pont, the family’s powerful patriarch, was a business magnate; his daughter, Marion, had the means to pursue her passion for thoroughbreds as an owner and breeder. It was Marion and her brother, William du Pont Jr., who together designed many of the most famous venues of the National Hunt, notably the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area (on the site of the present Fair Hill), home to the National Steeplechase Association Headquarters and its Maryland race course, as well as Delaware Park (Delaware), Camden Race Course (South Carolina), home of the Carolina and Colonial Cup races and the Montpelier Steeplechase Hunt Races, which took place on the family estate.

Marion du Pont Scott’s horses competed in both National Hunt and flat racing under the nom de course, Montpelier Stable, wearing their owner’s French blue, dusky rose and silver silks. Other than Annapolis, Montpelier Stable campaigned Trouble Maker (winner of the arduous Maryland Hunt Cup in 1932), as well as the homebreds, Mongo (1963 American Champion Male Turf Horse), Soothsayer (1972 Eclipse Award, Steeplechase Horse) and Neji (thrice winner of the American Grand National and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966). Her last champion was the mare Proud Delta (1976 Eclipse Award, Champion Older Female).

A horse on a treadmill at the Marion du Pont Scott Equine Medical Center in Lees, Virginia, which du Pont Scott founded. Throughout her life, Marion du Pont Scott was an exceptionally generous supporter of thoroughbred racing.

Portrayed by noted author-illustrator, C. W. Anderson

Battleship is shown here in the lead in the Eastern Horse Club Steeplechase Handicap, 1933.

The little horse with the courage of a giant-killer, Battleship’s 6 year-old season was remarkable. He was victorious in the prestigious American Grand National at Belmont, despite carrying 147 lb. — an amount assigned at least partly on the basis of his being a stallion.

A steeplechase at Pimlico in 1932. Jump races kept traditional flat racing alive when racetrack betting was banned in 1908. Copyright, the Baltimore Sun.

Horses on “the gallops,” from one of Lambourne’s many racing stables.

Battleship with Reginald Hobbs’ 17 year-old son, Bruce, after a gallop. Copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Battleship (in white hood) shown competing in a chase held at Lingfield, England. Copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Royal Mail, the winner of the 1937 Grand National, would meet up with Battleship at Aintree in 1938. Copyright, the Chicago Tribune.

Royal Mail’s Grand National — he is shown here in the lead.

Cooleen, who had finished second to Royal Mail in 1937. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Workman, Grand National winner in 1939 and the horse who was anticipated to win in 1938.

Royal Danieli, who ran with the leaders throughout the race and came calling on Battleship in the closing strides. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

The “American Pony,” Battleship. Copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Originating in 1839, the Grand National is run over a distance of 4 miles, 4 furlongs. It comprises 30 fences, or jumps, that the horses are required to clear twice before the race is over, with the exception of two — The Chair and the Water Jump.  The majority of entries in any given year never reach the finish, due either to sheer fatigue or injury to jockey and/or horse. Becher’s Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn are regarded as the most treacherous obstacles of the gruelling course, and rightly so: they have been the downfall of literally hundreds of horses and riders over the years. The “National,” as it is fondly called by the British, is as keenly contested as any revered flat race. Grand National winners like Golden Miller, Red Rum, Arkle and Best Mate are beloved in the UK, having triumphed over the greatest of adversity to become heroes in their own time.

Such was the challenge — and the expectation — for the chestnut son of Man O’ War.

Blue Shirt, the betting favourite, is shown “ditched” at one jump during the 1938 running of the Grand National. The horse behind him, at full extension, gives some idea of the breadth of this jump.

And now the scene is set.

Here’s the race, just as it happened, complete with voice over. Watch for Battleship, wearing the black hood, number 5. You’ll see him at the very beginning and then, off and on, throughout the race. At the last, note the little fellow’s size compared to Royal Danieli, as Battleship dashes to the wire on the near side of your screen.

(VIEWERS PLEASE NOTE: Horses and jockeys are shown going down in this footage, some with serious injuries.)

 

Battleship, in his menacing black hood, is in the lead the second time the horses jump the treacherous Becher’s Brook. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Here we see Battleship just peeking through, towards the back of the photo. Look for the black hood and wrapped forelegs. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

After it was all over, Reginald Hobbs (black coat) comes to congratulate a courageous team. Bruce Hobbs is standing in the foreground, holding Battleship’s saddle. Photo courtesy of PAPHOTOOS.CO.UK

The winner’s portrait. Reginald, “Reggie” Hobbs stands in the foreground and Battleship’s groom at the champion’s head.

You know you’re a British hero when you get your very own tobacco card!

Following a good rest, plans were made to ship Battleship home, where he would be paraded at the Foxcatcher meeting sponsored by William du Pont, Jr., Mrs. Scott’s brother, before being retired to stud at Montpelier with Annapolis and Lancegaye, the sire of Cavalcade. John “Salvator” Hervey reported that Battleship arrived home looking “…extremely well, weighed 1,040 lbs. possibly 50 lbs. over his weight in the National paddock.”

Going home! Reggie Hobbs spends time with Battleship aboard the luxury liner “Manhattan” on the voyage back to the USA. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Battleship arrives home at the port in New York City on June 9, 1938. Not only his trainer, but also his jockey, Bruce Hobbs, made the crossing with him.

With Marion du Pont Scott and trainer, Reginald Hobbs, Battleship was given one public appearance before his retirement. Copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

 At stud, Battleship sired only 57 foals, largely due to the fact that he was viewed as a steeplechase stallion. Of these, he got three excellent jumpers: War Battle and Shipboard, steeplechase champions of 1947 and 1956, respectively, as well as the 1952 American Grand National winner, Sea Legs. However, these three were geldings and of his other progeny, none carried Battleship’s name forward.

The plucky little fellow remained a great favourite of his owner’s and was taken out under saddle for an hour each day until he became a very senior citizen. Battleship lived to the age of 31, dying in 1958. He was buried at Montpelier.

In 1969, Battleship was inducted into the American Hall of Fame.

War Battle.

Shipboard.

Reggie Hobbs sent out thank you’s to those who had applauded Battleship’s victory.

The final resting place of an American legend who accomplished a feat that no thoroughbred has been able to duplicate over the last 74 years.

The author is indebted to “American Race Horses 1938″ by John “Salvator” Hervey, to author-illustrator C.W. Anderson and to the Daily Racing Form Archives, the Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun for making this article possible. A special thank-you to the fabulous “Mudmont” of the TVG Community.

This article is dedicated to the mystery and magic of a thoroughbred champion. As well, it is dedicated to the racing spirit of Ann-Maree Matthews, at whose request I wrote it.

This is Germany’s diminutive — at slightly over 15h — superstar, doing what she does best: humbling every colt in the field, with the exception of the gallant Nathaniel.

In Australia, turf discourse affectionately substitutes “pony” for a thoroughbred horse of either sex. Whereas Black Caviar is clearly not a pony, as far as her statuesque height goes, Danedream really is. She’s certainly not the first pony-sized thoroughbred to become a superstar, nor is she even invincible at current statistics of 17-8-0-4, but Danedream certainly has overcome her size and even her defeats with a quartet of Group 1 victories, including the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (shown above) over the last two years. All of them were run at distances of over 1 mile 4f, and all were run against colts.

Danedream just moments after her birth with her dam, Danedrop. Photo and copyright, Frank Sorge.

The beautiful Lomitas, Danedream’s sire, a turf champion who rose to become a German folk hero. Lomitas died in 2010 of complications from colic surgery.

Danedream’s story begins at the turn of the last century in France. In 1914, famous owner-breeder Marcel Boussac bought an interest in a mare called Diana Vernon, whose family plays a pivotal role in the arrival of the tiny filly foal who would conquer the 2011 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Over a period of 50 years and 12 generations of thoroughbreds descended from her, Diana Vernon’s family would reward Boussac’s fine investment with some handsome payoffs, notably in the form of 1974 Prix Lupin winner and top French 3 year-old, Dankaro and the mare Coronation V, a daughter of Djebel ex. Esmerelda, a great granddaughter of Diana Vernon, who won the 1949 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for Boussac.

Coronation V wins the Arc for owner-breeder Boussac in 1949.

Boussac was committed to “extreme” line-breeding and the stallion, Tourbillon, was both the sire and broodmare sire of the filly, Coronation V.

Marcel Boussac was a fabulously wealthy industrialist with a passion for breeding and racing thoroughbreds. Boussac turned his passion into buying and breeding an array of thoroughbred champions. He is seen here leading in his 1950 Epsom Derby winner, Galcador. Among other claims-to-fame, it was Boussac who acquired the Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway and Boussac who sold the American foundation mare, La Troienne, to Edward R. Bradley.

Danedrop’s filly foal also descended from a branch of Diana Vernon’s family, beginning with Esmeralda’s half-sister, Geranium (1941). A daughter of Mahmoud, and a great grandaughter of Diana Vernon on the bottom of her pedigree, Geranium — another Boussac home-bred — only produced one offspring, a daughter of Pharis named Monrovia (1948). Through Monrovia, we arrive at the mare Lady Berry, a prodigious producer whose blood, like that of Pretty Polly’s, flowed down through generations.  A daughter, Featherhill, is great- grandam to Group 1 winner, Plumania. Another daughter, Sea Hill (Seattle Slew) produced the very good colt, Legerete. Rose BonBon (1984), by High Top, met up with the prepotent Danehill. The result was Danedrop.

The year before Danedream’s arrival, her dam had produced Danestar (2007), whose grandsire was the excellent Machiavellian. Danestar earned over a half million in his racing career, but was the only progeny of note out of four foals. In fact, the mare changed hands several times before Danedream was foaled, culminating in her recent purchase by the canny Coolmore “lads.” But in Danedream, the Danehill-Lomitas nick has proved to be loaded with endowments, although it would take someone with a sharp eye to see it. Or maybe not.

After all, Danehill was an enormously important sire whose premature loss to Coolmore, in a tragic paddock accident, is likely one of the worst breeding disasters the enterprise has ever sustained. A son of the brilliant Danzig, Danehill remains the first stallion to sire 347 stakes winners, 14% of his total get. As well, he was the leading Australian sire for 9 consecutive years, the leading sire in Great Britain for 3 years and in France for two. Suffice it to say that any thoroughbred with Danehill as a BM sire is going to get attention in the sales ring.

Lomitas (pronounced low-me-tis) is Danedream’s sire. Germany’s champion at 2 and again at 3, as well as its champion juvenile sire in 1998, Lomitas’ stirring narrative deserves to be a Hollywood movie.

Lomitas and Monty Roberts were to become best friends, when America’s “horse whisperer” was called in to deal with a terrorized colt.

Although he won two races at 2 and made it clear that he was a champion in the making, Lomitas developed a terror of the starting gate. So terrified was the grandson of Nijinsky that he was actually banned from racing, after taking 30 minutes to load and savaging those who struggled to load him. Walter Jacobs, owner of  Gestut Fahrhof (excuse the lack of proper punctuation over the u and a) brought in American horse whisperer, Monty Roberts, who concluded that the colt was claustrophobic. As you might expect, Roberts solved the “Lomitas problem” and, in so doing, fell in love with him.

“Before Monty”: struggling to load Lomitas. Photo and copyright, Monty Roberts.

If this drama was not enough, as a 4 year-old Lomitas had to be sent into hiding.

In 1991, after a 4-length win at Hamburg, his owner received a letter demanding a huge amount of money. Should the money not be delivered, Lomitas would be killed. Guards were stationed around the clock to protect him and, as winter progressed, Lomitas’ connections began to feel that the crisis had been averted.

In 1983, the Irish champion, Shergar, had been kidnapped and was never seen again. The likely murder of the gentle champion — whose kidnapping remains unsolved to this day — would never be forgotten. The parallel must have shaken Jacobs, since Lomitas had become a German racing hero just as Shergar had stolen the hearts of the Irish, making the connection to the latter’s fate even more striking.

In his next appearance, the Düsseldorf Group 1 ” Preis der Berliner Bank, ” a race he had won easily as a three-year-old, Lomitas seemed unusually dulled, as was his coat, and he ran listlessly. The next day, another letter arrived, stating that the horse’s loss was proof that he could be “gotten at”  any time and that this should be considered a warning. Subsequent examination by vets found poison in Lomitas’ system.

It was then that Walter Jacobs’ asked his horse’s faithful groom, Simon Stokes, to accompany Lomitas into exile and Monty Roberts contacted the famous British ex-jockey, Lester Piggott, to ask if the horse could stay at his stables in the UK. The next day, accompanied by an armed guard, Lomitas and Stokes boarded a plane bound for England. Once in Piggott’s stable, Lomitas was given a different, temporary name.

Easily one of the greatest jockeys ever, Lester Piggott was the first to provide Lomitas and Simon Stokes with a “home away from home.”

Lomitas thrived under Stokes’ care, but he was also a race horse and cantering over field and plain was not really a suitable replacement to the call of the turf. But racing Lomitas in England was deemed too risky. Instead, arrangements were again made through Monty Roberts to deliver Jacobs’ champion to HOF trainer, Ron McAnally (trainer of the greats, notably John Henry, Paseana and Bayakoa). But the horse never really rebounded from his last start, losing two races in California. Finally, after spending some time at Monty Roberts’ ranch, Lomitas flew back to Germany to commence stallion duties, at which he was to prove a success. As well, it is accurate to say that without Monty Roberts’ critical intervention on behalf of her sire, little Danedream might never have become.

In 2009 Lomitas’ still unnamed yearling daughter was offered at auction, where she was purchased by Heiko Voltz who, with trainer Peter Schiergen, thought she might be promising enough to “have some fun with.” German racing was failing and prospective owners were unwilling to spend a fortune on thoroughbreds; as well, it was less than a year after “the crash heard around the world,” and investors worldwide were in a conservative mood. No surprise then that Voltz managed to secure the little bay filly with the blaze and snip and one white stocking for slightly over $11,000 USD.

Danedream and her regular exercise rider, Cynthia Atasoy.

It was clear to Schiergen that the newly-christened Danedream had speed, but she got off to a rather slow start as a 2 year-old, a bit like her sire had done over 2 decades earlier. Even though she didn’t dazzle, her trainer recognized her honesty and cultivated her stamina. In the final race of her juvenile season, Danedream had shown a smart turn of foot to finish first, only to be DQ’d to third.

Here is Danedream winning her maiden at Wissembourg, considered an “easy contest” by Schiergen. Watch for her on the lead (orange silks).

Her 2011 campaign kicked off with a second in the Derby Italiano, but Danedream came back to take the Italian Oaks impressively from a tough competitor, Good Karma. As a 3 year-old, Danedream was stronger and more confident. She could rate and then move out speedily when asked. And she was starting to show a big, big heart and the determination a thoroughbred needs to win.

Next, she was off to beat up the boys in the Grosser Preis von Berlin (Group 1), followed by another win in the Grosser Preis von Baden.

That did it. German racing fans woke up to find that they had a little champion in their midst.

Danedream represented the fulfilment of hopes and dreams to more than just her racing family and fans. Lomitas’ owner, Walter Jacobs’  – in a kind of exquisite irony — was responsible for refurbishing the Baden-Baden racing facility that was the scene of Danedream’s pre-Arc triumph. One can only imagine the tremendous pride he must have felt watching Lomitas’ daughter bring its luscious turf and sparkling grandstand to life.

Danedream sweeps to victory in the 2011 Longines Grosser Preis von Baden, to the roar of her fans.

The Baden-Baden win was her last race before the champion filly shipped to France for a try in the coveted Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Also running in the Arc were the Australian champion, So You Think (now running for Coolmore) and Juddmonte’s brilliant Workforce, winner of the Epsom Derby in record time (in only his third start) and the 2010 Arc winner. As well, Coolmore ran the Irish Derby winner, Treasure Beach, and the game St. Nicholas Abbey. Too, there were the excellent fillies Snow Fairy (who had finished a 1/2 length behind the winner, So You Think, in her last outing), Shareta (a daughter of the great Sindar and a very competent runner) and Sarafina (who had finished a short 2 1/4 lengths behind Workforce in 2010). Rounding out the field were Reliable Man ( winner of 4 of his last 5 starts), Goldikova’s sister, Galikova, John Gosden’s Masked Marvel (Montjeu), as well as Testosterone, Meandre, Silver Pond and two from Japan, Nakayama Festa (Stay Gold) and Hiruno d’Amour.

Danedream had to be supplemented to run in the Arc, despite her growing reputation as a 3 year-old. However, a shrewd Teruya Yoshida, owner of the Shadai Stallion Station in Japan, bought a half-interest in the mare prior to the race.

The day of October 2, 2011 dawned bright, with an autumnal snap in the air. The Longchamps turf was deemed “good.”

Danedream and her jockey, Andrasch Starke, go down to the post of the 2011 Arc. Note the mare’s form. Horses who “get down” in this way (i.e. close to the ground) are able to cut through the resistance to the body posed by the speed at which horses travel, allowing them to conserve valuable energy.

Danedream went down to the post at odds of 27-1. The field she was about to face was one of the deepest seen at Longchamps for decades. In Germany, they held their breath. And Danedream’s owner and trainer dared to hope that their game little filly would crown her 3 year-old campaign with a win in the world’s most esteemed race ……

“…But the bird has flown.” And indeed, she did. Looking more like a greyhound than a horse, Danedream loped to a 5-length win, breaking the record held by Peintre Celebre in 1997, to become only the second German-trained thoroughbred to ever win the Arc.

For her trainer, himself a champion jockey whose 273 wins in a single season remain a European record, as well as for the jockey who had been with her from the very beginning, Andrasch Starke, it really was a dream come true. Of her effort, Starke said, “… She made a fabulous burst when I asked her to give it her all. The acceleration was worthy of a very, very great filly.”

You’d never know from their excitement that Danedream, not being French-bred, hadn’t earned a dime of prize money for her stupendous effort.

Coming home in her wake were two other great fillies: Shareta, followed by Snow Fairy. So You Think ran a brilliant race, coming from almost dead-last to take fourth place.

Danedream hits the wire, 5 lengths ahead of the rest of the field. Photo and copyright, The Racing Post.

Wearing the blanket of honour, little Danedream suddenly looks like a much bigger filly!

It should have been enough.

But possibly based on pressure from part-owner, Yoshida, Danedream shipped to Japan in November to try her luck in the prestigious Japan Cup. Winning it would have made history, making her the first thoroughbred to ever take both the Arc and the Japan Cup.

But it was not to be.

A recent shot of Danedream depicts her as a long, lean running machine.

Returning to Germany, Danedream was crowned their 2011 Horse of the Year.

Danedream has the look of her sire, Lomitas. Germany’s 2011 Horse of the Year ignited a passion for thoroughbred racing that had been lost for over a decade in her homeland.

In 2012 as a 4 year-old, Danedream has had a testing but judicious campaign, leading up to a defence of her 2011 Arc win in October. She began by winning the Grosser Preis der Badischen Unternehmer at Baden-Baden. She then ran fourth in the prestigious Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in France. This was followed by an impressive win against Nathaniel, the only thoroughbred to ever have really challenged the incomparable Frankel, in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth  (shown at the beginning of this article). As was true in 2011, Danedream’s last pre-Arc prep was a second consecutive victory in the Grosser Preis von Baden.

Carried wide in the final stages, the mare seemed to just squeak by to win, but trainer Schiergen confided that the idea was only to give Danedream a “bit of a run” without emptying the tank. In the footage below, viewers can see the mare’s running style to good advantage as she defeats Ovambo Queen, Girolamo and Pastorious.

This year’s Arc will be her second to last start. But Danedream really has nothing left to prove. Given the field she left behind in last year’s Arc, Danedream could have retired right then and there, and still be considered one of the best thoroughbreds ever on the international stage. Without question, she is the greatest German thoroughbred of her sex and one of the all-time greats of German thoroughbred racing.

Her final race is to be the 2012 Japan Cup. Then — sadly for her fans — Danedream will be retired and sent to Japan’s Shadai Stallion Station. At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether or not this great, great mare will ever be sent to stallions outside of Japan.

Portrait of a champion, with her racing family.

In this year’s Arc, Danedream lines up against the likes of Nathaniel (whom she narrowly defeated at Ascot earlier this year) and Japan’s Triple Crown winner, the mighty Orfevre. Snow Fairy is also slated to run, should the turf be to her trainer’s liking, as well as returning runners Shareta, Reliable Man, St. Nicholas Abbey and Meandre. Pastorius, who finshed third to Danedream at Baden-Baden earlier this year, Imperial Monarch (Coolmore’s impressive 3 year-old son of Galileo, who has already run at Longchamps with success, but will be pulled should Camelot run), Sea Moon, Al Kazeem, Novellist (the other German-based horse in the field), Last Train and Saonois complete the field. Whether or not Camelot will indeed run has yet to be announced.

As of today, Danedream starts as one of two favourites. The other is Orfevre, with Camelot and Snow Fairy coming in as second and third choice, respectively.

On October 7th, run on heart little lady.

For when wishes are horses, then you, Danedream, will always lead the herd.

On October 20, 2012, a star of British thoroughbred racing retired. So, too, did his pace-setter and half-brother, Bullet Train, as well as the valiant Nathaniel, the only horse to have gotten as close as a head to the incomparable Frankel. Since that day, tributes to Frankel have abounded in sports journals and on-line chat sites world-wide. 

Our tribute pays homage to the team that supported Frankel before and throughout his racing career. For, even though in time we may learn that Frankel had a lung and heart capacity far greater than most thoroughbreds, had there not been a brilliant band of horse people to develop his body, mind and spirit, he would never have blossomed into the conquering hero he was to become.

In the romance of the turf, champions are born.

But that doesn’t really happen.

A thoroughbred comes to a trainer with his or her abilities and potential. And, like all great teachers, it falls to that trainer and his or her team to recognize and develop it.

In all the emotion that accompanied Frankel’s last, triumphant appearance on a race course, the observation that still hangs in the air belongs to Lord (Teddy) Grimthorpe, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager, who reflected, “It’s just extraordinary that Henry could keep this horse fit for this amount of time.” By which he meant that there is no greater challenge than keeping a personality like Frankel happy within himself over a career that has spanned three racing seasons.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, shows her enthusiasm for Frankel’s last victory (October 20, 2012) from the Royal Box at Ascot.

Frankel heads to the wire to win the Champion Stakes at Ascot from a very game champion in his own right, Cirrus Des Aigles.

Race horses spend a lot of time in their stalls. They follow a monotonous and exacting training schedule. As necessity would dictate, there is little variance from one day to the next and precious little to occupy the mind.

So it follows that a horse like Frankel, filled with zip and vinegar in extremis is going to need the vigilance of a master trainer to keep him not only fit, but keen to race. Being full of zip was likely Henry Cecil’s first impression of the “Galileo colt” who turned up at his Newmarket stable, Warren Place, as a newly-broken juvenile.

As is now generally known, Frankel didn’t have a mean bone in his young body, but he was exuberant, headstrong and undisciplined. As an offspring of Galileo, Frankel’s dominant personality and forceful character were bred in the bone. He was a rambunctious teenager … with a mind of his own.

The first time Tom Queally galloped Frankel, he returned white-faced. He had never felt such raw, unbridled power.

On the gallops, Frankel really just wanted to take-off running — in any and all directions. Apparently, the first time young Tom Queally took him out on a Newmarket gallop, he returned from the experience white-faced. He’d never sat on such speed before….such uncontrolled force, that is to say. To quote Sir Henry, Frankel was “…very precocious, strong and free” in the early years.

It fell to Sir Henry and his “lads”– including Queally —  to shape the extravagant youngster into a disciplined race horse without breaking either his spirit or his enthusiasm for running. And that is no small task, as any trainer will tell you. Most recently, John Sherriffs is credited with confiding to his wife, Dottie Ingordo, that if he could just “… get her right,” his 2 year-old might never be beaten. The “her” was, of course, Zenyatta.

And how did Sir Henry and his team do it? With firmness, understanding and love.

Sandeep “Sandy” Gauravaram, Frankel’s steady human companion at Warren Place, bonded with him. Frankel and Sandy developed a trusting relationship that would set the tone for the colt’s dealings with others — his regular exercise rider, his jockey and a number of other people that would become part of his racing life: Warren Place’s head lass, Dee Deacon, who arrived shortly after 4 a.m. each morning to feed him, his farrier, Stephen Kielt, (who was impressed with the size of Frankel’s huge feet) and a host of others. And it would likely have been Sandy who was first to understand the “real Frankel” and, in particular, the depths of his immaturity. For, as Sir Henry would later divulge, the son of Galileo was a “late bloomer.”

Sandy with The Champ.

Frankel hugs close to Sandy for reassurance.

Frankel and his best friend, Sandeep Gauravaram. Photo and copyright, Vickiee Treacle Fletcher.

Shane Fetherstonhaugh, from Skerries in North County Dublin, was another key figure in the making of the champion. From January 2011 until his retirement, it was Shane who rode Frankel daily and applied all of his considerable skill to keeping him physically fit, mentally alert and spiritually happy within.

Shane is a quiet, calm man who kept Frankel to a daily routine that his charge depended upon. In fact, even though all horses love routine principally because it allows them the security of predicting events, Frankel got more upset than most if that routine changed in any way. Sir Henry first moved him out of his familiar box stall to more commodious quarters in what is referred to as “Millionaires Row” after Frankel won the Dewhurst. His new stall was twice the size of his former, and a good deal quieter. But Frankel wanted none of it. He refused to eat and kept trying to escape. Two days later, he was moved to another quiet area, but that shift lasted about 10 minutes. After a good deal of noisy protest, Frankel was moved back to his usual digs, where he collapsed happily and rolled around in his bedding with something approaching ecstatic relief.

Frankel has an enormous appetite for both food and sleep, so Sir Henry — affectionately known as “The Boss” to his Warren Place family — quite sensibly thought a transfer to a quieter, roomier space would be appreciated. But, as Sandy noted, “Frankel is a nosey kind of guy, you know? All he wants to do is look at what the other horses are doing around him.” And the space that offered the greatest diversion was his original box stall, located in a particularly active section of Sir Henry’s stables.

On the gallops at Newmarket with Shane.

Since he was slow to mature, it took Frankel well into his second racing season before he was able to transfer what he was learning daily from Shane to an actual race. It’s easy to ruin a thoroughbred if he, or she, is handled poorly in training. The late Sir Vincent O’Brien credited the success of Nijinsky to “lads who were very good indeed and knew how to handle him without breaking his spirit.” The same has been said of Shane, who needed to teach Frankel how to work in tandem with a rider without destroying the horse’s confidence or his desire to run.

Whether equine or human, athletes must relax to perform at their peak, since it is in this alert, relaxed state that the heart and lungs are able to do their best work. In the case of a thoroughbred, settling is a close accompaniment to learning to pace oneself early in a race, since a rank horse will use up all of its energy well before the finish, when it’s needed most. Getting Frankel to settle, or relax, was a long, arduous process and Shane played as key a part in accomplishing this as did Sir Henry and Tom Queally, Frankel’s jockey. Their collaborative effort stands as a testimonial to the excellence of Frankel’s team: by Frankel’s third and final racing season, the whole world could see the result. Four year-old Frankel had matured into a polished athlete who settled almost immediately, pacing himself until Tom Queally asked him the question. And when Queally asked, the response was immediate.

The younger Frankel seemed a universe away from the 4 year-old who was caught sleeping at the start of the 2012 Champion Stakes. Even Sir Henry had to admit that he, Shane and Tom might have been a little too successful in teaching their colt how to relax.

It would be Shane Fetherstonhaugh who would teach a brilliant horse how to relax and get into “the zone” that is so essential if an athlete is to succeed.

Shane and Frankel, or “Usain Colt” as he has been recently nicknamed at Warren Place, coming home from the gallops. (July 12, 2012).

Below, Frankel and Shane, together with Bullet Train and Danny Dunnachie, on one of their works together. This is the world that Frankel knows best….out on Newmarket Heath with Bullet Train, where the turf smells sweet and there is nothing but the sound of his own heart and hooves, the ministration of hands and the timbre of familiar voices.

While it was, without question, the daily input of Sandy and Shane that allowed Sir Henry to make informed decisions about every aspect of Frankel’s development, Tom Queally, Bullet Train and Ian Mongan had their own roles to play in the making of a champion.

It is no accident that the arrival of pace-setter Bullet Train marked the beginning of a more settled, responsive Frankel on race day. The champ’s older half-brother became his regular work-mate at home, since Bullet Train was the only horse at Warren Place who could keep up with Frankel on a daily basis. On race day, it was Bullet Train and Ian Mongan who ensured an honest pace, focusing Frankel on the task at hand and setting him up to win. Ian was brilliant enough to salvage Frankel’s slow start on Champions Day and Bullet Train was more than courageous, taking on Cirrus Des Aigles, the best in the world on soft turf and the second-best horse to Frankel in world rankings. Bullet Train showed his mettle time and again, stretching himself considerably beyond his own comfort zone each time he was asked. And as he’s been such an important player in Frankel’s success story, it seemed only fitting that Bullet Train would join him in retirement.

Ian Mongan on Bullet Train and Tom Queally on Frankel embrace as they return following the latter’s emphatic win in the 2012 Champion Stakes.

To jockey Tom Queally belongs the silence of the turf, when it is just you, your horse and a race to be won. Far away from the crowd and the cameras, it is during these moments that jockey and horse either come together, or they don’t.

Tom is a calm, cool and unassuming man who abjures publicity and tends to be short on words when interviewed. The Dungarven, Ireland native is only 27 years old, but he has already ridden for Aidan O’Brien and became Sir Henry’s first jockey in 2009, although not under contract to him (i.e. meaning that he can ride other trainers’ horses as well). The two get along famously and Tom has learned that Sir Henry is as intuitive as he is methodical in his training methods.

Queally attributes his own professional growth to The Boss’ knowledgeable coaching and encouragement. The brilliant mare Midday was Tom’s most famous Cecil-trained mount before Frankel, and he rode her to victory in both the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. As well, Tom gave British champion Twice Over an absolutely brilliant ride in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic, finishing third behind winner Zenyatta and second-placed Gio Ponti .

It’s fair to say that Tom Queally was already on his way to a sterling career before Frankel streaked into his life. But now he’s a household name and has had the somewhat double-edged honour of meeting up with the best thoroughbred he may ever ride only nine years into his career.

Clearly, Frankel and Queally have a special relationship. And although he played his part in raising a champion, Tom confesses to loving their time alone out on the course most of all. He talked to Frankel as they went down to the start and urged him along with his voice throughout a race. And he still hasn’t gotten used to Frankel’s power-surge, even though he’s the one who pushed the button.

No surprise there.

Will we ever forget the cry of “Queally says ‘Go’ on The Champ …” accompanied by the signature shake of the reins and pumping arms, as man and horse merged into a single, driving force?

Happy to be out on the turf and away from the crowds, Frankel goes down to the start of the 2012 Champion Stakes with Tom.

A familiar sight destined to become the stuff of legendary tales — Tom Queally and Frankel.

In a moving moment after Frankel’s last race, Tom admitted that he took him up to say farewell to his fans and spent longer doing it, not only out of respect to the 32,000 who had gathered at Ascot to see Frankel, but also so “I could sit on him just a little longer.”

And now we come full circle, back to the skill of one of thoroughbred horse racing’s greatest trainers, Sir Henry Cecil. Battling stomach cancer and barely able to speak, Cecil managed to whisper that training Frankel had been “a great privilege” and that the horse had been his inspiration during chemotherapy treatments.  After the Champion Stakes, wiping a tear from his eye, it must have dawned on Sir Henry that Frankel had shown himself to be the same kind of fighter that he himself had been throughout his life: despite a ground he detested and a poor start, racing at over a mile for only the second time in his life, his colt had quite simply refused to give up.

Prior to Frankel’s last race, Cecil had told British journalist Tony Hodson, “.. I’ve had my bad times, whether they be personal, financial, no horses or bad years, but I don’t like being an also-ran. I’m frightened of death and I love life – but I think Frankel has definitely helped keep me going. You’ve just got to be there for him, you know? I had to be there for Frankel.”

A tender Sir Henry Cecil not only straightens Frankel’s blanket, but performs a kind of “laying on of hands” on a horse he truly loves.

Cecil has been brilliant at bringing Frankel along in time to be at his very best before each of his fourteen races, while also proving adept at keeping cycles of training and competition in complete sync with the needs of the horse himself. It may sound easy, but think a moment: have we ever seen an “off” Frankel, a Frankel that didn’t “show up” on the day?

Sir Henry, Frankel and Sandy.

Cecil arranged for Frankel to have a gallop at Newmarket more than once, so that his fans could see him and so his colt would think he’d won another race.

“… I had to be there for Frankel.”

As the brilliant American physicist Richard Feynman was to observe, an ideal team creates a kind of third identity, an entity beyond the individual egos or aspirations of its members. Within that third identity is a common, shared goal that each team member works towards realizing, bringing the best of their individual assets, knowledge and abilities to the task.

In the case of Frankel’s team, the goal was intimately related to a living, breathing being — a horse whose brilliance and natural talent needed to be sculpted into the refinement of a champion athlete. It was in this context that Sir Henry Cecil, owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, racing manager Lord Teddy Grimthorpe, Sandeep Gauravaram, Shane Fetherstonhaugh, Tom Queally and “outrider” Ian Mongan teamed up and so perfect was this alliance that not a single one of them is prepared to take total credit for Frankel’s illustrious career.

It’s because they know that they shared a common dream.

…and they know that they all did their part, in the kind of perfect syncopation that would be the envy of any corporation.

Please accept our thanks for taking us, so graciously and generously, on this compelling journey with you.

It’s clear that Frankel ran on the wings of faith — and love.

As thoroughbred racing — like everything else — enters a period of globalization, owners and breeders worldwide must confront the implications of an increasingly international and streamlined industry. And perhaps no one organization has been more pro-active in rising to this tide of change than Coolmore. 

“Glorious George,” beloved of the racing public, returned to competition when he proved to have a sub-fertile sperm count. Bred by Gretchen and Graham Jackson, the champion came to an untimely end in the Breeders’ Cup of 2007 — the same year that the Jackson’s lost Barbaro.

In light of the unsuitability of George Washington for stallion duty, Holy Roman Emperor — a 3 year-old colt with great potential — was snatched out of training to fill his place.

Make no mistake about it — as magnificent as was Coolmore’s George Vancouver in winning the 2012 BC Juvenile Turf recently, the ultimate goal for the son of Henrythenavigator is that he will refresh the Coolmore product when he enters their star-studded stallion roster. If he’s good enough, that is.

On the face of things, Coolmore is an organization that consistently thrills thoroughbred enthusiasts with the range and depth of its stable. Trainer Aidan O’Brien has gained legendary status through his association with the progeny of such stallions as Sadler’s Wells, Danehill, Montjeu and Galileo. However, “the lads,” headed by owner, John Magnier, run the largest commercial bloodstock enterprise in the world and keeping it that way is the goal.

In the Coolmore galaxy, the orbit of an individual thoroughbred is galvanized around that objective. A fact the organization made abundantly clear in 2007, when the promising Holy Roman Emperor was yanked out of Aidan O’Brien’s hands to re-place the sub-fertile and, as it turned out, ill-fated, George Washington.

The best of Ballydoyle combine entertainment with the promotion of the enterprise they represent, Coolmore. The casualty of the great Australian champion, So You Think, is a case-in-point. Much as trainer O’Brien’s public act of contrition about his failure to get the horse right was appreciated by racing romantics, it was foremost a means of protecting So You Think’s stud career and the organization’s brand, or product. Candid though the substance of his remarks were, in essence O’Brien was “taking one for the Team” by deflecting criticism of a thoroughbred who had seemed to do little but run downhill since his arrival at Ballydoyle, Ireland.

With apparent ease, O’Brien and Tom Magnier, John’s son, do Coolmore and So You Think proud in this interview, held minutes after the champion’s impressive victory in the 2012 Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot.

The Coolmore of 2012, with its satellites in the USA and Australia, was the brainchild of eminent Irish trainer, Vincent O’Brien, breeder John Magnier and business magnate, Robert Sangster. A cast of other notables, including jockey, Lester Piggott, Canadian owner-breeder, E.P. Taylor, horseman and business tycoons Charles Engelhardt and Stavros Niarchos put in appearances as well as Coolmore gained its momentum.

In 1973, Robert Sangster was introduced to the 23 year-old John Magnier. Magnier, married to Vincent O’Brien’s daughter, Susan, would turn out to be the conduit that brought the billionaire and his father-in-law together. The timing was perfection, an instance of Jungian synchronicity that would change the world.

Even though Vincent O’Brien was still training out of his Ballydoyle headquarters for elite owners like Charles Engelhardt, the Firestones and Raymond Guest, who campaigned the fabulous Sir Ivor, he was also mulling over the implications for the Irish thoroughbred of losing his brightest and best individuals to stud duty in the USA or England. An idea began to take shape and O’Brien approached Claiborne’s Bull Hancock to propose that they form a syndicate. O’Brien was already involved in bloodstock and breeding on a modest scale, but he wanted an inroad into the American market. Sadly, with Hancock’s sudden death, this first initiative fell apart.

But the seed of possibility remained with O’Brien, who was really so much more than a man who trained thoroughbreds. He was excessively knowledgeable about thoroughbred bloodstock. And he had a vision: buy colts with outstanding pedigrees who would make great stallions and see if they can be proven on the turf. In other words, buy –first and foremost — to make stallions. Irish stallions. The best in the world.

The title says it all. Vincent O’Brien with The Minstrel, the little horse whose heart and courage won the great trainer’s heart.

This was radical thinking in the 1970′s.

The usual practice was to buy colts and fillies who looked like they could run. If they turned out to be decent producers, all the better. It was an orientation shaped by the wealthy in the UK and, to a lesser extent, in the USA. They didn’t need to make serious money with each horse they bought — that was, after all, part of the fun. As for breeding, the overwhelming practice was to exchange seasons with one another. The thoroughbred industry was, essentially, a very exclusive club.

But Vincent O’Brien had other ideas. He wanted to build an Irish bloodstock interest that would function on a grand, commercial scale. In 1975, with the purchase of two-thirds of Coolmore Stud from its owner, Tim Vigors, and the appointment of son-in-law John Magnier, who had the “sharpest brain in the bloodstock business,” as its manager, O’Brien put a foundation in place to do just that.

John and Sue Magnier chatting with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Magnier and O’Brien families had known each other for several generations and the former had been breeding thoroughbreds since the early nineteenth century. When young John Magnier took over the family business, it consisted of the famous Grange Stud, which earned a prominent name for itself by standing Cottage, the sire of Cottage Rake, the first of Vincent O’Brien’s national hunt horses to win in England, where he took the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1948. In 1973, John Magnier bought the 200-acre Castle Hyde Stud near the Grange. By 1975, young Magnier was standing 13 stallions at his two stud farms and was gaining the reputation of being a very canny breeder.

Cottage Rake’s exploits in England made Vincent O’Brien’s reputation as a gifted trainer. His sire, Cottage, stood at the Magnier’s Grange Stud (IRE). O’Brien would go on to train three consecutive winners of the Grand National — Early Mist (1953), Royal Tan (1954) and Quare Times (1955).

Robert Sangster was committed to horse racing, both on the flat and over the hurdles. But prior to meeting Magnier and O’Brien to discuss a possible alliance, he had already sought out the advice of Lord Derby. Sangster already had thoroughbred interests in Ireland, England, France and Australia, and a modest band of broodmares at Swetenham Hall, whose offspring he sold at Newmarket and Deauville. But despite the trappings of success, Robert Sangster wanted to move beyond “playing around with racing and to launch a commercial venture on an international scale.” Lord Derby’s advice was plain: get yourself the best trainer and be prepared to spend at least a million BPS on bloodstock. Sangster was very keen to “get into racing in a big way,” but he was equally excited by the possibility of building a breeding empire. His vision was to open up the breeding business beyond its intimate circle of affluent owners and breeders and to create this operation on an international level. But to do that, Sangster needed the kind of expertise that would ensure his scheme paid off.

And that expertise came, initially, in the form of John Magnier, Vincent O’Brien and Lester Piggott. The latter was the UK’s legendary jockey, a man who could get the very best out of almost any horse he rode. Magnier and O’Brien would spot the right bloodlines. O’Brien would train them. Piggott would ride them. And Sangster  would buy them.

As well, in 1975 came the amalgamation of John Magnier’s Castle Hyde and Grange studs with Vincent O’Brien’s Coolmore. The organization was called ” The Castle Hyde, Coolmore and Associated Studs.” It would provide a home for the partnership’s stallions and broodmares. Ballydoyle, which O’Brien had owned since the 1950′s would be Coolmore’s training headquarters.

The charismatic and fabulously wealthy Robert Sangster.

It was to the USA that the newly formed syndicate went to buy bloodstock. With them came Demi O’Byrne, the veterinarian who attended Nijinsky during his racing career. O’Byrne would learn even more than he already knew about the thoroughbred simply by listening to and watching Vincent O’Brien and John Magnier at the bloodstock sales. 

O’Brien was no stranger to Keeneland and, in this aspect of things, he was a good 30 years ahead of many of his (British) contemporaries. As he would tell his biographer, Ivor Herbert, ” I like American horses. They can race more than ours; they are stabled at the track; they’re taken from stables to racecourse — no long travelling involved. But because they are raced more often the horses have got to be tough to stand up to it; they’ve got to be genuine and game. The horses have got to be very sound because of the type of dirt surface on which they race. This is really hard on horses’ legs. I think the American trainers and vets are tremendous experts to keep the horses on the go the way they do.”

If Vincent O’Brien had kept an “I Like American Horses” photo album, here are some of the individuals who would be in it:

Larkspur (Blue Larkspur), one of O’Brien’s early Keeneland purchases, won the Epsom Derby in 1962.

The hugely talented Sir Ivor (Sir Gaylord) won the Epsom Derby in 1968 and went on to win the Washington D.C. International under Lester Piggott. A super sire at Claiborne in Kentucky, his offspring include Arc winner Ivanjica, Optimistic Gal and Bates Motel.

Robert Sangster owned Alleged (Hoist The Flag), who won The Arc two years in row (1977, 1978). Sold to Walmac, he proved to be a fabulous sire. Perhaps his most famous offspring was the brilliant Allez France.

Roberto (Hail To Reason), still another Epsom Derby winner for O’Brien in 1972. A useful sire, his best progeny were millionaires Brian’s Time and Sunshine Forever.

The elegant Royal Academy (Nijinsky), shown here with John Magnier’s son, Tom and young Charlie Magnier at Coolmore, Australia. He was O’Brien last purchase at Keeneland, after a fierce bidding war with D. Wayne Lucas, and a horse that did Coolmore proud. Royal Academy won the 1990 BC Mile with Lester Piggott aboard. Piggott had retired 12 days earlier, but came back to pilot the Coolmore colt for Vincent.  An exceptional sire, Royal Academy ranked 11th in the 2012 American broodmare sire list.

 Together with Lester Piggott, the Sangster-owned and O’Brien-trained The Minstrel would be their first venture. And it would be fortuitous.

So successful was the little colt with the huge heart that a share in him was bought by Windfields, where The Minstrel stood most of his short life. Sending the colt back to North America ran contrary to the syndicate’s mission, it would seem. However, O’Brien counselled the others that the colt was a middle distance horse and not a classic winner. And, although he had sired the British Triple Crown champion Nijinsky, Northern Dancer was still a comparatively “new face” on the bloodstock scene.

The little horse with the big heart, shown after his 1977 Epsom Derby win. The Minstrel was made Horse of the Year in 1977, thrusting the young Coolmore syndicate into the limelight for the very first time.

So began the years of plenty, when the syndicate swooped down on Keeneland and other American consignors to buy the best they had to offer. Among their acquisitions at this time were Caerleon (blue riband sire of champions Generous, Arc winner Marienbard, Warrsan, Corwyn Bay, Kostroma), Fairy King (sire of Arc winner Helissio, Falbrav and champion sire, Encosta de Lago), Be My Guest (who was unlucky insofar as he had been born in the same year as The Minstrel and Alleged, but who turned out to be a very fine Coolmore sire), dual Arc-winner Alleged, the unlucky Storm Bird and the brilliant, though short-lived, Golden Fleece.

Storm Bird (Northern Dancer) was a tidy, beautiful colt and the syndicate went to one million USD for him. The juvenile was undefeated in his first year on the turf and thought to be the next Epsom Derby winner.

So gentle was Storm Bird that even the very young were allowed to visit him. He quickly endeared himself to the whole O’Brien family. Then, in early in 1981, the colt suffered an ugly assault at Ballydoyle: a disgruntled employee got into his stall and slashed off his mane and tail. Although Storm Bird appeared to recover, everything went wrong in his 3 year-old season. A brilliant racing career had come to an abrupt end.

After the attack, O’Brien, Sangster et al. attempted to keep their colt under wraps. Finally, rather than risk a heavy investment, the partners looked for an American buyer. They found one in the person of Dr. William Lockridge, who owned Ashford. The syndicate retained a quarter interest in the colt.

Storm Bird proved to be a sire of sires and an excellent broodmare sire. Storm Cat, out of Terlingua (Secretariat) was his most pre-potent son. Photo and copyright, Amanda Duckworth (ESPN).

Summer Squall out of another Secretariat daughter, Weekend Surprise, was a half-brother to A.P. Indy. Summer Squall, who much resembled Storm Bird, was a very useful sire in his own right. Photo and copyright, Anne Eberhardt Keogh (Blood-Horse).

Storm Bird was broodmare sire to many thoroughbreds. Among the most famous, the well-loved Thunder Gulch, owned by Michael Tabor and one of Coolmore’s premiere stallions. The son of Gulch helped to launch Ashford after it was acquired by Coolmore.

The O’Brien, Sangster and Magnier collaboration produced far more than Coolmore, even though that achievement would have been enough to assure them a privileged place in thoroughbred history. They were also responsible for Northern Dancer’s meteoric rise as a source of fine bloodstock.

It was one race in particular that consolidated interest in the Canadian sire’s blood line.

That race pitted the Vincent O’Brien-trained El Gran Senor against Secreto, trained by David O’Brien, Vincent’s son, in the Epsom Derby of 1984. As if the drama of father against son weren’t enough, the two colts racing to the finish were both sons of Northern Dancer. The racing world took notice — and Northern Dancer’s stud career, on a global scale, was launched.

In the O’Brien barn that year was another Northern Dancer colt named Sadler’s Wells. Although he was born in Kentucky, he had been bred by Robert Sangster. The Coolmore group had bought Sadler’s Wells’ dam, Fairy Bridge, at the Saratoga Sales of 1976. She would return regularly to the court of Northern Dancer with spectacular results. But none of her offspring would be more spectacular than the blaze-faced Sadler’s Wells.

Here is rare footage of Sadler’s Wells beating Seattle Song (under Cash Asmussen, brother of American trainer, Steve Asmussen) in the very first running of the Phoenix Park Champion Stakes in 1984. (Seattle Song had been purchased by Coolmore at Keeneland for $ 13.1 million in 1985. He was everything that the syndicate had envisioned, being by Northern Dancer and the half-brother of America’s Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew.)

Through the Seventies and the early Eighties, the Coolmore syndicate thrived. For a decade success followed success, with Sangster being crowned leading owner eight times up to 1985. Then their fortunes took a sudden down-turn. Ballydoyle produced only one classic winner (Dark Lomond) from 1985 – 1990.  The Maktoums arrived on the scene in Kentucky and the UK, horsemen so wealthy that they could afford to spend up to 50 million on a thoroughbred, effectively dethroning Coolmore and cutting into its buying power. The market crash of the mid-Eighties also took its toll, as farm after farm went up for sale and owners like the affluent Nelson Bunker Hunt dispersed their bloodstock holdings. Robert Sangster was also feeling the pinch of a slumping thoroughbred market. He began to sell off his holdings in Australia and turned his attention to acquiring fillies who would make outstanding broodmares instead.

At the Keeneland sale of 1983, the Maktoums and Coolmore went head-to-head over a colt who was eventually named Snaafi Dancer. The former emerged victorious — at a price of $10.2 million. (As it turned out, Snaafi Dancer [Northern Dancer - My Bupers] never raced and turned out to be sub-fertile.)

Snaafi Dancer, Keeneland, 1983.

In 1985, there was a meeting in Dubai between the Maktoums and Coolmore. Referred to by some as “The Summit,” the speculation was that some kind of détente would be reached between the two so that both of their separate enterprises might flourish. What actually happened was never revealed, but Vincent O’Brien would train several horses for Sheikh Mohammed and, in 1986, David O’Brien gave the Sheikh his first Classic-winning colt, Authaal, a son of the incomparable Shergar. Jacqueline O’Brien, wife of Vincent and an exceptional photographer, spoke about the wonderful hospitality with which they were received by the Maktoums and, in particular, the trip she took into the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert that had been pre-arranged by Sheikh Mohammed.

The Empty Quarter features unique sand formations that make it one of the wonders of the modern world.

A further complication was the untimely death of Coolmore’s Golden Fleece, the one son of Nijinsky who O’Brien was to rate as highly as his sire, if not better. The colt succumbed to leukemia after only a single season at stud. As well, El Gran Senor was found to be less than fully fertile. The insurance money for Golden Fleece was slow to materialize, and El Gran Senor’s problems represented a significant financial loss.

The premature death of the brilliant Golden Fleece, the 1982 winner of the Epsom Derby in the fastest time in 50 years, was a blow for Coolmore at a time when the going was already very difficult.

All of these events combined to prompt the partners to begin the ill-fated Classic Thoroughbreds, an investors foundation set up to attract additional equity. As a concept, Classic Thoroughbreds was really a means of Coolmore going public. With the attraction of a larger base of investors, the hope was that Coolmore would recover some of its former purchasing power. Vincent O’Brien was appointed AGM, with a wealthy Board of Directors that included Sir Michael Smurfit, then Chairman of the Irish Racing Board and his father, Jefferson Smurfit, to provide additional support and advice. Despite tremendous pressure, which O’Brien felt very keenly, he nevertheless managed to purchase some decent individuals on behalf of the shareholders. The best of these was, without a doubt, Royal Academy.

And so it was that the partners journeyed on through a particularly rough patch, with O’Brien buying and training new prospects for the shareholders of Classic Thoroughbreds, Magnier managing Coolmore and Sangster focusing on building a solid broodmare band.

By 1991, there was cause for great celebration. Their young stallion, Sadler’s Wells, was looking to be the fulfillment of the Coolmore vision, siring In The Wings, Old Vic, El Prado, Barathea and the champion filly, Salsabil, in his first crops:

As well, Coolmore purchased a half-interest in Danehill from owner-breeder Prince Khalid Abdullah in 1990. The young stallion shuttled between Coolmore Ireland and Arrowfield Stud, in Australia, who shared ownership, although Coolmore was quick to buy Arrowfield out when Danehill’s prepotency became apparent. In the Danehill venture, Coolmore handed the world of thoroughbred breeding still another concept: that of shuttling sires to different hemispheres. Danehill was the first of what has since become a common practice.

Danehill (Danzig X Razyana, by His Majesty [Ribot]) as represented by equine artist, Susan Crawford.

Both sires got champion colts and fillies. Sons of Sadler’s Wells include Galileo, the late Montjeu, Istabraq (National Hunt champion), High Chaparral, Islington, Beat Hollow, Perfect Soul, Ballingarry, Powerscourt and the fabulous Yeats. Among his daughters are the likes of Imagine, Peeping Fawn, Alexandrova and BC Filly & Mare Turf heroine, Islington.

Danehill had an astonishing 76.9% success rate, including 349 stakes winners who netted a staggering $375 million in earnings. Among his most prominent offspring are Rock of Gibraltar, Desert King (sire of champion Makybe Diva), Arc winner Dylan Thomas, Danehill Dancer, Duke of Marmalade, Elvstroem, Exceed and Excel, Fastnet Rock, George Washington, Redoute’s Choice, Landseer, North Light, Holy Roman Emperor, Peeping Fawn, Oratorio, Cacique and Champs Elysees. As a broodmare sire, he is most recently in the limelight for his contribution to the making of both Frankel and Arc winner, Danedream.

If it can be said that Sadler’s Wells consolidated the reputation of Coolmore Ireland, then Danehill did that and more for Coolmore Australia. The brilliant sire died prematurely in a tragic paddock accident in 2003. But despite his loss, Danehill’s name can be found in the sire line and family of many of our most impressive late-twentieth and early twenty-first century thoroughbred champions.

Together with Danehill, Sadler’s Wells was the product of the unrelenting efforts of O’Brien, Sangster, Piggott and Magnier to build a commercial breeding empire that was self-sustaining. Even though, as a colt, Sadler’s Wells had been eclipsed by the promise of El Gran Senor, through the breeding acumen of Robert Sangster he gave Coolmore Ireland its dream sire.

In 2012, Sadler’s Wells’ millionaire son, Galileo, is well on his way to living up to the benchmark set by his sire — if not surpassing it. Most recently, a thoroughbred who may well be the best ever appears at the top of his CV: Frankel. But Galileo is responsible for other very fine individuals as well. His progeny to date include Nathaniel, Cape Blanco, Red Rocks, Sixties Icon, Soldier of Fortune, Treasure Beach and the champion fillies Golden Lilac, Igugu and Lush Lashes. High Chaparral has given Australia the wonder-kid, So You Think, as well as Descarado, Redwood, Shoot Out,Wigmore Hall and Wrote. Danehill lives on in individuals like Frankel, North Light and Redoute’s Choice. And Nijinsky, so beloved by Vincent O’Brien, has most recently given the world the magnificent Black Caviar, through his son, Royal Academy, the sire of Bel Esprit.

Vincent O’Brien leads in his beloved Nijinsky after he had captured the British Triple Crown, a proud Lester Piggott in the saddle.

With the retirement of Vincent O’Brien in 1994 and the death of Robert Sangster, John Magnier acquired both Ballydoyle and Coolmore. Aidan O’Brien (no relation to Vincent) was installed as trainer at Ballydoyle. After initial successes with horses like Thunder Gulch, business tycoon Michael Tabor joined Coolmore and owns horses in two- or three-way partnerships with John and Sue Magnier. Demi O’Byrne now represents Coolmore at bloodstock sales worldwide.

The last two decades have witnessed the “rise of Coolmore” and it has expanded to include Coolmore National Hunt (the former Castlehyde stud), Coolmore America (the former Ashford Farm) and Coolmore Australia.

The narrative of Coolmore will endure, as will the names of its founders. Theirs is, above all, a story of the passion of a shared vision and of dedication to the thoroughbred.

But even when you’ve realized your dream, the racing gods continue to play. In a collaboration between Coolmore and Juddmonte, where the latter supplies mares to be covered by Coolmore stallions, Frankel fell to Prince Khalid Abdullah on something like the coin toss that sent Secretariat to Meadow Stables. Each year, when all the Juddmonte-Coolmore foals are born, one or other of the two breeding giants gets first choice.

In 2008, first pick fell to Juddmonte.

In the future, look for the Coolmore mares to be visiting Juddmonte. Specifically, this guy: Frankel in his new home at Banstead Manor.

The renowned C.C. Cook aka “Cookie’” sent this Christmas card of Citation and Eddie Arcaro in 1948.

THE VAULT wishes its many readers all the very best of the holiday season. It has been a year of wonderful happenings: connecting with Australia’s primary equine photographer, Bronwen Healy (“When The Image Speaks,” “Just Call Me Nelly” & “From Down Under With Love”) and author, Dorothy Ours (“Battleship: The Pony Who Conquered Aintree”); reading all of your wonder-full comments and personal stories; meeting Mrs. Judith Mappin, daughter of E.P. Taylor, to exchange stories about Northern Dancer and some of his progeny; and being selected by The Paulick Report for “Best Blog” for our article on the fabulous Frankel and his connections (“It Takes A Team”). 

I want to thank each one of our readers for their continued support. It means the world to me because you are my inspiration. 

The great American educator, Maxine Greene, said: “We are born human beings, but we need to learn how to be human.” Love is a huge part of that process, breaking down individual isolation to open a world of possibilities. 

One common experience that VAULT readers share is their love of horses. Loving a Frankel, or a Rachel, or a Zenyatta, a Black Caviar, an Igugu or a Man O’ War is a passionate affair. We humans give our hearts away.  Or else, find that they’ve been stolen by a magnificent beast that manages to reach out to us across space and time to say, “Go ahead — love me.” And when we answer, we find that we are delighted, moved, inspired……and, somehow, more fully human. 

So please join me in a photo essay that celebrates the power of love and the magic of the inter-species affair.

Northern Dancer was many things to many people, but one thing he wasn’t was well-behaved. Remarkably, he formed a deep attachment to Winifred Taylor, wife of the Dancer’s owner-breeder, E.P. Taylor. The little guy terrorized just about everyone, but when the Dancer heard Mrs. Taylor’s footsteps he whinnied a “Hello” and transformed into a gentle, sweet pony.

Ferdinand with jockey, Bill Shoemaker. The Shoe loved the handsome, gentle colt and Ferdinand returned the feeling.

Determine, the first grey to win the Kentucky Derby, went on to sire another grey Kentucky Derby winner, Decidedly. He is shown here as a 3 year-old, giving some love to his stables’ mascot, Roxey.

A legend greets two more: British jockey, Lester Piggott, already an icon in his own country, fulfilled a life’s ambition when he got to meet the mighty Kelso. Giving the champ some sugar is Leslie Combs, one of America’s top thoroughbred breeders.

The legendary trainer, King T. Leatherbuy, gets a smooch from one of his horses. The King’s been in the business for a long time, but the passion that drives him has never diminished.

Kentucky Derby winner, Gallahadion, and his best buddy. Although it has only been recently that the men and women who care for the thoroughbred have been acknowledged, they nevertheless leave us a legacy of unconditional love.

Hickstead and Eric Lamaze were (together with Big Ben and Ian Millar) Canada’s most distinguished equestrian partnership. Eric had battled personal issues; Hickstead was a colt who no-one seemed able to ride. But when they found one other, two lives were changed forever.

The incomparable Count Fleet, shown here in a tender moment with his regular exercise rider, Frank Kiniry. The Count had just won the Kentucky Derby, but seemed to wax nostalgic as he prepared to leave for Pimlico and the second leg of America’s Triple Crown.

The extraordinary Red Rum (who won the Grand National an unprecedented 3 times) and the man he loved best, trainer Ginger McCain. Until his death in 2011, Ginger left flowers on Red Rum’s grave every year. Man and horse shared such a strong bond that it was virtually impossible to think of one without the other.

Flash, the German Shepherd, was Valdina Rebel’s regular hotwalker. The dog arrived at his friend’s stall each morning with halter and lead in his mouth, then waited for Rebel to be tacked up for their morning walk.

California legend Silky Sullivan meets a young fan and rewards him with a kiss. Silky was a thoroughbred legend — a quirky character who won the affection of thousands of fans.

Trainer extraordinaire Woody Stephens poses with one of his champions, Creme Fraiche. Note the melting expression in the colt’s eyes as he leans toward Woody.

Reckless, the pride of the Marines during the Korean War, was a Korean thoroughbred. Fearless and loyal, little Reckless was beloved by her troop — who shipped her back to the USA when peace was declared, according her the title of Sgt. Reckless.

Although they were overshadowed by the great Frankel, jockey William Buick never conceded that Nathaniel was anything but a champion. Nathaniel remains the only horse to have gotten near enough to Frankel to make a real race out of it. Buick adored his handsome colt and will miss him in 2013. (Nathaniel was retired in 2012. The son of Galileo stands at Newsells Park Stud in Hertfordshire.)

Stymie was The People’s Horse from the very beginning. The gorgeous chestnut brought in fans by the thousands wherever he appeared. Pictured here with one of his biggest fans, trainer Hirsch Jacobs.

Greyhound stands under mistletoe held by Vernor (“Dooley”) Putnam and his wife, Leona. The greatest trotter of all time turns 33 on New Year’s day.

Dr. Fager and trainer, John Nerud. Said Nerud of the Doc, ” I never gave a damn who rode him. He was such an amazing horse…”

Calvin Borel with Rachel Alexandra at Stonestreet in the summer of 2012. The photo says it all.

Ann Moss with her Zenny, Mother’s Day 2011. When asked where she would like to retire Zenyatta, Ann replied, ” I’d like her to stay in my backyard.” Now at Lane’s End, Ann and Jerry Moss visit Zenny regularly and were in attendance when she gave birth to a colt by Bernardini in March 2012.

Australia’s Bronwen Healy and the pony she adores, Nelly, aka Black Caviar. Bronwen’s first great love, the fabulous mare, Sunline, succumbed to laminitis on May 1, 2009. Nelly helped Bronwen to deal with the loss and has since become Healy’s “best girl.”

Frankel and his very best friend, Sandeep (Sandy) Gauravaram. The life of a race horse is very controlled, repetitive and for many, boring. Frankel was having none of that. He insisted on being housed where the action was at trainer Cecil’s stables. And he loved his time with Sandy.

Havre de Grace and Plum Pretty, December 2012. As the HOTY and her gorgeous companion prepare for a new career, it appears that they’re already forming a friendship. Broodmare friendships are powerful and, if it works out given breeding cycles and so forth, enduring.

“I don’t think about her without believing she was one of those magical, lightning strike things.” (the late Tammy Samuel-Balaz, daughter of SamSon Farm founder, Ernest “Ernie” Samuel.)

“… I really don’t even know where to start. I suppose you would have to understand that I fell in love with Dance Smartly back when she was kicking butt against the boys in ’91 and I was a nine-year-old girl who took up riding because I wanted to be her jockey (never mind the fact that I was already bigger than most jockeys at that age). I’ve loved her pretty much all my life, and those years I got to spend with her were amazing. ” (RV, October 2012.)

RV, this one is for you.

It was only her second foal, but the folks at Sam-Son Farm in Ontario, Canada were right to expect big things from Classy N’ Smart. The mare, a daughter of Sam-Son’s No Class (Nodouble ex. Classy Quillo) and the sire, Smarten (Cyane ex. Smartaire), was already a Canadian Hall-of-Fame inductee, having chalked up 5 wins in 9 starts, including the prestigious Canadian Oaks, before she retired.

The year was 1988. And Classy N’ Smart’s filly foal, standing on shaky legs and lurching crab-like towards her dam’s milk, was equine royalty.

No Class was most certainly misnamed. She stands as one of the great Blue Hen mares of the last century, producing Sky Classic, Regal Classic, Grey Classic, Always A Classic and Classic Reign, as well as Classy N’ Smart. Shown here with Sky Classic (by Nijinsky II), No Class was one of Ernie Samuel’s foundation mares.

Smarten, pictured here winning the 1979 American Derby at Arlington was the sire of Classy N’ Smart and the broodmare sire of Dance Smartly.

Classy N’ Smart (Smarten ex. No Class) was very good on the track but brilliant in the breeding shed. She produced sire extraordinaire, Smart Strike , as well as champions Strike Smartly and Full of Wonder. But Dance Smartly remains her crowning achievement.

Special as she was, Classy N’ Smart only accounted for half of the newborn’s royal lineage. The other half came to her via Claiborne Farm’s brilliant Danzig. A son of Northern Dancer, Danzig’s racing career was short-circuited by injury. But as a stallion he was pure gold. His sons and daughters were infamous for their talent and, other than Dance Smartly, he gave the world a goodly number of international superstars. Among the most distinguished of his millionaire progeny were Chief’s Crown, Versailles Treaty, Agnes World, Lure, Hard Spun, Polish Navy, Dispute and Danzig Connection. Danzig also sired the much-loved Dayjur, as well as Brahms, Belong To Me and Anabaa, sire of Goldikova. But it was his pre-potent son, Danehill, who would become one of the most influential sires of the late twentieth century.

Below is rare footage of Danzig’s brief racing career. The tape’s a bit worn, but a treat to watch nevertheless.

Classy N’ Smart’s bay filly would join a roster of SamSon champions. The farm took its name from its founder, Ernest “Ernie” Samuel, whose history with thoroughbreds had begun initially with show jumpers. His proudest moment came in 1968, when Canadian Club won Canada’a very first equestrian Gold Medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Canadian Club’s rider, the gifted Jim Day, would continue to ride Samuel-owned jumpers as part of Canada’s Olympic Team until 1976, when he retired. Shortly thereafter, Samuel hired him to be SamSon’s private racing trainer.

Jim Day at the 1968 Mexico Olympics aboard the white-faced Canadian Club. A champion thoroughbred jumper, Canadian Club was retired to Sam-Son Farm in 1972, where he lived out his life surrounded by those who truly appreciated him.

Well before it became fashionable, Ernie Samuel focused his own breeding program on building an impressive broodmare band, believing that the mare played a key role in the breeding equation . His first purchase was No Class, together with another broodmare prospect, Loudrangle (Quadrangle ex. Lady Known As Lou {Nearctic}). Together, these two established the foundation of Sam-Son’s breeding program. Nor did Samuel stint on stallions, sending his broodmares to only the very best, among them Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer and Danzig.

Classy N’ Smart’s filly was named Dance Smartly, a nod to her grandsire and her broodmare sire, although her distinctive white facial mark quickly earned her the nickname “Daisy” around the farm. Associated with spring and renewal, it was fitting that the leggy filly be re-named after the promise of the daisy.

Other than an outstanding pedigree, Dance Smartly didn’t particularly distinguish herself to trainer Day until she was nearing her first start. Then, as he recalls, jockey Brian Swatuk returned from working the youngster to declare, “This might be the best horse I’ve ever sat on in my entire life.”

Day took note.

A month later, on July 7, 1990, Dance Smartly won her maiden at Woodbine by 3 1/2 lengths. Following a win on the grass in the Natalma Stakes, Dance Smartly and Wilderness Song, another exceptional Sam-Son filly, were sent to Belmont to run in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Racing in blinkers in her first year, Dance Smartly showed that she had royal blood. She never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against her.

But disaster struck when Dance Smartly (outfitted in blinkers) and Wilderness Song were allowed to get into a speed dual that gutted both of them.  Day’s instructions were to allow Wilderness Song to get to the front first, with Dance Smartly rating just off the pace until the final stretch run. Coming down to the wire, her head tilted towards the grandstand, Dance Smartly marshalled every ounce of strength she had left.

Watching from the owners’ box as their filly battled on, the Samuels and Jim Day knew what they were seeing: the birth of a champion.

The BC effort was more than enough to earn Dance Smartly the Canadian Sovereign Award that year for Champion 2 year-old filly.

In 1991, as a three-year old, SamSon’s royally-bred filly started 8 times, on 2 different surfaces and in two different countries and emerged victorious every time.

Within a period of eight months, Dance Smartly won the Canadian Oaks, the Canadian Triple Crown (as in the USA, open to both sexes), the Molson Millions and the Breeders Cup Distaff (now the BC Ladies Classic). In so doing, she would vanquish fillies and colts alike, including her solid stablemate, Wilderness Song. Others who fell victim included the American and Canadian champion colts, Fly So Free and Rainbows For Life, Versailles Treaty and Queena, winner of the Maskette, Spinster and Ruffian Stakes (and the future dam of Brahms), as well as Brought To Mind and General Meeting, a son of the great Seattle Slew who would prove to be one of California’s top sires.

Wilderness Song was a brilliant filly who had the misfortune of being born in the same year as her stable companion, Dance Smartly. Nevertheless, she retired a millionaire and was inducted into the Canadian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.

SamSon’s champion colt, Rainbows For Life, shown here as a stallion. “Rainbows” was champion 2 year-old of 1990, and champion older male as well as grass horse in 1992. Sold to the Czech Republic, he was a champion sire in 1999, 2004-2006. He died this year (2012).

By the end of the year, Dance Smartly had become a legend in her own time: the first (and only) filly to ever win the Canadian Triple Crown, the first Canadian-bred to ever win a Breeders Cup race, recipient of both the Sovereign and Eclipse Awards for Champion 3 year-old filly in 1991, as well as a second Sovereign Award for 1991 Horse of the Year and the all-time leading money-winner (filly or mare) worldwide. Largely because of her performance, supplemented by those of Wilderness Song and Rainbows For Life, Sam-Son Farm took home both an Eclipse and Sovereign Award for Outstanding Owner (1991).

The familiar yellow and red of Sam-Son Farm was to become a hallmark of the 1991 North American racing season. The now unblinkered Dance Smartly with Pat Day in the irons were the racing partnership of 1991.

Daisy’s win in the Canadian Oaks marked the arrival of Pat Day. The American jockey, famous for piloting champions like Easy Goer, Summer Squall, Unbridled,  Lady’s Secret and Sam-Son’s Sky Classic, handled Dance Smartly with patience and poise. Horse and jockey seemed to communicate seamlessly.

The “Day boys” (although not related) got along famously. And the connection that Pat Day established between himself and Dance Smartly was fundamental, since, unlike some horses, Daisy wasn’t particularly interactive with her human handlers. Those who knew her best insisted that, right from the beginning, the filly “knew who she was,” pointing out that special horses are frequently aloof. They seem to come from somewhere between the horizon and the heavens, where they frequently fix their gaze in what has been dubbed “the look of eagles.” They listen to the music of the spheres.

Dance Smartly strikes”the look of eagles”pose, just like two of her most illustrious ancestors, Man O’ War and Hyperion. Photo and copyright The Blood-Horse.

The big filly with the resplendent, dappled coat was easy to handle and gentle by nature. Only on the track did she transform from SamSon’s sweetheart into a fire-breathing, equine monster. Despite her habit of leaping out of the gate as though she was a sprinter, Day could do anything with her. The filly relaxed beautifully, allowing her to channel that strength and determination into a burst of lightening speed when asked. Pat Day could feel her readiness through the reins, ears pricked, waiting for him to push the button. And when he did, the champion eased away from the rest of the field in long, fluid strides.

Looks can be deceiving. Daisy seemed to do it all so easily that only the fractions told the real story. That, and the devastation she left in her wake: Dance Smartly’s  Triple Crown triumph comprised a combined winning margin of 18 lengths.

Before being entered in the first leg of the Triple, the Queen’s Plate, Dance Smartly had never taken on the boys before. She was joined by SamSon’s Wilderness Song and Rainbows For Life. Watch as the SamSon fillies come home first and second:

Unlike its American counterpart, the Canadian Triple Crown was run over two different surfaces — dirt and grass — until 2006, when Woodbine’s main dirt track was converted to polytrack. The Canadian Triple is comprised of three races: the 1 1/4 mile Queen’s Plate (dirt), the 1 3/16 Prince of Wales Stakes (on the dirt at Fort Erie) and, finally, on the grass at Woodbine for the 1 1/2 mile Breeders’ Stakes.  Inaugurated in 1959, there have been 7 horses to win the Canadian Triple to date, among them New Providence (1959), Canebora (1963), With Approval (1989) and the ill-fated Izvestia (1990).

The flow of Dance Smartly and Pat Day coming to the wire was a combination of fire (hers) and ice (his).

Here she is on tape, accompanied by delighted Canadian voices, winning the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, The Prince of Wales Stakes:

The last leg, the Breeders’ Stakes, is run in August on the grass track at Woodbine. The day dawned warm and slightly humid. The turf was labelled good.

Next up was the Molson Millions. a short few weeks after her Triple Crown sweep. Despite the fact that it came only a few short weeks after her Triple Crown campaign, Dance Smartly’s win was breathtaking.  (The race is highlighted at the very beginning of the article, above).

Wearing the Molson’s Millions victory wreath, Dance Smartly and Pat Day are led into the winner’s circle at Woodbine by a proud Ernie Samuel.

The Breeders’ Cup Distaff was now a little over six weeks away. Shortly after their arrival in Kentucky, Daisy’s exercise rider returned from a work to say that something didn’t feel right: the filly was favouring a front foot. It would take almost three weeks to treat it, during which time Wilderness Song, under Pat Day, gave Sam-Son its first international victory when she took the Spinster.

Dance Smartly was being hand-walked until shortly before the Distaff, when she was given one strong workout. And although her connections were delighted with it, they also knew that one work offered little guarantee that their champion was back to her best form. By all accounts, Daisy was a filly recovering from an injury and nearing the end of a long, tiring campaign when she walked into the Breeders’ Cup starting gate at Churchill Downs:

She was, indeed, the undisputed Queen of North American racing. The late Tammy Samuel-Balaz was to say that the experience of accompanying Dance Smartly throughout her 1991 campaign was “A magical time.” One can only imagine what the exploits of his homebred champion meant to Ernie Samuel. Other SamSon champions would follow: Sky Classic, Chief Bearhart, Smart Strike, Ruling Angel, Quiet Resolve and  Soaring Free. Between 1984-2004, SamSon Farm would see eight of their horses crowned Canadian Horse of the Year.

But one thing was certain on that autumn day in 1991: Dance Smartly had stolen hearts as no other before her, taking her family and fans on a journey to the pinnacle of thoroughbred racing. It was hard to take it all in as it was happening, in the same way that history eludes those living it. But there were images: Dance Smartly turning her head towards the grandstand as she devoured the home stretch, as if to say, “Okay people –watch this!” ….the red and gold silks, stealing up on the outside of the competition …..the characteristic bowing of her head as she was led into the winner’s circle….the wide, intelligent forehead and the warmth in her deep, dark eyes.

Canada’s Queen of Hearts.

Dance Smartly returned at four, running exclusively on the grass and winning the Canadian Maturity in mixed company. However, unknown to her racing public, Daisy had been fighting a pulled suspensory ligament injury to her right foreleg. Following a third place finish in the Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington, Ernie Samuel announced her retirement.

She had done enough. In 17 starts, Dance Smartly was never worse than third, retiring with 12 wins, 2 places, 3 shows and earnings of $3,263, 835.00.

Coming home to one of the world’s most famous finish lines at Churchill Downs in the 1991 BC Distaff.

Racing accolades would follow: in 1995, Dance Smartly was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame; in 2003, she was inducted into the American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, joining a pantheon of North American champions.

In retirement: Dance Smartly (right) and another broodmare (chestnut) at SamSon Farm.

Incredibly, as a broodmare Dance Smartly was as successful as she’d been on the track. Although Ernie Samuel died of cancer in 2000, only a short time before one of Dance Smartly’s foals took the Queen’s Plate, Daisy did him proud throughout her life.

Daisy with her last foal — a baby she just adored — the filly, Dance To The Sea. Nicknamed “Diva” the filly was most like her dam in personality of all of Daisy’s foals. The two continued to exchange fond greetings well after Diva had been weaned.

Diva (by Gone West) peeks out at the camera. To date, Diva has produced two foals of her own. The filly Tizgone (Tiznow) was born in 2010.

Of Dance Smartly’s first 5 foals, two — Scatter The Gold and Dancethruthedawn — won back-to-back Queen’s Plates in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Millionaire Dancethruthedawn’s three year-old campaign culminated with a Sovereign Award for Champion 3 year-old filly (2001). Another Sovereign was awarded to Dance Smartly for Broodmare of the Year — the third generation of Samson broodmares to win it.

Dance Brightly (Mr. Prospector) was Dance Smartly’s first foal. He stands at stud in Chile and has produced winners. Photo and copyright, A. C. Crosby

Scatter The Gold (Mr. Prospector) at the Arrow Stud Open House in Japan 2 years ago. He has since been sold to a stud farm in Russia.

Millionaire champion Dancethruthedawn (Mr. Prospector) is now a member of the SamSon broodmare band.

Another daughter, Dancethruthestorm (Thunder Gulch) had her first foal, a Giant’s Causeway filly, in 2008. Named Grand Style(4), she broke her maiden at first asking and was retired. In 2012, she produced a colt, Twirlinggrandstyle (Twirling Candy).

Although her best offspring in terms of earnings was Dancethruthedawn (1998), Daisy’s sons Dance Brightly (1995), Dance To Destiny (1999) and Dance With Ravens (2002) have all proven to be very consistent sires. Another two, Dancethruthestorm and Dance To The Sea never raced and are members of SamSon’s broodmare band.

The gorgeous Dance With Ravens (A.P. Indy), who stands at Northview Stallion Station.

Dance To Destiny (Mr. Prospector) never finished out of the money and proved a very decent sire. He stood at SamSon, but was sold to Saudi Arabia in 2011.

In her new life as a mare on the farm where she was raised, Daisy loved to play games — providing her human playmate had treats. Favourites were “find the mint” and follow-the-leader. She was attentive, patient and kind with her foals. The old stifle injury continued to bother her and became degenerative as she grew older, giving her a “gimpy” walk and forcing her to put more pressure on her one good foreleg. SamSon placed her with another handicapped mare, Rainbow Classic, who became Daisy’s BFF.

Dance Smartly always kept her shape –and her dapples — no matter how many foals she had. Here she is in Kentucky in 2003, dancing in her paddock. Photo and copyright, The Blood-Horse.

The staff at SamSon loved Dance Smartly. Regal and aloof though she could be, Daisy had a special human friend with whom she was affectionate. RV had loved Daisy since she was a girl and now, with the mare’s velvety muzzle in her lap, a long-cherished dream had come true.

In her paddock at SamSon, Daisy sports her winter coat.

“She had a lot of class…She had a lot of presence. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body…Everybody loved her.” (Dave Whitford, quoted in THE GLOBE AND MAIL, August 22, 2007)

On August 18 or 19, 2007, Daisy was found laying down in her paddock. She could not get up. The SamSon personnel gathered around her, encouraging her to try. It took extraordinary effort. But once standing, it was clear why the mare had spent so long on the ground: she had broken at least one bone in her already handicapped foreleg. In the end there was only one humane avenue open. Dance Smartly was only 19 years old.

Under the Globe & Mail’s headline, “Beloved Dance Smartly Put To Rest,” farm manager Dave Whitford told readers, “We do have a nice grave for her right out in front of the office, a very special place for her…..We’ll be trying to make that area as nice as possible in the coming months.”

Between the lines of final tributes, in the spaces between paragraphs and in what those who were interviewed left unsaid, the void was  articulated. Canadian racing had lost its Queen. SamSon, its beloved Daisy.

Memory, like love, makes its home on the threshold of eternity. For those of us who loved her, that is where Dance Smartly lives.

The last great renaissance of the thoroughbred on a global stage was in the decade of the 1970′s. As we kick off a new year, it’s time to ask: Is another waiting in the wings? 

Frankel spent the holidays reading the thousands of Christmas cards he received from fans around the world. On February 14, he begins his career as a sire. Who says there’s no romance in thoroughbred breeding?

The title said it all: “Decade of Champions.”

Released in 1980, the beautiful book –now a collector’s item — was produced by noted American equine artist, Richard Stone Reeves, in collaboration with former London Daily Express writer, the erudite Patrick Robinson.The decade to which the book referred was that of the 1970′s and what a decade it had been. In America, three Triple Crown champions: Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. In Great Britain, the first Triple Crown winner in thirty-six years: the mighty Nijinsky. But that was only the beginning.

The great Seattle Slew, 1 of 3 winners of the Triple Crown in the 1970′s, pictured here by Richard Stone Reeves in “Decade of Champions.”

It was as though the racing gods were having a non-stop celebration of all that was mighty and memorable about the thoroughbred. Racing, whether on the dirt, turf, or over hurdles, truly deserved its title as the Sport of Kings –and Queens:  Ruffian, Forego, Spectacular Bid, Alydar, Exceller, Dahlia, Alleged, The Minstrel, Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef, Vigors, Allez France, Pawneese, Roberto, Waya, Rose Bowl, Dahlia, Shuvee, Cox’s Ridge, Cougar II, Majestic Prince, Youth, Optimistic Gal, Red Rum and L’Escargot, Artaius, Empery, Shirley Heights, Ivanjica. They hailed from all over the world — a parade of champions.

The absolute star of British racing in the last century, the brilliant Brigadier Gerard.

Mill Reef and trainer, Ian Balding. Barely taller than a pony, the mighty colt would win the Epsom Derby and the Arc in the same year for owner, Paul Mellon.

Was there a horse with a greater heart than Alydar? In the 1970′s, most North Americans would have said, “Absolutely not!”

“The greatest horse to ever look through a bridle.” He may have lost the Triple Crown due to the misfortune of a pin stuck in his foot, but Spectacular Bid was one of the stars of racing in the 1970′s. Shown here in his “walkover” at the Woodward Stakes of 1980.

Between them, they managed to shatter records and turn convention on its ear: two consecutive wins in The Arc (Alleged), three consecutive wins in the Ascot Gold Cup (Bruni), a winner of both the Epsom Derby and The Arc (Mill Reef) and the emergence of the most brilliant miler in the history of British flat racing, (Brigadier Gerard). Below are Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard running in the 2000 Guineas of 1971:

And the fillies! They showed their heels to the colts with staggering consistency. Among their routs of the boys: winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes three times in four years, capturing The Arc four times in seven years, annexing The Washington International twice in three years, as well as earning the prestigious Champion Stakes (UK) four times over a period of six years. Even the coveted Jockey Gold Cup fell to the ladies for two successive years.

San San, a daughter of America’s Bald Eagle, as she appears on the cover of The Blood-Horse after her Arc win.

The gutsy Three Troikas polishes off the decade by winning the Arc. She joined Allez France, San San and Ivanjica as the last of four “girls” to win it over a span of 7 years.

Watch as the brilliant mare, Allez France, defeats the Queen’s Highclere and Comtesse Loire — as well as the colts! — to win the Arc in 1974:

Dominant sires of this renaissance were Northern Dancer and Bold Ruler. But there were others who played roles that altered the racing narrative of the seventies in dramatic fashion,among them the stallions Vaguely Noble (Exceller, Dahlia, Empery), Sea Bird II (Allez France), Nashua (Shuvee), Hoist the Flag (Alleged), Reviewer (Ruffian), the prepotent Never Bend (Mill Reef) and Bold Bidder (Cannonade, Spectacular Bid). As well, broodmares like Somethingroyal (Secretariat), Won’t Tell You (Affirmed), My Charmer (Seattle Slew) and Flaming Page (Nijinsky) brought their bloodlines to bear on the making of thoroughbreds who were to become legendary. Of course, there were surprises — bloodstock who weren’t brilliant producers coming up with stars, notably the stallion Firestreak, sire of Epsom Derby winner Snow Kinight.

Bold Ruler with trainer, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons. As a sire, he produced Secretariat, Bold Bidder, Waya and What A Pleasure, among others. Bold Ruler was also the great grandsire of Seattle Slew throiugh his grandson, Bold Reasoning.

Dahlia never won the Arc, but Nelson Bunker Hunt’s filly won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (defeating the likes of Roberto), the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup, the Man O’ War Stakes and the Washington DC International over a space of two years.The daughter of Vaguely Noble was  adored by racing fans worldwide.

Exceller, a son of Vaguely Noble, was also owned by Nelson Bunker Hunt at this time. He deserves to be remembered for the champion he was and not only his tragic fate.

How good was Exceller? The son of Vaguely Noble was good enough to beat two Triple Crown champions in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Affirmed (Steve Cauthen) was seriously hampered by a loose saddle, but be that as it may, Exceller’s performance was stunning:

Zoom forward to 2013.

Zenyatta, Deep Impact, Frankel, Danedream, Galileo, New Approach, Empire Maker, Black Caviar, Oasis Dream, Redoute’s Choice, Goldikova, Invincible Spirit, Bernardini, Medaglia d’Oro, Igugu, Tapit, Rags to Riches, Fastnet Rock, Rachel Alexandra, Lonhro, Exceed and Excel, Orfevre, Royal Delta, Havre de Grace, King Kamehameha, Gentildonna, Street Cry ……. these are but a few names of elite thoroughbreds who are globally leading the charge to what may, indeed, be a time full of promise on tracks from Hong Kong to Belmont to Longchamps. In truth, the number of established to promising thoroughbreds in both hemispheres who are now in breeding careers is astounding — simply too numerous to mention here. It is inconceivable that these talented individuals will not align in this decade or the next to produce something akin to the thoroughbred renaissance of forty-three years ago.

Zenyatta with her first born. The colt, by leading sire Bernardini, is definitely one to watch in 2015!(Photo and copyright, Mathea Kelley)

Australia’s beautiful Redoute’s Choice.

The magnificent Deep Impact, working out in his paddock. The son of Sunday Silence is the sire of Japanese Triple Crown winner, Gentildonna as well as a host of other fine individuals.

Darley’s Exceed and Excel has most recently sired Excelebration and the Australian champ, Helmet.

Some, like Frankel, Havre de Grace, Goldikova and Danedream are newly-retired and have yet to make any impact at all. In the case of Khalid Abdullah’s superstar, decisions will have to be made about just how much more Northern Dancer blood is desirable in Frankel progeny. (Frankel is inbred to Northern Dancer 3 X 4 (Galileo, Danehill), to Natalma (4 X 5) and to Buckpasser 5 X 5.) As was pointed out in The Blood-Horse (January 2013), if Northern Dancer is to be virtually eliminated in prospective broodmares selected, Frankel will lose out on about 40% of the best potential there is at the moment — a testimonial as to just how sweeping the Galileo and Danehill influences really are in European and Southern Hemisphere thoroughbreds.

Impossible to think that the champion, Rachel Alexandra, won’t exercise her own influence on the generations of thoroughbreds to come.

Havre de Grace and Plum Pretty, December 2012. As the HOTY and her gorgeous companion prepare for a new career, we are invited to hope for babies like them.

On the bright side, some 15 American mares have been accepted into Frankel’s first book, among them Oatsee (Unbridled ex. With Every Wish by Lear Fan {Roberto}), Balance (Thunder Gulch ex. Vertigineux by Kris S. {Roberto}) and In Lingerie (Empire Maker ex. Cat Chat by Storm Cat {Storm Bird}). The interest of American breeders in Frankel and the “40% Question” that dogs his pedigree makes one wonder if this isn’t a fabulous opportunity for the North American and Southern Hemisphere breeding industries, since some of their finest boast influences that have already proven successful when mixed with Northern Dancer descendants. For example, the sire Deep Impact — heralded as one of Sunday Silence’s  best — is a product of the Sunday Silence/Northern Dancer cross. Other superstars, like Black Caviar and Japan’s Gentildonna are still racing, although it is likely they will retire in 2013. It has already been suggested that Black Caviar will go to Frankel.

Balance shown here with her A.P. Indy colt, Mr. Besilu (2009) who is still unraced.

Oatsee nursing Shackleford.

First progeny of champions Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Blind Luck have yet to strut their stuff, but their longterm influence on the American-bred thoroughbred can only be positive. Young sires like Bernardini, Fastnet Rock, Empire Maker and New Approach are producing fine-to-brilliant winners and the more established sires, notably Galileo, King Kamehameha, Deep Impact and Tapit, are showing remarkable consistency in producing champion offspring with both depth and scope. And the broodmares are more than doing their part — individuals like Better Than Honour, Helsinge, Kind and Vertigineux immediately come to mind.

Bernardini in the Southern Hemisphere at Darley Australia in 2011. (Photo and copyright, Bronwen Healy.)

King Kamehameha, a son of Kingmambo, has been visited by mares like Stardom Bound, who recently produced a colt by this up-and-coming Japanese sire.

Zenyatta’s second foal is sired by the handsome Tapit, shown above. The Gainesway stallion is off to a very impressive start at stud.

Darley’s Shamardal, a son of Giant’s Causeway, is a young stallion that has already had success on the track. Together with Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway), he was recently hailed as one of the best young sires of 2012.

However, not every champion produces champions. And some of our contemporary thoroughbreds may need more than one generation to exert the kind of influence they will undoubtedly bring to the evolution of the breed.

The foundation for another “decade of champions” (if it hasn’t already begun) appears to be there for the taking.

But it will require that the breeding industry worldwide exerts the kind of patience it took to arrive at a Deep Impact, or a Frankel, or a Galileo, or a Montjeu. Of course, smaller breeding enterprises can’t afford to wait. But those who can need to act on the understanding that no stallion will immediately produce a string champions in his first or second season. It takes time. Recent examples of impatience in the Northern Hemisphere — fed by a market place that is looking for a rapid return on its investment — are the soft reception of brilliant prospects like Smarty Jones and Invasor (a winner of the Triple Crown in his native Uruguay, as well as the 2006 Breeders Cup Classic and the 2007 Dubai World Cup) or the sale of Empire Maker and I’ll Have Another to Japan. There is nothing wrong with enriching the breed — in fact, it is an essential aspect of what has become a global industry. And clearly, the glut of Sunday Silence blood in Japan requires that Japanese breeders look elsewhere for stallions and mares that might work well with Sunday Silence bloodlines.

Three Chimney’s Flower Alley has had the kind of patient management one would want for all promising young stallions. ow, as the sire of the champion I’ll Have Another, he’s finally getting the attention he deserves.

The mighty Curlin, who stands at Lane’s End, is sure to leave his mark on the thoroughbreds of the 21st century.

Nor is the practice of introducing different strains of bloodstock a new one: the Aga Khan sold many excellent individuals to outside interests in the 20th century — among them, Mahmoud — and North American racing owes its beginnings to imported stallions from Great Britain and France. But when a stallion is marginalized because his produce are not immediately successful, or because it is thought that he won’t get the time he deserves to prove himself, the foundation for greatness starts to crumble.

No question that we live in a world where the concept of time, and its incumbent impact on our expectations, has speeded up considerably from what it was back in 1901. Nor can the realities of the global marketplace be ignored. But sometimes, in order to go forward, one must agree to go back. And in order for the promise of a Frankel or a Zenyatta and so many other exceptional individuals to come to fruition, leading breeders must do exactly that by exercising the kind of patience, knowledge and wisdom that breeds a champion.

(Below is footage of Smarty Jones’ daughter, the fabulous Better Life, winning the 2012 Longines’ Singapore Gold Cup two months ago. Born in Australia and out of a Sunday Silence mare, Better Life was crowned the Champion Miler of the Southern Hemisphere in 2012.)

On January 27, 2013, J.A. McGrath of Britain’s The Daily Telegraph proclaimed:

“Without running the slightest risk of getting carried away, Sprinter Sacre, the winner of his seventh consecutive race over fences in Saturday’s Victor Chandler Chase at Cheltenham, has emerged as another racing superstar. He is the business. He threatens to take the mantle from Frankel as the sport’s chief equine promoter, and Henderson, his trainer, is doing his best to cope with the inevitable pressures that come with it.”

The kid causing the commotion: Sprinter Sacre and his best friend, Sarwah Mohammed. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Well, this really is quite the claim for a UK journalist to make. And, to be fair, Sprinter Sacre is a Selle Francais and not a thoroughbred. Be that as it may, the darling of National Hunt racing in the UK is being hailed as better than other chasers as well — that is to say, better than the likes of Red Rum, Desert Orchid and Istabraq. His star has yet to be set in the firmament of the greats, but if he stays on course (and “if” is, indeed, the longest word in the English language) he has an excellent chance of ending up there. No question, though, that what Sprinter Sacre has done to date marks him as one of the truly great jumpers in National Hunt history. Deep through the heart, with a determination to win that hardly needs asking.

As many of you know, this is the season of National Hunt racing across the pond and there is no question that the Brits love their jumpers. In fact, the Cheltenham Festival for 2013 is kicking off shortly  and it generates a good deal of anticipation, since it’s like a Breeders Cup for jumpers. The horses of the National Hunt are arguably the greatest of all equine athletes, covering distances of 2 – 4.5 miles over the rolling courses of Sandown, Kempton, Newbury, Doncaster, Cheltenham or the fabled Aintree. The hurdles or fences set in their path can be anywhere from over 3.5 ft. for the hurdlers, to 4.5 ft. and over for the chasers.

In the UK, many thoroughbreds that start out on the flat are switched to the National Hunt if they meet with little success at the former. The brilliant Istabraq, a son of Sadler’s Wells and grandson of Secretariat, is a well-known example. (The story of Istabraq appears in an earlier posting on THE VAULT @ http://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/secretariats-heart-the-story-of-istabraq/)  In addition, illustrious thoroughbreds who favour distance, such as the 4-time Gold Cup winner, Yeats, go to stud to produce National Hunt rather than flat runners.

Sprinter Sacre may well be the next British superstar in the making, but we won’t hear much about him in the North American, European or Southern Hemisphere racing publications, because National Hunt horses and their community are caught up in a kind of modern-day class struggle.When I asked a British friend of mine about the differing attitudes toward the National Hunt and the flat, she responded that the former was really a “sport of the people,” while the latter was still considered the pastime of the rich. Translation:the National Hunt carries a lower social status, even though its following is greater than that of flat racing in the UK.

Class differences aside, even a casual knowledge about the National Hunt reveals that its fans are as ardent, its trainers and jockeys as skilled, and the horses as spectacular as any running in the Epsom Derby. And Sprinter Sacre, the latest in a stunning array of courageous and athletic individuals, is proof of the pudding.

A very special thanks to Toby Connors, who shares his passion for racing on the flat and over the jumps by composing photos that capture the drama and speak to the heart. Through his lens, the power and beauty of the National Hunt or Royal Ascot, the Lambourn gallops or people behind the scenes who are so important to the horses, unfold in a series of absolutely stunning visual narratives. THE VAULT is privileged to have his collaboration in telling the story of a truly great hero of the turf.

(NOTE: A brief explanation of different National Hunt jump races appears at the end of this article for those interested.)

The gorgeous Sprinter Sacre. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

As was noted above, Sprinter Sacre is a Selle Francais. Through an intensive and aggressive breeding program, the French created the Selle Francais by selectively crossing their sturdy native horses with Thoroughbred stallions. Judicious introduction of the French AngloArab and French Trotter has added brilliance, agility and energy to the breed. The epitome of what a sport horse should be — intelligent, athletic and strong, with good bone and muscle — together with the Selle Francais’ lovely disposition makes them ideal in a show ring, as well as on a National Hunt course. (The North American Selle Francais Horse Association, Inc. {NASFHA} was authorized in early 1990 by the French National Stud and keeps a registry of Selle Francais horses bred in France but born in North America.)

Although bred in France, Sprinter Sacre was raised and trained in England at the Seven Barrows stable of legendary National Hunt trainer, Nicky Henderson, near Lambourn, Berkshire. Henderson’s father, John, was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Trust (now called the Jockey Club Racecourses) and, before that, distinguished himself as an Aide-De-Camp of Field Marshall Montgomery.  Son Nicky learned his craft at the side of the incomparable Fred Winter; the late trainer, who died in 2004, is the only man to have won the Grand National, the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup as both a jockey and a trainer. Now 62, Henderson began training in 1978 and has distinguished himself with horses like See You Then and Remittance Man, an array of Champion Trainer awards, a record 5 wins in the Champion’s Hurdle and the best winning record of any current active trainer at the Cheltenham Festival. Current stars of the Henderson stable (other than Sprinter Sacre) are Long Run, Bob’s Worth, Simonsig and Binocular. Henderson also trains a number of good, honest horses who might never make the headlines, even though they go to work with the same willingness and courage as their more famous stablemates. No matter if you’re the fabulous Long Run or a chestnut no-one’s ever heard of before — at Seven Barrows, all are appreciated and loved.

Henderson and Long Run. A superstar in his own right, Timeform rated Long Run at 184 in 2011, making him the highest rated jumps horse in training that year. The gelding has won the Gold Cup twice in 3 years, as well as the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

So what’s all the excitement about this Sprinter Sacre fellow?

It started in December of 2011, when Henderson moved the gelding from hurdles to make his chase debut at Doncaster, under jockey David Bass:

Sprinter Sacre won by 24 lengths. Henderson was happy but far from impressed: he thought his 4 year-old was too good looking and knew he lacked the fitness of a champion chaser. As do many chasers, Sprinter Sacre had been started over hurdles first, before moving into the chasing ranks as a novice. In the hurdling ranks, he’d been good but not overly impressive, having literally “run out of gas” in his final start over the hurdles at Cheltenham. However, going into 2011-2012, legendary jockey A.P. McCoy suggested to Henderson that the youngster — most National Hunt horses are considered young at 5 — should have his breathing corrected.

The transformation in Sprinter Sacre after he had had “his wind done” was stunning, suggesting that he had tired in his last hurdle race the year before precisely because he couldn’t get enough “oxy-fuel” into his lungs to carry on.

Here is Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle Trophy Chase at Cheltenham in March 2012. With the brilliant Barry Geraghty in the irons, the gelding had already won the Wayward Lad Novices Chase at Kempton by 16 lengths, in a performance the Daily Telegraph described as “thrilling” and “spectacular.” Following which, Sprinter Sacre took the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury. Less than a month later, the pair started in the Arkle Trophy Chase on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.  Named after the great National Hunt champion of the 1960′s, the distance is slightly over 2 miles, featuring 12 jumps of 4.5 ft. or greater.

The accolades were instantaneous:

“Sprinter Sacre was often referred to as “the hype horse” during the buildup to this week’s Festival but his astonishing performance in winning the Arkle Trophy suggested that, if anything, his ability has been understated. He coasted around this most demanding of racecourses to score by seven lengths and become the 40th Festival winner for his trainer, Nicky Henderson, equalling the record.

As in his previous runs over fences, Sprinter Sacre never appeared less than entirely comfortable. This was his greatest test so far but victory was on the cards from the moment his main rival, Al Ferof, made a hash of the fourth-last.

From that point, the crowd cheered at every fence that Sprinter Sacre cleared, large numbers of them having clearly backed him at odds-on. There might have been a moment’s anxiety as Cue Card got within a couple of lengths at the final fence but the winner pulled clear within seconds of being asked to quicken by his jockey, Barry Geraghty.” (Chris Cook, The Guardian)

After the Arkle victory came a really good rub-down. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

The champ doing his thing over jumps that would easily intimidate the faint of heart.

The champion, as his trainer saw it, was beginning to look like he had an embarrassment of riches — gorgeous, uber-talented, game and loving the attention that comes with winning. In fact, Henderson was thinking his glamour boy was keen to leave the competition in the dust because he was busier courting the cheers and applause of his fans.

Getting the job done: Sprinter Sacre and Barry Geraghty sprint away from a jump. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

But his jockey knew better: the horse was stronger now and knew the game plan. And if anyone should know a jumper’s potential, it would be the 33 year-old Barry Geraghty. The National Hunt began in Ireland and the Irish-born Geraghty carries the tradition in his veins. Prior to becoming Henderson’s first jockey in 2008, he had been crowned Irish Champion Jump Jockey (2000), had won the Grand National (in 2003, on Monty’s Pass). In 2009 Geraghty became the first jockey ever to win both the Grand National and the 4 most prestigious races at Cheltenham (Champions Hurdle, Champions Chase, Stayers Hurdle and the Gold Cup). Geraghty also piloted the mighty Moscow Flyer and the much-loved Kicking King to victory prior to becoming Henderson’s lead rider. So it is that when he talks about a horse as “scary good” or as “The Special One,” or confides “…(he’s) frighteningly good…one of the best I ever sat on,” everyone takes notice. And that is how Geraghty describes Sprinter Sacre.

The fabulous Moscow Flyer and Geraghty captured a number of hurdle and chase events, notably the Queen Mother Champion Chase (2003,2005), The Arkle Challenge Trophy (2002) and the Tingle Creek Chase (2003, 2004).

When you watch him race, the deceptive thing about Sprinter Sacre is that he makes an endurance test look like a walk in the park.

Never mind Gangnam Style. This is Frankel Style….and his fans are eating it up.

Apprentice jockey, Nico de Boinville, is Sprinter Sacre’s regular exercise rider. “I’ve been riding Sprinter Sacre since he was a baby, we’ve pretty much grown up together and I know him very well,” he says. “I honestly don’t think you’re going to get a horse who’s going to serve it up to him this season, that will only happen when [his novice-chasing stablemate] Simonsig turns up…” Photo and copyright, Tim Ireland/PA

The fellow who’ll “serve it up to him”? The gorgeous grey, Simonsig, has won 9 of his 11 starts. Shown here with Geraghty in the irons, he’s another Henderson superstar. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

A month later, Sprinter Sacre started in the Grade One Maghull Novices Chase at Aintree at a distance of 2 miles. This would be his final race of the 2011-2012 season, closing out the year with 5 wins in as many starts.

The 2012-2013 season marks the point at which the comparisons between Sprinter Sacre and Frankel begin. We need to remember, of course, that with the closing of the flat racing season in Great Britain the National Hunt season takes over from roughly November until March, the Cheltenham Festival being the highlight for hurdlers and chasers. Henderson’s superstar would have had the whole of the flat racing season of 2012 to gear up – and Sprinter Sacre came back into training even bigger, and stronger, than he had been in the latter half of 2012.

The fitness level of the gelding owed much to the famous Lambourn gallops, the subject of infinite numbers of equine artists and narratives. It was the National Hunt trainers who first adopted the method of conditioning their horses over the hills and dales of Ireland and England, an approach adapted to training the thoroughbred flat runner by the likes of Vincent O’Brien, Aidan O’Brien and Sir Henry Cecil. It is in this natural environment that the endurance of a horse is both tested and developed.

Sprinter Sacre, with Nico de Boinville aboard, leads one Henderson string on a gallop. This kind of work was the testing ground for some of the greats of the flat in the UK as well, notably Nijinsky and Frankel. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

The gallops are also meant to be pleasurable. Here, Nico and Sprinter come off the pace to appreciate the sounds and smells of the morning. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

The Frankel comparison may have been aided by the fact that “Sprinter,” as he’s called in the barn, is as enthusiastic to get on with the job as was Sir Henry Cecil’s “Usain Colt.” But, unlike Frankel, the gelding tends to gear up before a race to the point where Henderson has now outfitted him with ear plugs in an effort to encourage him to focus on the race, rather than other distractions. Below are Henderson’s thoughts and reflections as he and his champ readied for the 2012-2013 jumps season. Of particular interest are the trainer’s concerns about the impact of the weather on race conditions, which would turn out to be timely.

Frankel’s final bow was fresh in the hearts and minds of racing fans when Sprinter lined up with the competition at Sandown in the Tingle Creek Chase on December 8, 2012. Some had wondered aloud, as Henderson indicated, whether or not the champion had really beaten a horse of consequence in 2011-2012. But at Tingle Creek, the bay beauty was up against the Paul Nichols-trained Sanctuaire, winner of his previous 3 chases, including the Celebration Chase and ridden by the incomparable Ruby Walsh. (Be sure to stick around for the commentary following the race for important details regarding the win.)

The winning margin was 15 lengths, hard held by an otherwise motionless Geraghty.

Referring to Tingle Creek as a “demolition job” here’s how Charlie Brooks of the Daily Telegraph begins:

Just after winning the Tingle Creek, the champ gets a pat from exercise rider, Nico. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Sanctuaire had given it his all in the Tingle Creek, setting blistering fractions most of the way.

Next up was the Victor Chandler Chase, to be held on January 19 at Ascot. However, the course conditions proved so horrendous that it was postponed by a week and moved to Cheltenham. Even at its new locale, the conditions were far from ideal. Henderson was anxious enough to confess to the press “I was taking fits” and after it was all over, Barry Geraghty stated that he wouldn’t like to take Sprinter over ground any worse. In the field were Sanctuaire (Ruby Walsh) and Kumbeshwar, who had finished second to Sprinter Sacre in the Tingle Creek.

This time, the winning margin was only a length shy of the previous win. But over this kind of testing ground, 14 lengths represent something more like 25. And the win was also Sprinter’s seventh in a row, making him a perfect 7 for 7 over jumps, and boosting his record to 11 wins out of 13 starts under jumping rules. If all goes well at Henderson’s Seven Barrows stable — and there is no reason to think that it won’t — Sprinter Sacre’s final start in 2012-2013 will be in March in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

As the turf announcer for the Victor Chandler exclaimed: ” The Queen Mother Champion Chase will be at his mercy.”

All together now: Sprinter Sacre with his lad, Sarwah Mohammed, jockey Barry Geraghty and trainer Nicky Henderson after winning the Victor Chandler. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Portrait of a champion. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

(NOTE ON NATIONAL HUNT RACING:  Originating in Ireland in the 18th century, each type of National Hunt race has its own particular features. An average hurdle race, for example, involves a minimum of 8 hurdles over 3.5 feet high and is run over a distance of at least 2 miles. The chase involves horses jumping fences of 4.5 feet minimum and courses that range from 2 – 4.5 miles. The steeplechase is restricted to thoroughbreds that have a hunter certificate; the most famous steeplechase in Britain is the Grand National. Thoroughbreds that hurdle, chase or steeplechase need to have an aptitude for jumping. But since National Hunt racing demands that horses both jump and run over longer distances than is usual on a flat course, a National Hunt horse needs to be particularly courageous and tough, as well as blessed with endurance.)

The Cheltenham Festival kicks off this coming week, beginning on Tuesday, March 12. It’s a 4-day celebration of the very best of the season, and the horses arrive carrying the hopes and dreams of owners, trainers, jockeys and passionate fans. 

This handbook of some of the most hotly-contested races is aimed primarily at those who are less familiar with this oldest of thoroughbred racing venues. 

At the conclusion is the full 4-day race schedule, complete with race cards and profiles of individual horses. As for non-UK enthusiasts’ chances of watching Cheltenham live we can only suggest that you run a search on your computer to locate possible free live streaming. Failing that, both the http://www.racingpost.com (click on the television tab or go to its Cheltenham site) or http://www.atthraces.com will post replays probably less than 24 hours after the most popular races are run. 

As with our previous article, THE VAULT again thanks the generosity of Toby Connors in allowing us to use more of his fabulous photos. (Please note that they are all copyright-protected). 

In conclusion, THE VAULT expresses its hope that every one of the courageous horses and jockeys competing at this year’s Festival come home safe and sound. 

Zarkandar, trained by the great Paul Nicholls, is the current favourite to win the Champion Hurdle. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

FESTIVAL RACES: A PRIMER

As was noted in our previous post about the champion hurdler, Sprinter Sacre, the official title of the Cheltenham Festival is the National Hunt Meeting. Originating in 1860, the Festival is held in March, close to the time of the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree.  The Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious National Hunt meet of the year. It is here that all but the Grand National horses come out  – and so many of them are absolute stars, as is the case this year.

The zenith of the Festival is the Grade 1 Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase. Run at a distance of 3m 2f 110y on the closing day, March 15, it can be compared to the most elite races for thoroughbreds run on the flat. Except that the horses themselves can be thoroughbreds or thoroughbred-derived breeds, like the Selle Francais. (In National Hunt racing, only the Grand National Steeplechase is reserved strictly for thoroughbreds.) Famous jumpers to have won the Gold Cup include the greatest of them all, Golden Miller. Born in 1927, the bay gelding made 55 starts and won 29 times. He took the Gold Cup on 5 consecutive occasions, between 1932-1936. And, as if that weren’t enough, in 1934 he won the British Grand National and the Gold Cup — the only horse to have ever accomplished this feat in a single season. Owned latterly by the Honorable Dorothy Paget, Golden Miller died in 1957, leaving a National Hunt record still unequalled today.

The amazing Golden Miller, shown here, not only won the Cheltenham Golden Cup for 5 consecutive years, but is the only horse to have won the British and Irish Grand Nationals, as well as the Gold Cup, in the same year — 1934.

Other great horses have won over a period of 2-3 consecutive years: the Vincent O’Brien-trained Cottage Rake (3 times, from 1948-1950), the beloved Arkle (3 times, from 1964-1966), Raymond R. Guest’s L’Escargot (twice, in 1970 and again in 1971) and most recently the champion, Best Mate (3 times, from 2002-2004). Other noteworthy winners, each of whom was well-loved by his racing public, include Desert Orchid, Kauto Star (twice in 3 years) and his stablemate, Denman, as well as The Dikler, Dawn Run, Imperial Call and Master Oats. The 2011 winner, Paul Nicholls’ Long Run, will compete again in this year’s Gold Cup.

Golden Miller’s 1935 Gold Cup victory:

The fabulous Kauto Star leads his buddy, Denman, and the champion Neptune Collanges (grey) home in the 2007 Gold Cup:

SHINING STARS

MARCH 12

The Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy (G1): Simonsig (10) and Overturn (9) expected to do battle.

DISTANCE: 2m

According to jockey Barry Geraghty, his boss’ Simonsig is the only jumper he knows who might overhaul another champion of the Henderson stable: Sprinter Sacre. No worries this season, though, as Simonsig hasn’t been put to the test. The favourite in the Arkle, the gorgeous grey is expected to be challenged by Donald McCain’s talented Overturn.

Simonsig and trainer, Nicky Henderson. The grey has won 4 of his last 5 starts and has only ever lost once throughout his career. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Overturn, a son of the great Barathea (Sadler’s Wells), hasn’t had as unblemished a record as Simonsig, but he has won his previous 3 starts this season.

The Stan James Champion Challenge Hurdle Trophy (G1) : Hurricane Fly (7), Zarkandar (10), Rock On Ruby (9), Grandouet (6) and Binocular (2)

DISTANCE: 2m110y

One of the best is Rock On Ruby. Trainer Harry Fry’s 8 year-old has won 2 of 4 starts this season and will run in blinkers for the first time in the Champion Challenge Hurdle. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Don’t be fooled by that pretty face. W.P. Mullins’ superstar, Hurricane Fly, has won 16 of 19 starts over hurdles. The son of Montjeu goes into the race as the favourite. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

This race promises to be a thriller, with the current favourite, Hurricane Fly, taking on a number of champion horses. Unless he’s hugely unlucky, there’s no reason that Hurricane Fly shouldn’t dominate again, even though the punters are very keen on the second choice favourite, Zarkandar.

Nicky Henderson’s Binocular (green) races against Hurricane Fly (royal blue). A very decent jumper, Binocular has been beaten more than once by Hurricane Fly and Rock On Ruby. But come race day, he can be counted on to try his best. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Could he be the spoiler? Zarkandar has won his last 3 starts. By Azamour ex. Zarkasha (Kahyasi) he’s got all the pedigree he needs to win. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

The OLGB Mares’ Hurdle (G2): Featuring the incomparable Quevega (5)

DISTANCE: 2m4f

This is one impressive lady! Champion Quevega goes to post. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Her sire, Robin Des Champs (FR) was himself a very fine jumper, so you could say it’s in her blood. But even then. Quevega, a 9 year-old, has won her last 6 starts and has a lifetime record of 20-13-0-4. Trained by the noted W P Mullins and ridden to each of those victories by the accomplished Ruby Walsh, the last time out Quevega vanquished Voler La Vedette, who isn’t back in this particular race to take her on again. If she wins the OLGB Mares’ Hurdle, it will be for the 5th consecutive year, equalling the record of Golden Miller in the Gold Cup.

How fabulous is this great mare? Just take a look:

NOTE: As we go to press, Quevega has also been entered in the Ladbroke’s World Champion Hurdle, but trainer WP “Willie” Mullins has indicated he favours this race for his champion mare.

MARCH 13

The Sportingbet Queen Mother Champion Chase (G1): Sprinter Sacre (8), Sizing Europe (6), Finian’s Rainbow (2), Sanctuaire (5)

The handsome Sanctuaire goes down to the start.Paul Nicholls’ champion has won 4 of his last 6 starts. The bad news? The 2 he lost were to Sprinter Sacre… Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

As was suggested in our last post here on THE VAULT, the Queen Mum is Sprinter Sacre’s to lose. Even though his enthusiastic running style leaves his trainer’s insides in ruins, Nicky Henderson is not willing to tinker with it on March 13th.

The horses Henderson’s superstar is poised to take on aren’t chopped liver either. The fabulous Sizing Europe has earned the right to be the bettors’ second choice: he’s only lost once since December 2011 and has earned over 800,000 BPS. But his single defeat did come at the hands of Finian’s Rainbow, another Henderson trainee who ranks as third pick. Mail de Bievre, the fourth choice of the betting public, was 5th and 4th in his last two races; his last win was in 2010.

Sizing Europe has already earned over 800,000 BPS. He’s a real champion and finds himself in strong company in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Sprinter Sacre looking to bring his fans to their feet once again. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

The Wetherby’s Champion Bumper (G1)

 DISTANCE: 2m110y

What’s most exciting about this race has little to do with winners or losers. Trainer Aidan O’Brien has returned to Cheltenham for the first time since his mighty Istabraq (Sadler’s Wells ex. Betty’s Secret by Secretariat) was pulled up in 2002 in the Champion’s Hurdle and subsequently retired. This time, the horse in question is a son of Arc winner Dylan Thomas, Shield by name. The colt is a youngster by National Hunt standards at the age of 4 and has only 2 starts under his belt, even though he won one of them. Owned by O’Brien’s wife, Anne Marie, herself a canny breeder who runs her own farm and stable, Shield will be ridden by none other than Joseph O’Brien. It should be a real family affair and Aidan, who made his reputation as a Jumps trainer before going to Coolmore seems delighted to rekindle the excitement of Festival days.

Istabraq, the horse that moved a nation and who still ranks as one of the top 5 most popular Irish personalities today. To read more about this grandson of American legend, Secretariat, see THE VAULT’s piece on Istabraq entitled “Secretariat’s Heart…”

…and the new kid in O’Brien’s life, Shield.

MARCH 14

The Ryanair Chase (G1): Cue Card (3), First Lieutenant (5), Riverside Theatre (9), Alberta’s Run(1) 

(NOTE: As we go to press, both Sizing Europe and Finian’s Rainbow are also listed for this event, but that may change by March 12)

DISTANCE: 2m5f

Cue Card has a lifetime record of 15-8-4-0 going into the Ryanair. The 7 year-old gelding arrives with a devoted fan following which he richly deserves. He’s “simply magnificent” and many would consider him next in line after Sprinter Sacre. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Viewers are in for a treat on the second to last day of the Festival, as the scintillating Cue Card struts his stuff in the Ryanair Chase. Below, Cue Card is shown here winning the Sportingbet Haldon Gold Cup Chase in 2012 by an absolutely remarkable distance. He has been every bit as solid in 2013:

March 15

BETFRED CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP CHASE: Bob’s Worth, Sir Des Champs, First Lieutenant and Long Run

DISTANCE: 3m2f110y

Bob’s Worth (leading here by a whisker) stands as the current favourite in the Gold Cup (as of 08-03-2013). Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

Champion Long Run won the Gold Cup in 2011. He will do his very best to win a second time on March 15, the last day of the Festival. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

As was noted above, the Gold Cup is the crowning glory of the Cheltenham Festival, although it is not the last race on the card that day. And it is, as the British would say, a “very testing” race of over 3 miles. A “chase” is short for “steeplechase” and that means the highest and most complex array of jumps. Nicky Henderson’s Bob’s Worth is the current favourite given his power, stride and care over jumps of this magnitude. Nicky Henderson is also running the great Long Run — meaning that he’s got 2 of the strongest contenders. Here’s a look at the key horses in this, the most prestigious and storied race of the Cheltenham Festival:

One of the young “upstarts” in the Gold Cup field is jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, the son of Long Run’s owner.

SCHEDULE OF RACES + RACE CARDS

Just CLICK on any of the list of races below to go to the race card. You can also click on a horse’s name to go to an individual race record. (Courtesy of the UK’s RACING POST)

NOTE: All entries listed were accurate as of March 8, 2013.

CHELTENHAM – Tue 12 March

My grandfather, Carl Leroi Boynton Wheeler, was born at the end of the nineteenth century with what my family called “the horse gene” deep in his blood. As a little girl, I sometimes bugged him to tell me “horse stories.” There were four thoroughbred colts my grandfather cherished: Man O’ War, Gallant Fox (“The Fox”), Count Fleet (“The Count”) and Citation. They garnered his love and respect until the last days of his life. Whereas Man O’ War was incomparable, “The Fox,” “The Count” and Citation were the benchmark against which all other thoroughbreds — including Canada’s hero, Northern Dancer — were measured. 

As we move closer to the 2013 Triple Crown races, THE VAULT joins in the excitement with this weave of Grandpa Wheeler’s reckonings, together with other credible sources of the time, to tell the story of the unlikely colt who brought joy to North America in a time of fear and uncertainty. 

Gallant Fox, shown here in a rare portrait without the famous Belair stable blinkers! That white around one eye (“wall eye”) was said to intimidate other horses — one of those popular beliefs of the day that has never really been proven. Photo and copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

The Fox’s sire, Sir Gallahad III, raced in France where he was brilliant. Shortly after going to stud, Sir Gallahad III was sold to the American partnership of William Woodward Sr., A.B. Hancock, Robert A. Fairburn and Marshall Field III. The stallion stood mainly at Woodward’s famous Belair Stud and at Hancock’s Claiborne. He is best remembered as the sire of three Kentucky Derby winners (Gallant Fox, Gallahadion and Hoop Jr.), as well as one Triple Crown winner (Gallant Fox).

The broodmare Marguerite (shown here with Gallant Fox as a colt) was a great granddaughter of Domino, through Celt, a son of Commando. A Blue Hen, she was bred twice to Wrack and produced the champion, Peetee-Wrack. Other than Wrack, her only other matches were to Sir Gallahad III. As Hancock put it, “If you’re trying to strike oil, you drill in the same field where it’s been struck before.” The “first strike”was Gallant Fox. Although Marguerite never produced another like him, sons Fighting Fox and Foxbrough won races on both sides of the Atlantic. Her daughter, Marguery, is the tail-ancestress of modern-day champions Generous (Caerleon), Imagine (Sadler’s Wells) and Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great).

This story is about a great thoroughbred, but not one in the tradition of Seattle Slew, Affirmed or the immortal Secretariat.

This colt was a dreamer….always more interested in the world around him than he was in racing. Like Hyperion, he hated to be in training unless there was another horse to chase and catch. And once he’d moved on by the other horse, our subject was inclined to slow to a languid canter, while his eyes hunted the landscape for something really interesting. Fortunately, he had a kind nature and so would do what was asked of him on the track….most of the time.

Exciting as horse racing may be for humans, the life of a typical race horse, then as now, is filled with structure and routine. Not terribly interesting for a colt who, in another life, was almost certainly an explorer or a poet or even a philosopher.

As those who knew him best would expect, even after winning the Preakness, our boy (blinkers and all) is scouring the environment for something more interesting than the smiles of his fan club. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Marguerite’s boy was a big, handsome colt with a wide, white blaze that ran from his forehead to curl around each nostril, a “wall eye” and four white coronets. Of the eye, it would be said that it gave him a fierce, wild look that put paid to any horse who dared to draw up beside him.

Named Gallant Fox, the colt foal was born on March 23, 1927 and was quick to show his intelligence and the kind of curiosity that goes with it. By the time he hit the track in his 3 year-old season, Gallant Fox was walking into a world of shattered dreams. It was 1930 and North America needed something that transcended a faltering economy and lives lost to the cruelty of the unforeseen.

His bloodlines were impeccable. His sire, Sir Gallahad III was by Teddy (Ajax) out of Plucky Liege (Spearmint), one of the most important broodmares of the 20th century. Plucky Liege (1912) boasted the prepotent St Simon as her broodmare sire, as well as three crosses to another influential stallion, Stockwell. Other than Sir Gallahad III (one of America’s most influential sires), Plucky Liege also produced Bull Dog (sire of the brilliant Bull Lea), Derby winner Bois Roussel (broodmare sire of champion filly, Petite Etoile) and Admiral Drake (leading sire in France in 1955).

Bull Dog was another American foundation sire produced by Plucky Liege.

Gallant Fox’s dam, Marguerite, was a direct descendant of Domino through her sire, Celt. As well, illustrious names filled her pedigree:  Bend Or (Derby and St. James Palace Stakes, Epsom Gold Cup), Doncaster (Epsom Derby, Ascot Gold Cup), St. Simon (champion sire and undefeated in 10 starts in the UK) and Lexington (leading American sire 16 times).

St. Simon was said to have perfect confirmation, a seemingly indefatigable fighting spirit and an exceedingly high-strung temperament.

The legendary Domino line was responsible for Gallant Fox’s dam, Marguerite, who was a direct descendant.

Sculptor Gwen Reardon’s figure of the stallion, Lexington, adorns Kentucky’s Horse Park.

There was no question that powerful blood ran in the veins of Marguerite’s curious son.

As a juvenile, Gallant Fox aka “The Fox of Belair,”or simply”The Fox,” was sent to one of America’s greatest trainers, James Edward (“Sunny Jim”) Fitzsimmons. “Mr. Fitz,” as he was fondly called, had come up through the ranks the hard way, beginning as a stablehand at the age of 10. He knew his thoroughbreds inside-out by the time The Fox arrived in his stable. Mr. Fitz was one of those trainers who was most himself around the barn with his horses. Gallant Fox, he was quick to discover, only trained his best in the company of another horse. Left on his own, the youngster was happier to watch the world go by and this meant, in turn, that he was never keen to be interrupted in order to head out to the track. The Fox wasn’t really a fractious colt, but like so many great thoroughbreds he didn’t like to be pushed around. You couldn’t dominate him — you had to partner up with him. So, Mr. Fitz selected a training trick that seemed to suit them both: the relay race. It involved a number of colts, each of whom took The Fox on at a different point around the track. The colt responded mightily to the challenge, refusing to be headed by another horse.

It was a good thing that Mr. Fitz was running a large stable, because not one of his other horses could keep up with The Fox all the way around the track.

Gallant Fox was more interested in everything going on around him than he was in racing. Although Mr. Fitz never doubted his courage, intelligence or ability, it took some doing to train him. Shown here at trackside, just checking out the action, The Fox is so intent that he poses all alone for the camera — barely moving a muscle.

HOF trainer, “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons (foreground) pictured with his 1939 Kentucky Derby winner, Johnstown. “Mr. Fitz” dominated American horse racing’s “Golden Age.” He trained two Triple Crown winners (Gallant Fox and Omaha) and won the Derby three times, the Preakness four times and the Belmont, six times. Other notables trained by Mr. Fitz included Dark Secret, Bold Ruler, Nashua and Granville. All told, the trainer sent out 155 stakes winners to capture 470 stakes races during his career. As well as training for Woodward’s Belair Stud, Mr. Fitz also trained many champions who ran in the colours of the Phipps’ family.

In his 2 year-old campaign, Gallant Fox continued to be calm, friendly….and insatiably curious.

In the second start of his career, the colt was left at the starting gate — looking at an airplane in the sky overhead. He did, eventually, get going but it was too late to finish in the money — the only time in his career that he wouldn’t.

It was in the Flash Stakes, on his third try, that The Fox broke his maiden, although the second-placed Caruso would beat him four days later. In his fifth start, the Futurity Trial, the Woodward colt seemed to get the hang of it and he put in a good effort, almost catching the winner, Polygamous, at the wire. Next came the Futurity itself, where the 2 year-old star of the 1929 racing season, Whichone, hooked up with The Fox for the first time.

Artist Art Krentz’s sketch of champion, Whichone, done in 1929.

As it turned out, The Fox couldn’t quite catch Whichone. But he gave it his best shot, ending up in a tie for second place which he lost by a nose, to place third. The Fox’s last start of the season was in the Junior Champion Stakes at Aqueduct, which he won going away. Whichone captured Champion 2 year-old honours that year, but Gallant Fox was on the radar as “one to watch” in 1930. His flip-flop juvenile season didn’t faze either his owner or his trainer: like many in their day, neither William Woodward Sr. nor Mr. Fitz saw a colt’s 2 year-old season as a more than a dress rehearsal for what lay ahead.

The Fox at three was stronger and more experienced. Of the colt, Grandpa Wheeler said, “He could look a bit like a plough horse but he was a blue-blood through and through. He got the Triple with his ears pricked forward.” Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

As youngsters do, Gallant Fox grew into his 3 year-old year a stronger, more experienced horse. He was joined by jockey Earl Sande, who had been persuaded to come out of retirement to ride him. Sande had been a champion jockey in his day, riding horses like Zev, Flying Ebony and the great Man O’ War (once) to victory. Damon Runyon had even penned him a poem, “There Never Was A Guy So Handy As Sande.” Retiring in 1927, Sande decided to try his hand at training, but his wife died that same year and the champion jockey fell apart. Overweight and almost penniless, Sande headed back to what he knew best, only managing a single win in the 1929 season.

In the meantime, Mr. Fitz was working hard with The Fox to get him to focus on racing rather than sightseeing. He positioned him in the stable so that the 3 year-old could watch all the action and when Mr. Fitz was talking to someone, he’d often acknowledge the colt by reiterating, “Isn’t that so, Mister?” And The Fox would nod his head in agreement. The trainer also indicated to Woodward that it would be ideal if they could land a single jockey for the colt’s 3 year-old season. It was his feeling that The Fox would do his best in the hands of an experienced rider, one who would form a real relationship with him and learn to handle his strengths and quirks.

“Isn’t that so, Mister?” Mr. Fitz and The Fox.

The colt didn’t have a mean bone in his body. But he was a character and although Mr. Fitz had managed to improve his attitude and work ethic, The Fox still had his moments. For one thing, the coppery bay with the wild eye had a tendency to dawdle once he got on the lead: if there was nothing in front of him, The Fox just couldn’t see the point of knocking himself out. It was equally tricky to get him to rate just off the pace. Too, he was quite capable of coming to a sudden halt if something of interest caught his attention, blinkers or no. Heeding Mr. Fitz’s advice, Woodward, acting on the recommendations of his trainer as well as that of Doc Pardee, manager of the Biltmore Stable in Arizona, approached Earl Sande.

Gallant Fox with Earl Sande in 1930. The two would form a partnership as legendary as that of Ron Turcotte and Secretariat.

It was, as they say, “a match made in heaven.” Not only did Sande ride Gallant Fox into thoroughbred legend, he also groomed and worked him. Sande taught the colt to play guessing games, hiding treats behind his back. And they seemed to be in a constant conversation that often ended with the colt butting Sande out of his stall. Best of all, Sande adored Marguerite’s handsome son and the colt revelled in his attentions. It was fun when Sande was around and Mr. Fitz began to notice that The Fox’s attitude was improving, largely because he wanted to please his new buddy. For the first time, in a consistent way, Mr. Fitz saw his colt show a competitive edge when training with other horses.

Earl Sande wasn’t one to use his whip unnecessarily. He had quiet hands and a patient way of working with his young horse. The combination of Mr. Fitz’s wisdom and Sande’s quiet confidence in The Fox framed what was to be an absolutely brilliant 3 year-old campaign.

The Fox’s season began with the Wood Memorial, where he met up with the dashing Crack Brigade, owned by Thomas Cassidy. Despite getting a less-than-ideal trip, Gallant Fox beat Crack Brigade by 4 lengths. Next, it was on to the Preakness, which in that year was run before the Kentucky Derby at a distance of 1 3/16 (the same distance as today).

The Fox and Earl Sande after winning the Wood Memorial. As Sande had told the press, “As long as there is a horse in front of The Fox, you can ride him backwards. He’ll use his competitive spirit to find a way to win.” Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

The Fox would again take on Crack Brigade, as well a really lovely filly named Snowflake, who came home third. Snowflake, owned by Walter J. Salmon, would end her 3 year-old campaign taking champion co-honours with the more famous Alcibiades, owned by Hal Price Headley. She was that good.

Here’s an excerpt from turf writer and CBS (radio) broadcaster Bryan Fields’ report of the race that appeared in the New York Times:

BALTIMORE, Md., May 9    

William Woodward won his first Preakness and Earl Sande rode his first Preakness winner when Gallant Fox captured Maryland’s greatest turf classic before 40,000 persons at Pimlico today.

The son of Sir Gallahad III and Marguerite came from next to last position at the half-mile mark to the heels of Thomas Cassidy’s pace-making Crack Brigade at the mile. Three-sixteenths further, the end of the race, and Gallant Fox was the winner by three-quarters of a length and had earned $51, 925. The time was 2.00.35. 

… The snapping of pictures at the finish and a talk over the radio took considerable time and quite obscured the quiet stroll in from the infield of a smiling , middle-aged figure. It was Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, trainer of the winner. Asked if he ever was worried when Gallant Fox ‘s prospects looked so poor, he said: ” No, he’s a fine colt and when he got close to the leaders I knew it was all over. But that Crack Brigade is a nice horse too.”

Gallant Fox comes home in The Preakness, ears pricked forward. The Fox won it in the second quickest time ever recorded. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Next up was the Kentucky Derby. Other runners included second-place finisher in The Preakness, Crack Brigade, as well as the filly Alcibiades and Tannery, the “pride of the Bluegrass” and the colt thought to be the best hope of defeating The Preakness winner. Gallant Knight and Ned O. rounded out the favourites the field of fourteen.

The day was rainy and grey, but this didn’t deter the fans, who began rushing in at 7 a.m. when the gates opened. By race time, an estimated 60,000 had assembled. Among the spectators, the most distinguished was undoubtedly England’s Lord Derby, who was housed in a glass pagoda near the finish line with William Woodward and other luminaries of American racing.

In the winner’s circle, wearing the famous wreath of roses. Gallant Fox had come home to win the Derby in the pouring rain, with Earl Sande’s gentle hands encouraging him on. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

” Gallant Fox swung into the top of the stretch at Churchill Downs today, running free in the van [vanguard] of the Kentucky Derby field, while a quarter of a mile away in a glass-enclosed pagoda near the finish line a big-shouldered man dropped a pair of binoculars from his eyes with a throaty exclamation, ‘ Great stuff! I’m glad!’ 

It was Lord Derby of England turning to William Woodward , owner of the horse, which stands alone tonight as the champion 3 year-old in America.

Sixty thousand persons massed at the track were still roaring themselves hoarse for Gallant Fox or one or more of the fourteen thoroughbreds behind him when Lord Derby made his remark to Mr. Woodward. The race was far from over, but Lord Derby’s ancestors have been racing horses for centuries and he had seen the best in the Derby field challenge Gallant Fox only to be beaten off in the backstretch and on the bend…He knew the race was over and said so. Perhaps ten seconds later the big bay colt swept passed the little glass house to the finish line…

… Gallant Fox and Sande saluted the stewards, were drawn into the tiny protected oblong of greensward next to Lord Derby’s pagoda and Mr. Woodward stepped out into the rain. Without a topcoat, he strode across the lawn and grasped Sande’s hand and congratulated him on riding his third Derby winner, the first jockey to do this since Isaac Murphy in the previous century.

Then he caressed Gallant Fox, undefeated this year…Photographers by tens scaled the fence and in three minutes Mr. Woodward and Sande were surrounded…” (Bryan Field, The New York Times)

There were other “firsts” attached to the Derby win. It was the first Derby where the horses started from an electronic starting gate. And Gallant Fox became the first thoroughbred in the twentieth century to annex both The Preakness and The Kentucky Derby, in that order. (Sir Barton had won the first Triple Crown in 1919, but the order of Derby and Preakness were reversed. Too, The Preakness was 1 1/8 miles in 1919.)

All seemed as it should be for Gallant Fox’s Belmont, until — just two days before the race — Earl Sande was involved in a horrendous car crash with fellow jockey, Harry Gross. Sande got away with cuts to his hands and face, so it was a bandaged Earl Sande who rode “The Fox of Belair” — the latest monicker picked up by the Woodward colt — onto Big Sandy on Belmont Stakes day.

Rain was lashing down in thick, grey sheets. And back to contest the Belmont was The Fox’s nemesis, Whichone, still considered by many to be the best 3 year-old in the country. But the red-hooded Fox strode past the stands to the start with his typical nonchalence, Sande sitting quietly, the reins slackened over the colt’s withers.

The first fractions were slow, but The Fox was on the lead and held it throughout. Each time another horse tried to get close to him, Sande let out the reins a notch and The Fox was off again. There was no speed duel between Whichone and Gallant Fox, as had been anticipated. Instead, The Belmont became a procession, with a champion in the lead. William Woodward’s colt crossed the finish line 4 lengths ahead of Whichone, going away. The Fox had won the “triple crown” under a hand ride and his victory marked the christening of the term “Triple Crown” to describe a winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

The running of the 1930 Belmont Stakes. Gallant Fox is just getting ready to leave the Whitney’s Whichone behind in the stretch. The Fox’s win set a Belmont Stakes track record. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

William Woodward leads in his Triple Crown winner. Gallant Fox got a little fractious in the winner’s circle, even though his proud owner managed to hang on to him until Mr. Fitz arrived. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

For a re-cap of Gallant Fox’s Triple Crown, enjoy this great piece of old newsreel footage. (Some highlights include The Fox and Sande breaking through the barrier at the start of the Preakness — twice! And there is also some superb footage of Alcibiades and Snowflake (white blaze) coming up to get third in the Preakness. In the Belmont footage, the blur is rain!!!!)

Following his Triple Crown, Gallant Fox went on to take the Dwyer and to win a hard-fought battle with Gallant Knight in the Arlington Classic. The latter endeared him to fans and turf writers alike, and he began to be compared to the great Man O’ War. The New York Times’ Bryan Field made the following observation: “Gallant Fox is a horse of individuality and magnetism, and thus far has behaved in the opposite manner to the tempestuous Man o’ War, who was a devil to break and a big, raw colt to handle and train as a two-year-old. He gives the impression of unusual grace and distinction and his symmetry and harmony have attracted thousands of admirers, as did Man o’ War’s effervescent temperament.”  

In the Lawrence Realization, the colt met up with the brilliant Questionnaire, who had only lost once — to Gallant Fox in the Belmont, where he finished third. It was a match-up that showed the greatness of the nation’s second Triple Crown winner. Trailing at the start of the race, Gallant Fox and Questionnaire went eyeball-to-eyeball in a driving finish, with Belair’s red-hooded super horse crossing the finish first by a head. The Fox also annexed the Saratoga Cup and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, in which only one other horse stepped up to race him. He was declared the 1930 Horse of the Year or, as many preferred to say, the “Horse of the Century.”

Questionnaire, shown at stud, handed Gallant Fox one of the toughest challenges on the track.

The biggest upset of The Fox’s career came in the Travers (1930) when he and Whichone duelled each other from the start, enabling a rank outsider, Jim Dandy, to leave them both behind — by some 8 lengths. In the silent footage below, you get a sense of what transpired. (NOTE: Clearer at thumbnail size than on a full screen.)

Gallant Fox was retired to Claiborne Farm after his Gold Cup win when he came up with a fever and cough. His all-too-brief appearance on the stage was always recollected with a certain melancholy by my grandfather, who stressed that the champion was “just starting to show his real mettle” late in his 3 year-old season.

At stud, Gallant Fox produced a third Triple Crown winner in his very first crop, at the age of 5: Omaha. He also sired Flares, a full brother to Omaha, who won the Ascot Gold Cup, as well as the 1936 Horse of the Year, Granville. He was a moderately successful sire; his full brother, Fighting Fox, was less successful as a runner but more consistent in the breeding shed. Still, Gallant Fox remains the only Triple Crown winner to sire a Triple Crown winner and that only adds to his cachet.

Gallant Fox’s full brother, Fighting Fox. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

” He swept like a meteor across the racing sky of 1930.”

When he died in 1954 Gallant Fox was laid to rest at Claiborne, where he had first come into the world.

His epitaph reads, “He swept like a meteor across the racing sky of 1930″ — a fitting tribute to a thoroughbred whose dignity, determination and capacity to dream illuminated the darkness of the Great Depression.

Here at THE VAULT, we’re thinking about the fillies and colts who tend to fly “under the radar” as Oaks and Derby day draw near. After all, our sport would be awfully dull if the favourites always won.

 Along the trail to the first Saturday in May, thoroughbred experts are busy vetting their instincts and know-how to come up with a likely winner. There are all kind of statistics to pour over: past performances, pedigrees, sire records, profiles of trainers and jockeys. And, when the posts are drawn, there will be debates about the impact of starting positions on performance.

Of course, all of this cogitating is what makes horse racing exciting.

With the inevitable focus on favourites, it’s easy to forget that every one of the colts or fillies entered in the Oaks or the Derby are there because they’ve earned it. Collectively, these 3 year-olds rank in the top 1% of all thoroughbreds born in the same year. They are athletes trained to perfection, cared for down to the last detail and, more often than not, loved by their handlers, owners and fans. 

As they parade before the stands on their way to the starting gate, we celebrate their accomplishments and the stories that brought them to Churchill Downs. In those opening moments before the field is set on its way, each filly and colt moves in a shining light of possibility. 

And, for the true racing fan, that’s what it’s really all about.

(NOTE: This article is based on the leader board (@ http://www.kentuckyderby.com) for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby as of April 22, 2013)

There have been some stunning Derby upsets: Exterminator, who won in 1918, and Dark Star, who defeated Native Dancer in 1953, to name two of the most famous. Others include Donerail (won in 1913), Bold Venture (won in 1936) and, more recently, Thunder Gulch (1995).  And without question we must add the brilliant fillies Regret, Genuine Risk and Winning Colors who raced into history as members of an elite triad:

The Kentucky Oaks, inaugurated in 1875, has a no less prestigious history. Marking the start of Derby weekend, it is still seen as a bit of a “light weight” in comparison to the main event. But there are moments when the fillies deliver a champion so moving and so talented, that they manage to dwarf the colts.

……She stepped onto the track at Churchill Downs undefeated and, accordingly, the favourite in that year’s Kentucky Oaks. Her performance on that day was absolutely mind-boggling. Although Rachel Alexandra was neither a long shot nor an underdog, her resounding victory reminded everyone that great horses aren’t the sole domain of breeders like Coolmore, or trainers with enormous stables.

The place she won in our hearts on that day stands in memory as definitively as Secretariat’s Belmont, or Zenyatta’s triumph in the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic.

Kentucky Oaks 2013

Like the Derby, the Oaks has also known its fair share of upsets. The hugest (at 47-1) was Lemons Forever in 2006, who routed the favourite, Balance. But other fillies who flew under the radar until they came across the finish line ahead of the field include: Heavenly Cause (defeating De La Rose, Wayward Lass and the favourite, Truly Bound, in 1981), Seaside Attraction (who beat the undefeated Go For Wand in 1990), Luv Me Luv Me Not (1992), and Farda Amiga (who defeated Take Charge Lady and Habibti in 2002).  For all the statistics and analysis, nothing can dull the prospect of that pesky spirit of racing who, every so often, blesses a thoroughbred that was “under the radar.” Here are a few fillies that just might surprise us all.

 1. ROSE TO GOLD (Friends Lake ex. Saucy [Tabasco Cat])

Rose To Gold with jockey Calvin Borel. Photo and copyright, Steve Queen.

The chestnut daughter of Friends Lake is not exactly a long shot for the Oaks, having won 5 of 7 starts since her maiden at 2 and carrying second-highest points in the field.

However, Rose To Gold comes out of a lesser-known stable and is trained by Sal Santoro, who is hardly a household name. Her sire is useful if not brilliant, having yet to produce a superstar in his 6 foal crops to date. Then again, breeders can be fickle and in an environment where stallions like Smarty Jones get little respect, it’s tough to blame a sire for getting more modest winners. Rose To Gold’s pedigree also boasts the likes of A.P. Indy, together with Kentucky Derby winners Spend A Buck, Seattle Slew and Secretariat on top. Her dam, Saucy (Tabasco Cat ex. Sierra Madre by Mr. Prospector) has produced 6 foals to date, of which Rose To Gold is by far the most distinguished.

The question about Rose To Gold centres on the fields she’s taken on, or “Who did she beat?” She comes to the Kentucky Oaks out of Grade 3 stakes company, suggesting that stepping up to take on the likes of Dreaming of Julia will require that she’s at her absolute fittest. And it will be the filly’s first start at 1 1/4 miles. However, Rose To Gold has already romped in the slop to win the Fantasy Stakes and assuming that Calvin Borel — her steady jockey to date — gets the nod to ride her in the Oaks, we can count on her getting a very strategic ride.

2. SILSITA (Macho Uno ex. Naturally Wild [Wild Again])

The ravishing Silsita.

Macho Uno’s elegant daughter, Silsita, has won 2 of her 4 starts and only ever been out of the money once. Her most recent win came in the Bourbonette, which she took in a head bob, although at the finish she looked as though she could easily go further than the mile. And, in prevailing to win the Bourbonette over a very determined Marathonlady, she showed that toughness that we associate with her grandsire, Holy Bull.

Although the best she has beaten is Pure Fun, and Flashforward proved too much for her in her second start on January 3, Silsita remains a “work in progress,” improving steadily over her last 2 races. Trained by the accomplished Todd Pletcher, we should assume that Silsita’s entry in the Oaks speaks loud about what he thinks of this filly. Silsita’s dam, a daughter of the great producer, Wild Again, made 33 starts, retiring with a record of 6-9-6 and earnings of $293,134 USD. The filly is Naturally Wild’s third foal to date and all have been modestly successful.

Holy Bull’s granddaughter may be poised to make the finest effort of her career on May 3.

3. SEANEEN GIRL (Spring At Last ex. Afternoon Krystal [Afternoon Deelites])

Spring At Last hails from the sire line of Deputy Minister and his dam, Winter’s Gone, is 4 X 3 to both Ribot and Flower Bowl, through the spectacular brothers His Majesty and Graustark.

Winstar’s Spring At Last retired a black-type winner and millionaire: among his wins, the Godolphin Mile in the UAE, where he met up with international competition. His first crop are 3 year-olds this year and, if first crops mean anything in terms of a trend, his forte appears to lie with fillies. Spring In The Air and Spring Venture rank 1 and 2 as his most successful progeny, with Seaneen Girl in the number 3 slot. One can only hope that Spring At Last has transmitted some of Ribot’s invincibility to his young daughter:

Racing at 2, Seaneen Girl finished her juvenile season with a win at Churchill Downs in the Golden Rod Stakes.

Seaneen Girl winning the Golden Rod at Churchill Downs in November 2012.

Having made 7 starts in her career, winning 2 and finishing in the money another 3 times, this filly is honest and has performed consistently as a 3 year-old. She may have been beaten previously by Flashy Gray and Unlimited Budget, but Seaneen Girl has a very canny trainer in Bernie Flint, who has chalked up a sizeable number of winners and been the leading training at several different race tracks, including Churchill Downs.

Even though Seaneen Girl is stepping up in class to take on some serious talent, there is no doubt that she will try her best to run them down. The fractions in her last 2 races compare nicely against the recent performances of favourites like I Dream Of Julia.With a pedigree that includes names like Dynaformer, Waquoit, Graustark (4 X4), Roberto, Princequillo and Secretariat, Seaneen Girl has enough blue blood to do battle with the very best.

KENTUCKY DERBY 2013

1. LINES OF BATTLE (War Front ex. Black Speck [Arch])

Make no mistake about it: Lines of Battle is a very fine specimen who, if he shows up for the Derby, arrives at Churchill Downs with the second-highest earnings in the field. His last race was a win in the UAE Derby (above) and he carries a decidedly American — and deep — pedigree. War Front is proving a very good sire and the colt’s dam, Black Speck, is a half-sister to Dynaformer and she has already produced other black-type winners.

The magnificent Lines of Battle at work prior to winning the UAE Derby.

The key factor mitigating against his being a resounding Derby favourite is that it remains unclear whether or not his connections have been able to de-code the requirements to win the Kentucky Derby. Aidan O’Brien has certainly been knocking at the Derby door, and no-one would contest his brilliance. However, Coolmore’s Derby entrants consistently arrive close to Derby day and this means their colts have had little time to acclimatize to the change of scene and the deep Churchill track. Lines of Battle will find himself in the same situation as previous Coolmore entrants, although he does have a dirt pedigree, something that many of the other O’Brien trainees have lacked. The impeccably bred son of War Front will get 2 works over the track prior to the Derby, but it should be noted that several of the hottest contenders have been at Churchill for several weeks.

In terms of running style, Lines of Battle tends to be a closer and, in a race where stalkers and closers have the decided advantage, he may indeed give Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien a much-covetted crown.

2. ITSMYLUCKYDAY (Lawyer Ron ex. Viva La Slew [Doneraile Court])

Although there are stamina questions about the mile and 1/4 being the best fit for this colt, it’s impossible not to love the honest Itsmyluckyday. He’s got all the bling that made us love his daddy, Lawyer Ron. He’s also chalked up a lot of running experience under trainer Eddie Plesa Jr’s tutelage: Itsmyluckyday makes his 11th start on the first Saturday in May.

Itsmyluckyday pictured after his second place finish to Orb in the Florida Derby.

In the Florida Derby, the colt was well-beaten by Orb, but he also chalked up a second defeat of Shanghai Bobby and Frac Daddy in as many starts. Itsmyluckyday always gives 100% +. And he’s a stalker, another advantage in a Derby where there are no speed horses. But this colt has speed when he needs it: he ran the Gulfstream Park Derby in 1:09 flat in his first start of 2013 (below). In a word, Itsmyluckyday was brilliant in that race, although the competition was not up to the standards of his subsequent Holy Bull win.

But this determined colt is coming along very nicely and he may just do his daddy proud come Derby day!

3. WILL TAKE CHARGE (Unbridled’s Song ex. Take Charge Lady [Dehere])

Aside from the important fact that this colt has done everything right coming up to the Derby, his dam was a superstar who had the kind of heart that makes falling in love with thoroughbreds easy. Will Take Charge is her second offspring, after Take Charge Indy, to show his mettle on the track.

Here is Take Charge Lady battling it out with HOTY Azeri in the 2003 Apple Blossom:

The white-faced Will Take Charge is a big colt, still growing into himself, but he’s willing, rates off the pace nicely and comes with a cavalry charge at the end, as befits his name. If there is reticence about his chances, it might be that he has never gone over a mile and 1/16. But his win in the Rebel was breathtaking and in this, his final pre-Derby prep, Will Take Charge out-duelled his talented stablemate, Oxbow, in a manner that was reminiscent of his dam’s battle with Azeri:

And last, but hardly least, Will Take Charge is trained by HOF trainer, D. Wayne Lukas.

Need we say more? The legendary D. Wayne Lukas is tied for most Triple Crown victories with the late, incomparable Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.

In 1968 a filly named Dark Mirage captured the hearts and minds of the racing public when she became the first winner of what is now called the “Triple Tiara.”  

Yet, unlike Sir Barton, Dark Mirage’s story has been all but forgotten. Is it because she was “only a girl”?

Dark Mirage depicted here in the walking ring at Belmont Park, under jockey Manuel Ycaza

To say that the scruffy dark brown filly was a disappointment would have been the understatement of the year.

Impeccably bred by Duval A. Headley, the petite foal was by Persian Road II (1955), a son of the mighty Persian Gulf (1940). Persian Gulf’s sire, Bahram (1932), had won the British Triple Crown in 1935. Bred by HH Aga Khan III, who was noted for breeding some of the very best thoroughbreds of the early-mid twentieth century, Bahram’s stud career began brilliantly. Not only did he sire champion Persian Gulf in his first crop, but also Big Game, Parthia and Turkhan, all winners of prestigious Group 1 races in the UK, as well as over 400 other winners between 1940-41. When the Germans occupied France during WWII, the Aga Khan fled to Switzerland and Bahram was sold to the American syndicate of Walter P. Chrysler Jr., Alfred G. Vanderbilt II, James Cox Brady Jr. and Sylvester Labrot Jr. So it was that Bahram arrived in 1941 to stand at Sagamore Farm in Maryland and, later, at North Wales stud farm in Virginia. Prior to being sold to Argentina in 1946, Bahram sired winners of some 660 races, whose collective earnings exceeded 2 million USD.

The filly’s dam, Home By Dark (1959), was a daughter of Meadow Stables’ champion and 1950 HOTY, Hill Prince (1947) and her BM sire was a stallion called Sunday Evening (1947), a son of the legendary Eight Thirty (1936). Although Dark Mirage was her most prestigious offspring, Home By Dark also produced the stakes winners Gray Mirage and Bold Impulse. The former filly would go on to become an important broodmare whose progeny include the daughters Nobilaire, First Mirage and Mountain Sunshine, all of whom produced stakes winners. Another daughter of Home By Dark, Dusky Evening, produced the dam of Java Gold.

As well, Dark Mirage’s had other individuals in a pedigree that was loaded with talent : Princequillo (1940), Hyperion (1930), Bubbling Over (1923), Fairway (1925) and Swynford (1907) appeared within her first 5 generations. Further back, through Home By Dark, the tiny filly traced to The Tetrarch (1911), Domino(1891) and his descendant, the great Ben Brush(1893), sire of Sweep (1907) a Belmont Stakes winner who was also the BM sire of 2 Triple Crown winners: War Admiral (1934) and Whirlaway (1938).

The filly’s breeder, Duval A. Headley, the former trainer of Menow, hailed from a family that was itself American thoroughbred royalty. Hal Prince Headley, who owned Alcibiades and her son, Menow, the sire of the wonderful Tom Fool, was Duval’s uncle and the two formed a close training and breeding partnership.

Persian Gulf, mighty on the turf and in the shed was Dark Mirage’s great grandsire.

Hill Prince, Dark Mirage’s BM sire, was the star of Christopher Chenery’s Meadow Stable at its peak.

Sunday Evening had won the Spinaway as a 2 year-old and went on to produce Home By Dark, Dark Mirage’s dam. Home By Dark never raced since she was born deaf, but she produced 10 foals, several of which were successful on the track. Dark Mirage was the best of them.

Duval A. Headley, shown here with the champion, Menow, whom he trained for his uncle, Hal Prince Headley. Photo and copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Home By Dark’s little daughter had been small at birth, but even by the time she had matured, Dark Mirage only stood 15.1 hands and weighed a mere 710 lbs. (most horses weigh in at something like 1,000 lbs. when they go into training). None of which endeared her to Duval Headley. So it was that she went to Keeneland’s 1966 Summer Sale, where she brought $6,000 USD from racing enthusiast Llloyd I. Miller, described as a “real classy gent” by his trainer, the irascible Everett W. King.

Everett W. King captured by the whimsical pen of Peb.

In these days of stable tours and engaging trainers, Everett King would have been considered a complete misfit. He was a crusty character who had little time for such niceties.King ran a tough ship and no-one escaped his barbed tongue if they stepped out of line, be they human or horse. He liked the privacy of his stable and he loved his horses. Not a cotton-candy kind of love, mind you. More the kind built on respect.

Said trainer Leroy Jolley of the Plainview Lounge, a bar owned by King across from Belmont Park: “Kingie’s bar is some kind of tough joint. Joe Frazier and five bodyguards wouldn’t dare walk in there on a Saturday night. But Kingie is right there. He doesn’t back off from anybody. He’s the toughest 55 year-old guy I’ve ever met.”

When Dark Mirage arrived at King’s stable, he must have been rather surprised, since she was the size of a child’s pony and, as it turned out, a munchkin with a temper as fiery as his own. It was not so much that she’d been mistreated as ignored and she’d already learned a defensive repertoire that was designed to keep her safe from larger members of the herd. Training horses is enough like teaching to assume that, as happens in the classroom, the ones that fight you the most are the ones you never forget. Students that are difficult often are also responsible for teaching a teacher how to teach — if the teacher lets them. So we imagine it went, between the tough trainer and the “Tiny Tigress,” as she came to be known by her racing public.

A conformation shot of Dark Mirage — all 15.1 hands of her!

The filly with the bay coat so dark that it looked black had an average 2 year-old season, making 15 starts with a record of 2-3-2. The attention Dark Mirage got had more to do with her size and some of the press even saw fit to write slapstick vignettes about her:

“…When horse trainer Everett King first looked into a stall at the yearling owner Lloyd I. Miller had brought to him, he though there had been a terrible mistake.  The animal quivering in the corner looked less like it belonged in a stall than a kennel.  Or a cage.

‘Did you trap it or buy it?’ King demanded.  ‘She’s just little.  She’s a filly,’ he was told.  ‘I can see that,’ snapped King.  ‘But a filly what?’

 ’Back home,’ he added, ‘we make stew out of bigger varmits than that.  What do you feed it – cheese?  Put it in a room and every woman there would jump up on a table and holler.  Better not let it out or the rooster might eat it.  Or if it gets in the chickens a farmer might shoot it.  And put a collar on it or they’ll take it to the pound.’

 They named the filly ‘Dark Mirage’, and for days, they kept checking it for antlers or to see if it chased cats.

‘Our biggest worry was someone would step on it’ King recalls. ‘We told the boys before they stuck a pitchfork in a pile of straw, to blow on it first and see if Dark Mirage was under there’………”

Jim Murray of the The Los Angeles Times (1969)

It’s doubtful that King ever read this kind of story or, if he did, he treated it as nonsense. The trainer had seen a spark in his tiny filly that made him think her second racing season might be different. If anyone would know, it would be Everett King, who had a reputation for being particularly excellent with fillies. The other thing King knew about was a thoroughbred’s heart — and he knew that a big heart could come wrapped up in a tiny package.

Dark Mirage’s 3 year-old campaign began in defeat, in March at Aqueduct, where she finished fourth, 7 1/2 lengths from the winner under jockey Ron Turcotte. It would be the final defeat of her career.

After this race, it seemed as though Dark Mirage had gone to bed a girl and awoken a woman. Something had clicked and the click might well have come in the form of a 25 year-old brunette called Tuesdee Testa, who was the wife of King’s stable manager, Al. The young woman who wanted to ride professionally and who would become the first woman to ever ride competitively at a major American racetrack (Santa Anita), was Dark Mirage’s regular exercise rider and buddy, the one who walked her, fed her and often groomed her. Tuesdee loved her Tiny Tigress and they established an instant rapport, in part because a woman who wanted to be a professional jockey in the 1960′s and a thoroughbred no taller than a pony shared a lot in common: the need to fund the courage to realize their destinies in the face of huge obstacles.

Tuesdee Testa with Dark Mirage. This was the thoroughbred that Tuesdee would never forget. As she told a journalist, “Next to my husband and my daughter, Dark Mirage is the one I love best. She’s my baby.” Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

At a time when (male) jockeys boycotted races where female jockeys were riding and the presence of a woman in the post parade drew hisses and worse, Everett Kelly had nothing but praise for Tuesdee “I’ve had a few riders, and I’ve never had one as good as she is at the beginning. She has better hands and knows more about handling horses than Sammy Boulmetis did when he was starting out…she can do it all.“ (NOTE: Samuel L. Boulmetis Sr. , born in 1927, was a skillful jockey who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1973. Of all the horses Boulmetis rode, the best was the great mare Tosmah, whom he guided to no less than 7 major stakes victories against fillies and colts.)

Dark Mirage’s transformation made itself known in her next race — a 7f allowance. She literally walked away from the rest of the field, winning by 9 lengths. King then raced her in the Prioress, where she again prevailed, followed by the La Troienne, where she scooted across the finish 3 lengths ahead of her rivals. Manuel aka “Manny” Ycaza was now her permanent jockey and under his guidance, Dark Mirage would win another 6 consecutive races. In the Kentucky Oaks, the talented Ycaza and the “mighty mite” won by 4 1/2 lengths, going away.

The original Filly Triple Crown was hosted at Belmont Park from 1957-2002 and again from 2007-2009. In 1968, it was comprised of the Acorn Stakes, the Mother Goose and the Coaching Club American Oaks. King figured his little girl was ready to step into the line of fire. By the time she ran in the Acorn, Dark Mirage was very fit — and showing an irrepressible spirit around the barn. Her day was not complete without harassing her team. But now Dark Mirage showed no meanness; instead, she had graduated to becoming an equine prankster. Growled the trainer to a journalist, “You just can’t turn your back on her these days. You gotta watch her all the time.” Had she not had the benefit of an experienced rider in Tuesdee and a savvy trainer, keeping Dark Mirage happy within herself throughout the Triple Crown trail would have been impossible. But, as things turned out, Dark Mirage and Manny Ycaza made the their race to stardom look like a walk in the park.

In the Acorn and the Mother Goose, Dark Mirage set new track records, equalling the Belmont track record in the Acorn. In the CC American Oaks, she put on a performance for the ages.  Taking the lead midway, Dark Mirage doubled her distance from the other fillies all the way home. At 6 furlongs she led by 3, at the mile by 6 and at the wire, by 12. Ycaza hardly moved in the saddle and Dark Mirage sailed to victory in 2:01.4. It was the fastest CC Oaks ever clocked and the fans roared her home from the eighth pole to the finish. Wrote Steve Cady in the New York Times, under the header Some Ponies Can Grow Ten Feet Tall : “…When she reached the finish, ears cocked and neck bowed, she was galloping along with no more apparent effort than a saddle horse out for leisurely bridle-path canter.”

Mr. Lloyd’s pint-sized filly had won the 3 races of the Triple Crown for fillies by a combined margin of 28 lengths.

Here is an album of Dark Mirage’s Triple Crown, concluding with film footage of the races themselves. The quality of the video is not great, but it does enable readers to see this fabulous filly in action.

Dark Mirage in the walking ring before the CC American Oaks, Manny Ycaza up.

The very first winner of the Triple Crown for fillies made her next two public appearances in the Monmouth and Delaware Oaks. Dark Mirage won the former by 4 lengths. The latter was almost an honorary race, given the fact that Delaware suspended betting (because the filly was a pro at creating huge minus betting pools every time she ran) and Dark Mirage won it by 2 lengths. Shortly after the Delaware Oaks, the Tiny Tigress came up with a minor ankle injury and was given some R & R for the remainder of the season. It surprised no-one that she won Champion Three-Year Old Filly honours as 1968 came to a close.

Dark Mirage as photographed by Bob Coglianese. Photo and copyright, Bob Coglianese.

Once the injury had healed, King shipped his Queen out to California, where she would begin her 4 year-old campaign. Rumours were already flying as to her “first date” once she was retired. Speculation was that Dr. Fager topped the list and this only added to her cachet as the West Coast eagerly awaited Dark Mirage’s racing debut.

The Santa Maria Stakes were chosen as a good season opener for the Triple Crown winner. Princessnesian, an older mare, was also entered, but the connections of Gamely avoided her. The Santa Maria showed the racing world that Dark Mirage hadn’t lost any of her determination or ability: walled in by other runners, jockey Eddie Belmonte finally found an opening and the filly dived through it and into the clear, leaving Princessnesian — who went on to win the 1969 Hollywood Gold Cup against the colts — a head too short at the finish. A small margin of victory, to be sure. But considering the rough trip, it felt as good as a length. In this footage, Tuesdee Testa is shown aboard her favourite thoroughbred just prior to the day of the race.

On February 26, 1969, Tuesdee Testa made history riding the Everett King- trained Gallarush at Santa Anita, becoming the first woman jockey to ever ride at a major American race track. She and Gallarush finished last, but Everett King didn’t see it as a blemish, asserting that Tuesdee didn’t have enough “quality” under her to do any better. On March 1, 1969, Tuesdee was back in the saddle again and won aboard Lloyd Miller’s Buz On. And even though horse and jockey had been roundly booed in the post parade, when it was all over King was quick to point out that even the immortal Eddie Arcaro hadn’t won his first race in only his second start. It should have been a day that Tuesdee would remember as the realization of a dream. But it didn’t turn out that way.

Dark Mirage, running in the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap the same day, carrying an additional 130 lbs. over a sloppy track, broke down.

Here’s Leon Rasmussen’s account in the Thoroughbred Record (March 8, 1969):

“…Not enough can be said for Belmonte. As soon as he sensed Dark Mirage was not right he began to ease her and when they stopped, he quickly jumped off, took off the tack and held the filly’s injured right foreleg in his hand until the horse ambulance arrived.

The trouble began at the start, when Sinking Spring, breaking from next to the outside in post position 9, veered sharply toward the rail. As a result, Dark Mirage, breaking from post position 5, was severely jarred. Belmonte immediately took hold of Dark Mirage ‘ to give her some confidence. When she changed her lead going to the turn, I thought something was wrong and when I asked her to run a little bit and she had nothing, I knew something had happened.’ 

Adding to the trouble at the start was what looked like a large piece of cellophane paper — perhaps a Baggie — which had blown onto the track at the clubhouse turn. Swiftsure Stables’ Hooplah, who was setting the pace at the time, tried to jump it, and Dark Mirage , who many thought had stumbled shortly before, also tried to jump the paper.”

Everett King ran to his filly, Tuesdee at his heels.

At first, it looked as though the dislocated sesamoid in her right foreleg would heal. Only 2 days after the race, King reported that the filly was walking on the injured leg, albeit gingerly. The trainer expected her to race again. So Dark Mirage was put into a cast and, with the constant attention of a stellar veterinary team, began the long road to recovery. Her owner announced her retirement and, as had been anticipated, she was booked to Dr. Fager.

The problem was that the new injury was near one that had sidelined the filly at the end of her 3 year-old season. Dark Mirage fought gallantly, but her body just couldn’t do it. The bones refused to heal and the filly’s good foreleg began to buckle under the extra weight. After still another round of surgery, it became clear that nothing else could be done for Dark Mirage and she was put down in July, 1969.

The Tiny Tigress was buried at Tartan Farm (now Winding Oaks Farm) in Ocala, Florida. Nearby lies the grave of Dr. Fager, who was to be her first suitor.

The “Tiny Tigress” retired on the crest of a winning streak of 10 races and a combined winning margin of 51 3/4 lengths. Dark Mirage is pictured here on the cover of the March 8, 1969 Thoroughbred Record.

Dark Mirage was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974: http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horses-view.asp?varID=55

As Royal Ascot kicks off (June 18-22) there will be an understandable nostalgia in the air. After all, last year saw Frankel and Black Caviar grace the Ascot turf and it’s hard to imagine any thoroughbred rising to those heights in 2013.  

However, it looks as though the hugely talented Camelot will be in attendance and the crowd will be delighted to greet the colt who almost clinched the first British Triple Crown since Nijinsky in 1970. As well, Frankel’s little sister, Joyeuse, is running in the Albany Stakes. Trained by Sir Henry Cecil for Khalid Abdullah, her appearance will bring with it a huge range of emotions. And Dawn Approach, who was to skip Royal Ascot altogether, is set to go in the St. James Palace Stakes if he turns in a good work on Thursday, June 13th.

And then there’s the Queen Anne Stakes, where Dubai World Cup winner, Animal Kingdom, makes his final start before heading off to stud duty in Australia. 

There have also been some notable defections, among them Snow Fairy, Black Caviar’s little (half-) brother, All Too Hard (who was retired), as well as Soft Falling Rain, Shea Shea, Farrh and the world’s highest-rated turf horse, Cirrus des Aigles. And don’t expect to see Ballydoyle’s Derby winner, Ruler of the World. He will be aimed at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes which run at Ascot in July. Nor does it look as though champion St. Nicholas Abbey will put in an appearance following his historic win at Ascot last month in the Coronation Cup.

But make no mistake about it: Royal Ascot is the most glittering 5-day event of the British flat racing season, a place where legends are crowned and rising stars are anointed. 

In the midst of preparing this article, news arrived that Sir Henry Cecil had died. 

This article is dedicated to a man who was undoubtedly one of the finest trainers ever and begins, fittingly, with Frankel’s romp in last year’s Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Despite his battle with a horrible disease, Sir Henry Cecil said, “…I had to be there, for Frankel.”

And, indeed, he was. 

OVERVIEW

This review is Part I of a two-part feature.

Part II, a review of the top races between June 20 & 21 will be posted on THE VAULT on Wednesday, June 19.

PART I 

The following races are reviewed in this article:

Opening Day, JUNE 18  — The Queen Anne Stakes (featuring Animal Kingdom), The King’s Stand (featuring Reckless Abandon and Shamexpress), The St. James Palace Stakes (sure to be a thriller, with Dawn Approach taking on Magician, Toronado and Dundonnell), The Coventry Stakes (2 year-old colts) and The Windsor Castle Stakes (featuring the promising daughter of British legend, Attraction).

Day Two, June 19, The Prince of Wales Stakes (featuring Camelot, Al Kazeem, The Fugue and Red Cadeaux).

WHERE TO WATCH: HRTV is covering the key Royal Ascot races, beginning at 9:00 A.M. (approx.) over each of the 5 days.

FOR RACE CARDS and COMPLETE RACE SCHEDULE, please visit LET’S GO TO THE RACES at http://www.letsgototheraces.blogspot.ca

AT THE RACES at http://www.attheraces.com/ascot/list.aspx?lid=pa+news also offers complete Royal Ascot coverage and will post all races on its YouTube channel by the end of each day.

Tuesday, JUNE 18

* Please note that all entries are accurate as of 13-06-2013

THE QUEEN ANNE STAKES (Grade 1, part of the British Champions series. Distance: 1 mile) 

ANIMAL KINGDOM (centre) looks over the course at Royal Ascot. (Photo and copyright, Steve Cargill)

No question: at Royal Ascot 2013, THE race is the Queen Anne and THE horse is Animal Kingdom (2008). At least, that’s how many Brits see it.

Fresh off his impressive win in the Dubai Gold Cup, the son of Lesroidesanimaux brings a presence to UK racing that fans across the pond are lapping up. British papers have featured articles on the elegant Animal Kingdom and his under-stated trainer, Graham Motion, weekly. And racing sites like At The Races and Racing Post have posted an array of videos, of which this is one:

Of course, all of this excitement is old news for North American racing fans, who fell in love with the strapping chestnut when he won the 2011 Kentucky Derby. Not that they’ll be any less thrilled this coming Tuesday. The colt already sits in the betting at the very top of the heap and it must be said that the Queen Anne is Animal Kingdom’s to lose. What Graham Motion has been teaching the champ since he arrived in April in the UK is how the Brits do things — notably, the demand of the Ascot turf, that features ups and downs rather than a straight, flat surface. However, after a number of very strong works, it’s fair to assume that Animal Kingdom knows what to expect.

ANIMAL KINGDOM with John Velasquez after a work over the Ascot course. The Queen Anne Stakes will likely be the colt’s final race, after which he departs for stud duty in Australia.(Photo and copyright, Steve Cargill)

Although entries have yet to be finalized, Aidan O’Brien will likely run at least 2 horses against the Dubai World Cup winner, the best of these being Declaration of War (2009). The 4 year-old son of War Front(2002) last raced in May at Newberry, where he finished 5th in a field of 12. However, he has won 5 of his 7 career starts and is likely to be partnered by Joseph O’Brien, a decided advantage. Trainer John Gosden is likely to run the mare, Elusive Kate (2009) who last raced in October 2012 against the colts at Ascot and finished in 3rd place against the likes of Excelebration. The daughter of Elusive Quality(1993) will need to show that she has the will to compete. A more important  competitor, running in the colours of HRH Princess Haya of Jordan and also trained by Goseden is Gregorian (2009). This colt has finished either first or second in his last 4 races and is likely the one who will give Animal Kingdom the most trouble, if he fires. And fire he must, since Graham Motion’s superstar is by far the very best in the field.

Ballydoyle’s DECLARATION OF WAR will seek to de-rail ANIMAL KINGDOM.

KING’S STAND STAKES (Grade 1, part of the British Champions series. Distance: 5 furlongs)

UPDATE (June 16) : Mick de Kock’s SHEA SHEA (South Africa) is now confirmed for this race.

This race is a sprint for 3 year-olds and up and promises to be hotly contested, despite the possible defection of Mike de Kock’s Shea Shea. If he doesn’t run, the favourite will be 3 year-old Reckless Abandon (2010), a son of Exchange Rate (1997) trained by Clive Cox, who has only lost once in a total of 6 starts. Last year’s Prix Morny and Middle Park winner was third in the five-furlong Temple Stakes at Haydock last time out and is an honest type who can be counted on to try his very best.

RECKLESS ABANDON in action, showing his scope and powerful stride.

But Reckless Abandon is unlikely to get off easy. He will be facing the Australian Shamexpress (2009) who has won 2 of his 3 starts this year and, according to trainer Danny O’Brien, the colt is coming up to the race in fighting form. Shamexpress won the Newmarket Handicap (AUS) last time out and finished going away. Also fancied are Richard Lynam’s Sole Power (2007) who enters with a track record of 34-6-6-5 and John Gosden’s Swiss Spirit (2009), a son of super sire, Invincible Spirit (1997). Cheveley Park Stud’s Kingsgate Native (2005) may be a veteran, but he has already beaten Swiss Native and lost by only a length to Sole Power recently, making him a serious contender. Also re-appearing is the veteran Medicean Man (2007) who won last time out at Haydock on June 7. Pearl Secret (2009) lost last time out, but this was his very first defeat in 5 career starts.

The white-faced PEARL SECRET will be easy to spot and deserves to be considered a serious contender, since he has only lost once in 5 starts.

ST. JAMES PALACE STAKES (GROUP 1 for 3 year-old colts, part of the British Champions series. Geldings barred. Distance: 1 mile)

This is one of England’s most prestigious races for 3 year-olds. First run in 1834, its initial running turned out to be a walkover for a great British thoroughbred called Plenipotentiary (1831). It has been won by a veritable who’s who of champions since then, including the mare Sceptre, Rock Sand, the much-loved Captain Cuttle, the fabulous Brigadier Gerard, Kris, Kingmambo, Giant’s Causeway and Frankel in 2011.

PLENIPOTENTIARY (1831), the first winner of the St. James Palace Stakes, took the honours in a walkover.

The incomparable SCEPTRE, who was the main rival of the brilliant PRETTY POLLY, pictured in this intaglio print during her racing days.

Not only is he beautiful, but GIANT’S CAUSEWAY was also a much-loved champion in the UK. The “Iron Horse” would not only win the St. James Palace in 2000, but also sire a son who won it 5 years later, SHAMARDAL.

This year, the drama is shaping up to lie principally between Dawn Approach, Dundonnell and Toronado. The Jim Bolger-trained Dawn Approach is seeking to regain some respect, having run a very rank race in the recent Investic Derby.  Bolger believes the colt’s uncharacteristic effort in the Derby — he finished last — was caused by a smack in the ribs that he sustained leaving the gate, causing him to never really settle.

DAWN APPROACH eyes the camera, as if to say, “Look out on June 18th lads!”

Dundonnell is owned by Khalid Abdullah, Frankel’s owner-breeder, and trained by Roger Charlton. This colt has been in the money 6 times in his 7 starts and won at Newmarket his last time out. Toronado is a son of High Chaparral. Trained by Richard Hannon, the colt has only ever lost once in 5 starts. This will be the third time that Toronado and Dundonnell face-off against one another. Here’s a sample of what we can expect from these two:

Aidan O’Brien was able to confirm that Magician will definitely start in the St. James Palace and it is on this son of the mighty Galileo that O’Brien will pin his hopes for victory. Coolmore-Ballydoyle will also run Gale Force Ten, George Vancouver and Mars, although it seems unlikely that any of these will better either Dawn Approach (unless he runs another stinker) or favourites like Toronado. Magician comes to the St. James Palace with a record of 6-3-1-0 and has won his last 2 races, including the Irish 2000 Guineas (below).

Coming in undefeated is the lightly raced Mutin(2010) from the stable of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. A son of the multi-millionaire Kentucky Dynamite (2003), who hails from the Mr. Prospector line through his sire, Kingmambo, this colt will like the distance and, if the course is fast, should excel.

Trainer George Margarson’s Jammy Guest is by the very talented Duke of Marmalade; although the colt has only been out of the money once in 3 starts, the St. James Palace is a huge step-up in class for him. A 5-time Group One winning son of Danehill, Duke Of Marmalade comes from a family that includes the likes of A.P. Indy, Lemon Drop Kid and the former Classic winner Summer Squall, sire of Horse of the Year Charismatic. The family has met with great success in the southern hemisphere, through stallions like Bite The Bullet, Spectacular Spy, Honor Grades and the red-hot Statue Of Liberty. All to say that Jammy Guest just might well be ready to take a really good run at Dawn Approach, Magician or Toronado.

The dramatically handsome DUKE OF MARMALADE hails from the same family as A.P. Indy, Lemon Drop Kid and Summer Squall.

COVENTRY STAKES (Group 2 for 2 year-olds. Distance: 6 furlongs)

Information about entries in this coveted event for the youngest thoroughbred remain sketchy at the time of this writing. However, there is a strong possibility that three of Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s most promising babies will be entered. Stubbs (2011), by Danehill Dancer, has only lost once in his 3 starts, coming in third on his very first attempt. Sir John Hawkins (2011), a son of Henrythenavigator, makes only his second career start after winning his maiden but is already considered one of the best of the Ballydoyle juveniles. Last, but hardly least, is Coach House (2011). The son of Oasis Dream(2000) has already won 2 of his 3 starts and is another rising star.

The absolutely gorgeous STUBBS, under Joseph O’Brien, powers home. Photo and copyright, HEALY RACING PHOTOS.

SIR JOHN HAWKINS, ridden by Joseph O’Brien (pink & blue striped cap) wins at first asking from INTENSIFIED and SUDIRMAN.
Photo and copyright, HEALY RACING PHOTOS.

WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES (A listed race for 2 yr. old colts and fillies. Distance: 5f)

The colt FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH is by OASIS DREAM but her dam, ATTRACTION, became a modern legend.

The story of this race regardless of its outcome has to be Fountain of Youth. Every British racing fan will be watching to see if he has the talent of his dam, the great Attraction (2001), whose story and achievements made her a heroine of the turf.

Attraction was born with crooked forelegs and her owner, the Duke of Roxburghe, knew there was no point sending her into the sales ring. So he sent her off to his trainer and the rest, as they say, is history. And what a history: with her front legs rotating like egg-beaters, Attraction became the only filly (until 2007, when she was ousted by Finsceal Beo) to won both the English and Irish Guineas. Nor did it end there. Unbeaten in 7 starts, Attraction annexed the Coronation, Sun Chariot and Cherry Hinton Stakes as well. In 2003, Attraction was rated at 118, making her the third best 3 year-old in the world.

ATTRACTION is pictured here at her home, Floors Stud, on the Scottish border. As a broodmare, she has already been a success but Fountain of Youth may be her best yet.

Wednesday, June 19

* Please note that all entries are accurate as of 13-06-2013.

THE PRINCE OF WALES STAKES (GROUP 1 for 4 year-olds and up, part of the British Champions series. Distance: 1 mile, 2f)

This race is shaping up to be a  smallish, selective field with horses like Camelot (2009), Al Kazeem (2008), The Fugue (2009) and Red Cadeaux (2006) set to do battle. Of these 4, arguably the least known to racing fans outside of the UK is trainer Roger Charlton’s Al Kazeem. But the son of Dubawi has already beaten Camelot once, in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, which was his last outing, and is not to be overlooked. Not only did he take down Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s golden boy, but Al Kazeem has come back after an injury that put an end to his 2012 season to win his last 3 races, improving his track record to 10-5-4-0. Below is the running of the Gold Cup (May 26, 2013):

Windsor Palace (2005) will again serve to keep the pace honest for Camelot, who will have Joseph O’Brien in the irons. The veteran campaigner, Red Cadeaux (2006) last ran second to Animal Kingdom in the Dubai World Cup and can also be counted on to run a good race. A multi-millionaire with earnings of 3, 275, 933 BPS in 36 starts, the gelded son of the late Cadeaux Genereux (1985) is a stalker who comes from off the pace, like Al Kazeem.

Red Cadeaux is a veteran of 36 races and a multi-millionaire who last ran second to Animal Kingdom in the Dubai World Cup.

The Fugue(2009) is the only lady in this heady field and, before we count her out, it should be said that she is also the best rested of all the entries, having made her last run in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup, where she finished 3rd to Zagora after a less-than-ideal trip. In fact, bad trips have plagued this feisty daughter of Dansili, who is owned by Andrew Lloyd-Weber and trained by the great John Gosden. Despite not always getting the best of chances, The Fugue has only been out of the money once in 8 career starts. And….not only is she one gorgeous gal, but her BM sire is Sadler’s Wells.

Here’s The Fugue, who gets hopelessly stuck behind horses, rallying to take third in a race she should have won — the BC Filly & Mare Turf (2012):

SPECIAL NOTE: Part III of THE VAULT’S Royal Ascot coverage will be posted Friday, June 21st and cover the closing day. (The fields are still unconfirmed for several races on the Saturday, making the addition of a third article prudent. AA)

This second of a three-part series covers some of the top races and horses on DAY THREE, Thursday, June 20 and DAY FOUR, Friday, June 21. Please note that the fields in each race covered below are still shifting somewhat, but every effort has been made to focus on top thoroughbreds confirmed in the running at this time, with a particular emphasis on those who are likely to be less-familiar to non-UK viewers.

WHERE TO WATCH: HRTV is covering the key Royal Ascot races, beginning at 9:00 A.M. (approx.) over each of the 5 days.

FOR RACE CARDS and COMPLETE RACE SCHEDULE, please visit LET’S GO TO THE RACES at http://www.letsgototheraces.blogspot.ca

AT THE RACES (UK) at http://www.attheraces.com/ascot/list.aspx?lid=pa+news also offers complete Royal Ascot coverage and will post all races on its YouTube channel by the end of each day.

RACING POST (UK) hosts its own Royal Ascot site, complete with race cards for each race and articles: http://royal-ascot.racingpost.com

OVERVIEW

The following Royal Ascot races are reviewed below:

THURSDAY, JUNE 20: the RIBBLESDALE STAKES (3 yr-old fillies) featuring ALIVE ALIVE OH, THE LARK, RIPOSTE, SAY, MAGICAL DREAM, JUST PRETENDING; and THE GOLD CUP (4 yr-olds and up) featuring RITE OF PASSAGE, SIMENON, COLOUR VISION, ESTIMATE and SADDLER’S ROCK.

FRIDAY, JUNE 21 : the ALBANY STAKES featuring FRANKEL’S half-sister JOYEUSE and a host of other precocious 2 YR. OLD fillies; the KING EDWARD VII STAKES featuring BATTLE OF MARENGO, MUTASHADED, BRASS RING and DYNAFORMER’S son, ESHTIAAL; and the CORONATION STAKES featuring another anticipated battle between two fabulous files, JUST THE JUDGE and SKY LANTERN.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20

THE RIBBLESDALE STAKES (3 yr-old fillies, Fillies Grade 2. Distance: 1 m  4 f)

This race might be a real corker because, despite the apparent superiority of Alive Alive Oh (2010), all of the contenders do best over soft-yielding turf. At present, it looks as though the turf will be firm-hard, leading several trainers to flirt with withdrawing their fillies from Ascot altogether.

ALIVE ALIVE OH wins for trainer Tommy Stack. She enters the Ribblesdale as the filly to beat.

What makes Tommy Stack’s filly a prohibitive favourite is that she’s managed 2 impressive wins in her 3 starts, beating Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s  Magical Dream most recently and running third to their very good colt, Magician, in her maiden almost a year ago. Of course, a lot can change in a year, but Alive Alive Oh only seems to be getting better. The dark bay daughter of The Duke of Marmalade (see coverage of him in Part 1, under St. James Palace Stakes) walked away from the field to win brilliantly over Magical Dream in her last outing on May 7th over yielding turf.

The Lark, trained by Michael Bell, is a daughter of the outstanding world-class sire, Pivotal (1993) who had 100 SW in 2012, both fillies and colts. She arrives at Ascot with 4 races under her belt and a record of 4-1-0-2, although her only win came back in October 2012.

Coolmore-Ballydoyle has 2 confirmed entries and may run a third. Definitely in the mix for the Ribblesdale are Magical Dream and Just Pretending. The former, a daughter of Galileo(1998) has a record of 6-2-1-1 but hasn’t chalked up a victory since September 2012. Giant’s Causeway (1997) is the sire of Just Pretending, who has won twice in her 4 starts to date, running third to a superstar in Just The Judge in her last start, the 1,000 Irish Guineas. However, on May 12th (2013) in the Derrinstown Stud 1,000 Trial, under Joseph O’Brien, she came home first in a close finish. Say, another Galileo filly, may also contest the Ribblesdale but we will need to wait until mid-week to know for certain.

Lady Cecil, who has been extended a trainer’s licence in light of the recent death of her husband, Sir Henry Cecil, comes into the Ribblesdale with a lovely Juddmonte filly, Riposte. Sir Henry was still nominating horses to Royal Ascot in the last days of his life and there can be no doubt that Riposte is here because she deserves to be. The daughter of another super sire, Dansili (1996) is, of course, trained by Sir Henry and she will have Tom Queally to guide her home. The filly comes into the race with a record of 2-1-1-0, but the fact she’s been so lightly raced ought to be subscribed to her trainer’s illness and not to her abilities. And: Riposte is the only other serious contender other than Alive Alive Oh to have won over firm – hard ground.

RIPOSTE under Tom Queally shown here beating the filly MUTHMERA at Newmarket this May. The ground was listed as Firm, making her a particularly strong contender in the Ribblesdale.

THE GOLD CUP ( 4 yr-olds & up, Group 1, part of the British Champions Series. Distance: 2m 4f)

The Gold Cup is a marathon of a race and this year’s version sees some really good horses entered. Winners here will shout stamina, as did the most famous of all Gold Cup winners, the mighty Yeats (2001) who won it an unprecedented 4 years in a row.

Aidan O’Brien’s magnificent YEATS has set the Gold Cup standard. Now retired, he performs the dual function of siring both jump and flat thoroughbreds.

Simenon (2007), a 6 yr. old campaigner and son of Marju (1988), has raced 21 times with 4 wins, one being in the Ascot Stakes over good-soft ground at Royal Ascot a year ago. This fellow is bound to be the sentimental favourite, although he will get some play at the betting pools as well. Interestingly, the gelding has raced over fences too. His last time out, Simenon finished 4th of 17 in the Stan James Chester Cup (over fences). This is one hard-working, talented and gutsy thoroughbred and Yeats would have loved him for it. Fittingly, Simenon stands at current odds of 7-1. Here he is, winning the Ascot Stakes in 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChBPPTHQ3NY

The Gold Cup will also be graced by an entry from Her Majesty the Queen in the form of the filly, Estimate (2009), who is currently the favourite. She was a gift from Prince Khalid Abdullah to Her Majesty as a baby and was selected from Juddmonte’s top breeding stock that year. The daughter of the late great German sire, Monsun (1990) won the Longines Sagaro Stakes her last time out, but also took home the Queen’s Vase at Ascot last year. In 6 starts, Estimate has only been out of the money once, chalking up 3 wins and 2 shows (3rd). No question that this talented lady will be another sentimental choice to take the honours, it being the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

ESTIMATE poses with HM The Queen after winning the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot in 2012.

After Simenon and Estimate, the other really good horses running in the Gold Cup seem to pale by comparison. However, expect the 9 yr.old Rite of Passage to run in very good form. Currently the second favourite, the chestnut gelding by Giant’s Causeway is another sturdy character, having started 9 times on the flat(record of 6-0-2) and 3 times over jumps (record of 2-0-1). Versatile as well as talented, Rite of Passage has already won the Gold Cup once — at Royal Ascot in 2010. His last start, in October 2012, was on British Champions Day, where he walked off with the Group 3 Long Distance Cup beating Saddler’s Rock, Colour Vision and Fame and Glory in the process. However, that was over soft-yielding ground and the conditions at Ascot look to favour hard-firm this year.

Co-favoured at 7-1 with Simenon is Saddler’s Rock (2008). Even though he hasn’t had a win since last August, the 5 yr. old son of the fantastic Sadler’s Wells is trained by John Oxx, the man who took Sea The Stars to racing glory. Oxx was already a leading Irish trainer before Sea The Stars, having trained the brilliant filly Ridgewood Pearl, as well as Sinndar, winner of the Investic Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for Oxx’s main client, the Aga Khan. If the turf plays good-firm, look for Saddler’s Rock to run a blinder.

SADDLER’S ROCK won’t appreciate soft ground, but if the Ascot turf plays good-firm, look to see this son of Sadler’s Wells run his best race to date.

Last but not least is Godolphin’s Colour Vision (2008), last year’s Gold Cup winner. And even though the grey son of Rainbow Quest(1981) hasn’t scored since Frankie Dettori left Godolphin, he’s a versatile horse who has won over good to soft ground, making him a serious contender in this year’s field.

An elated Frankie Dettori rides back to the winner’s enclosure after COLOUR VISION’S win in the 2012 Gold Cup.

FRIDAY, JUNE 21st

THE ALBANY STAKES ( 2 yr. old fillies, Group 3. DISTANCE: 6 f)

Excitement will be in the air as Day Four of Royal Ascot kicks off with Frankel’s little half-sister, Joyeuse, taking on a field of fairly accomplished babies. Of course, these are juveniles and have only just gotten started, making the task of choosing a winner pretty demanding.

Joyeuse, by Oasis Dream (2000), broke her maiden at first asking at 6f over ground labelled “good.” Meaning that neither the distance nor the probable state of the Ascot turf should bother her. Joyeuse was trained by Sir Henry Cecil for owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah and will have her big brother’s jockey, Tom Queally, back to guide her. Here’s a look at the compact and feminine-looking filly on her very first time out. Quite apart from the race, the hijinks at the gate and Queally’s struggles keeping Joyeuse on-track — a little like his early battles with Frankel who, like this young lady, just wanted to run — provide a great insight into what it’s like when babies first race!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utGnBJJKt3s

As much as the fans will be behind Joyeuse and Queally, there are a number of other good fillies running against the pair. From Godolphin comes Fire Blaze, a daughter of Dubawi (2002) and Wedding Ring, a daughter of Oasis Dream (2000), both of whom also won their maidens and like the turf good-firm. In the case of the latter, her win came at 6f and she will be under the excellent tutelage of Mikhail Barcelona. Lady Kristale is undefeated and has started twice; like the previous 3 fillies, she has won at 6f and will like the good to firm going at Ascot.

SANDIVA and Pat Smullen race home in the Coolmore Stud Fillies Sprint for trainer, Richard Fahey.

Trainer Richard Fahey’s Sandiva is by Footstepsinthesand (2002), a son of Giant’s Causeway(1997). Sandiva has been very impressive in her 2 winning starts to date, her most recent win coming in the Coolmore Stud Fillies’ Sprint Stakes at 6f. Expect this baby to be right there in the thick of it. Coolmore-Ballydoyle have entered Wonderfully, as well as Bye Bye Birdie, but it is the former who seems a better bet. By Galileo (1998), Wonderfully’s BM sire is the great Danehill (1986); she comes in off a maiden win at 6f and is still another filly who will appreciate good-firm footing. Last but not least is Princess Noor, By Holy Roman Emperor(2004) who is a maiden winner at 6f on an all-weather surface. Princess Noor will be ridden by William Buick, another fabulous young jockey and one in the same league as either Joseph O’Brien or Tom Queally.

The Albany appears to be a very evenly-matched field and should be a thrilling race.

Jockey William Buick, shown here in 2010 at Meydan aboard Sheema Classic winner DAR RE MI, gets the ride on the talented Princess Noor.

KING EDWARD VII STAKES (3 yr. olds, Group 2. Distance: 1 m 4f)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEzvLEe6voE

Fourth in the Investic Derby to Ruler of the World, but undefeated in 3 starts prior to it, including the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes in May (above) there is no question that Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s Battle of Marengo is the colt to beat in this year’s running of the King Edward VII at Ascot. In his 7 starts, the son of Galileo (1998) has only ever been out of the money in his recent Derby run and has 5 wins to his credit. But the handsome bay won’t be left all alone at the wire.

Roger Varian has confirmed the undefeated Mutashaded, a lightly-raced but competent son of the mighty Raven’s Pass (2005), winner of the 2008 BC Classic. Mutashaded’s 2 wins have come over firm and heavy (wet) turf, showing his versatility. Two other colts that are only getting better are Brass Ring and Eshtiaal. Both have won their last 2 races and Brass Ring seems to do best over good-firm going. Trained by the winning John Gosden for Prince Khalid Abdullah, Brass Ring’s last win came at the King Edward distance, but his competition is a distinct step up for the son of Rail Link(2003), a sire who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as a 3 yr. old.

RAIL LINK, Juddmonte’s Arc winner of 2008, shown here with his ecstatic jockey. The stallion is represented by Brass Ring and SPILLWAY in the King Edward VII.

Eshtiaal will be of particular interest to North American racing fans. Racing for Hamdan Al Maktoum, the colt is a son of Dynaformer(1985) and his BM sire is Kingmambo(1990). Eshtiaal has won on both soft and good ground, something that bodes well for him. But like Brass Ring, he is taking a huge step up in company in the King Edward.

All in all, this race looks like a romp — albeit a prestigious one — for Battle of Marengo.

We lost him in April 2012, but Three Chimneys’ much-loved DYNAFORMER will be represented by ESHTIAAL at Royal Ascot in 2013.

THE CORONATION STAKES ( 3 yr. old fillies, GROUP 1, part of the British Champions series. DISTANCE: 1m)

For hard-wired racing enthusiasts, the Coronation is shaping up to be a modern Battle of the Titans between two brilliant fillies: Just The Judge and Sky Lantern.

The Charlie Hills-trained Just The Judge, won the Irish 1,000 Guineas last time out, running the mile on turf that was good-firm. Her career record stands at 5-4-1-0 and she has also handled soft ground with aplomb. Her sire, Lawman (2004), winner of the Prix Matchless at 2 and of the Prix de Jockey (G1), Prix Jean Prat(G1) and Prix de Guiche (G3) at 3, is a son of the great Invincible Spirit (1997).  Just The Judge is his second highly successful filly in earnings, after Forces of Darkness (2009) who began her career in France like her sire before moving to the USA this year.

Sky Lantern, trained by the excellent Richard Hughes won the QUIPCO 1,000 Guineas, beating Just The Judge by a nose, in her last start. Piloted by the talented Richard Hughes, the grey filly has a career record of 7-4-3-0. She prefers the ground to be good-firm, but has also won over a soft surface. Her sire, Red Clubs (2003) is a son of the late, prominent sire Red Ransom (1987) who produced more than 100 SW’s. Red Clubs continues the Roberto bloodline in style, having won the Cartier European Champion Sprinter in 2007; at stud, he has also sired two other champion fillies, The Gold Cheongsam (2010) and Vedelago (2009), who races in Italy.

But why say more? Below are Just The Judge and Sky Lantern in each of their winning 1,000 Guineas races. Clearly, their encounter at Royal Ascot will bring the kind of suspense and drama that makes thoroughbred racing so thrilling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iGikVnRjDU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJzFi9DnEI

NOTE: Part III of THE VAULT’S Royal Ascot coverage will be posted Friday, June 21st and cover the closing day. 

Royal Ascot 2013 closes today (Saturday, June 22) and on today’s card is the prestigious DIAMOND JUBILEE. As well, the HARDWICKE promises to be a corker with some really good older horses in the running.

HARDWICKE STAKES (GROUP 2, 4YR. OLDS +. DISTANCE 1m, 4 f)

Trainer Luca Cumani’s Mount Athos (2007) is the acknowledged favourite here. The 6 yr. old son of the late, great Montjeu comes into the Hardwicke with a career record of 20-7-0-1 and has won over every conceivable surface. The sentimental favourite, however, will be Lady Cecil’s Noble Mission (2009), who is a full brother to Frankel and will have Tom Queally aboard. While in no way Frankel’s equal, Noble Mission has shown great improvement since last year and won at this distance last time out. Below is a look at Noble Mission from a year ago, racing at Newmarket:

Another interesting colt is Universal (2009) by Dubawi, whose BM sire is the mighty Giant’s Causeway. Universal has won his last 3 starts at this distance. John Gosden’s Aiken (2008) is another who shouldn’t be overlooked. The bay son of Selkirk has raced over 2 miles in his career of 10 starts and although he hasn’t won since this time last year, he came in second last time out and has the brilliant William Buick to pilot him home in a relatively small field. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute, who should never be overlooked, runs a 4 yr.old son of Investic Derby winner Sir Percy, called Sir John Hawkwood (2009). This horse won his last 2 starts at the Hardwicke distance and runs over any surface, so Sir John might well be a threat. Finally, Roger Varian runs Ektihaam (2009) , a 4 yr. old son of Invincible Spirit, who can be counted on to come strongly at the finish.

This is a very evenly-matched field, making for a really exciting race.

DIAMOND JUBILEE STAKES (GROUP 1, part of the BRITISH CHAMPIONS SERIES, 3YR. OLDS + DISTANCE: 6 f)

The Diamond Jubilee is for sprinters and this year’s gang should give racing fans a good deal of excitement as they roar towards the finish.

Installed as favourite is the popular Society Rock (2007), a 6 yr. old son of super-horse, Rock of Gibraltor (1999). “The Rock” — as Rock of Gibraltor was called in his racing days — was a staggeringly good, solid competitor, who won seven Group 1′s in a row, including the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas as well as the St. James Palace Stakes, retiring to Coolmore a millionaire. In 2002, “The Rock” was voted World Horse of the Year — and Society Rock, having earned almost a million BPS to date, is one of his best sons. What makes Society Rock rather unique in this field is that he carries two American Triple Crown winners in the fifth generation of his dam’s family: Secretariat and Chris Evert (who won the Triple Tiara). On this, the 40th anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown, it’s magical to realize that a descendant of “Big Red’s” will be tearing up the turf at Royal Ascot 2013.

Have a look here at Society Rock just nipping Gordon Lord Byron at the finish in the 2012 Betfred Sprint Cup:

A really exciting entry is the Australian mare, Sea Siren (2008) by Fastnet Rock (2001). A winner of over a 1 million (AUS), Sea Siren has made 15 starts, with a record of 6-3-1, with the result that she starts as third favourite in the betting. She will have the services of crack jockey, Ryan Moore and races for Coolmore. Other fillies running are Intense Pink (2009), Rosdhu Queen (2010) and Mince (2009). Of these, Rosdhu Queen and Mince are the strongest, but neither is a match for Sea Siren if she runs true to form. She is a really wonderful mare. Check out her storming home in the Hong Kong Gr. 1 Manikato Stakes in October 2012.

Gordon Lord Byron (2008) by Byron is another highly-regarded entry. The gelding’s career record stands at 20-4-6-3 and he’s a 6f specialist who’s last win came in March at Dundalk. Although he’s lost this year to Society Rock, Maarek (2007) is a veteran who has already earned over a quarter of a million in his 27 starts. Primed in June at 5f where he finished second, Maarek looks ready to run a very good race. The grey, Lethal Force (2009), ran second to Society Rock last time out in May over 6f and is already a winner at this distance. His pedigree favours a shorter distance and he may very well be the one to give Society Rock and Sea Siren a battle toward the finish.

It will be interesting to see if the Aussies can grab a Group 1 again this year at Royal Ascot.