Dedicated to the Kunz family and Susan Watt, Executive Director of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, with love. Special thanks to Monica Mohr, Steve Leonard and Wayne at the BLM, Canon City CO for their support and kindness. To my dear friend, Jim Pettyjohn: Without your partnership in this endeavour it could all have ended in a dull whisper. 

LADY’S SECRET with BEAR WITNESS as a colt foal, with Joan and Amanda Haskin and the Glenney family. Photo and copyright Steve Haskin. Used with the written permission of Steve Haskin.

BEAR WITNESS (SKIP AWAY X LADY’S SECRET) at auction in 2015.

I don’t remember how I came across the news that a young couple had pulled an emaciated gelding out of a horse sale and determined that he was the son of Skip Away and Lady’s Secret.

Foaled on April 9, 2000, the colt who carried the bloodlines of Secretariat, his champion daughter and the incomparable Skip Away, came into the world at John and Kim Glenney’s farm. It was clear from his iron-metal coat that he would be a grey. But what he wouldn’t turn out to be was a racehorse. He made 16 starts and a little less that five thousand dollars (USD) before his owners, caring and good people who would eventually get out of the thoroughbred business because of what they saw happening to horses like Bear, gave the gelding to a woman who trained show jumpers. In an article published online by The Dodo, John Glenney pointed out that when it was obvious that a thoroughbred wasn’t going to run, they were given away to trusted individuals to find new careers. Potential owners were interviewed by the Glenneys to assure that the horse in question was going to the best possible home.

Bear already suffered from a condition known as EPM, and had received costly treatment throughout his time with the Glenneys. Given his medical issues, it was critical that he be given to someone who would continue his treatment.Despite all of this good intention and despite the fact that the Glenneys were nothing if not “Type A” in researching where their horses were going, “Bear” slipped through the cracks. (Having done some horse rescue myself, I need to add that the numbers of times I talked to caring, responsible owners who thought their horses had been adopted into loving homes was legion.)

It seems likely that Bear’s second owner was legitimate, but over the time he goes off the radar, changing hands numerous times until he ended up at a horse auction in Tennessee.

Not only was BEAR WITNESS starving, he was also covered in cuts and abrasions.

The young couple who saw him just couldn’t turn away. So home he came with John and Jessie Kunz.

“…It took a month for Kunz to gain the horse’s trust. ‘I couldn’t even touch his face he was so terrified,’ she said.

‘He had a big, bloody open wound on his back leg,’ Kunz said. ‘He hadn’t been fed in a month and his hooves had not been maintained — they had not been cleaned out, shoes checked, kept moist. He could barely stand or walk.’

Originally from Germany, Kunz says she had never been to a horse and tack auction, where various farm animals and gear are sold, in Tennessee before. What she saw there horrified her. Bear was covered in rain rot, a bacterial infection of the skin that causes scabbing and hair loss, from head to tail. ‘He was down from 1,400 to 500 pounds,’ Kunz said. ‘People were shocked at the cruelty. I just couldn’t stand it. I went to [Bear’s owner at the time]. He took $250 and I took Bear home.’

A month after being moved to Kunz’s care, Bear slowly started gaining weight and trusting people again.” (reprinted from THE DODO, https://www.thedodo.com/bear-witness-horse-abuse-1571398906.html)

But despite all their love and care, Bear couldn’t be saved. He fell in his paddock in October and was unable to get up. The decision was made to have him humanely euthanized. Bear Witness was 15 years old.

BEAR WITNESS with Jessie.

Learning that Bear had been put down was shattering news for the many who flocked to his FB page daily. It came as a shock that a son of the mighty Skip Away and the brilliant Lady’s Secret would be entitled to anything less than a life of care and respect, because we all want to believe that our society takes care of the horses that we love.

But John and Jessie Kunz knew better, and their grief was visceral.

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In mythology, the horse stands proud. In almost every culture throughout history, horses are bestowed with greatness, honour and gifts. The Celts and Native Americans believed that horses travelled between this world and the next, carrying souls to their final resting place.

EPONA, or RHIANNON, depicted in Celtic jewelry.

Blame it on my Celtic ancestry: when a death touches me, I always long for a horse to carry that soul into its future.

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My Facebook home page is always crowded with horse rescue postings, messages from lobby groups like the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, and the work of brilliant photographers associated with different horse breeds all over the world.

It was there that I first saw her face and it stopped me in my tracks.

As in, “Drop everything, be still and just look at me.”

“Drop everything, be still, and just look at me.”

A bay mustang mare in a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) online auction, she had been captured in the Antelope Hills of Wyoming in 2011, when she was only a yearling. She was exquisite. The expression in her eyes reached out to me, travelling across the internet as though there was no medium dividing us. Even with a red rope hanging around her neck (she was officially # 9579), her dignity refused to be diminished. Despite coming to a place where she could only see the wild hills from behind the rails of her small paddock, she knew she was meant to be free — and so there was sorrow in those deep, dark eyes too.

She could see the wild hills through the paddock rails…..

As many of you know, the mustang is in terrible, terrible trouble in Canada and the United States. In the former, a handful still exist on the Prairies but they are under constant threat of being rounded up; in the latter, the BLM has been charged with the unenviable task of “gathering” wild horses all over the country as their habitat becomes increasingly overtaken by cattle ranchers. As the argument goes, since America’s mustangs were protected under federal law, they have done too well, i.e. there are too many of them. So one solution has been to gather them up and try to sell them off at online and real-time auctions. Despite a veritable city of activists and lobby groups, some mustang herds have been reduced to less that 60 individuals and others have been wiped out altogether. These “gatherings” of mustangs takes no account of genetics, making it quite likely that some important bloodlines are being removed permanently, increasing the risk of inbreeding inferior animals.

Antelope Hills Herd, Wyoming, 2011: This was “my” mare’s herd and how they were “gathered.” She is quite possibly in the photo — a yearling filly, running for her life. Used with the permission of Carol Walker.

Antelope Hills Herd, Wyoming, 2011: Part of the herd in the containment chutes. Used with the permission of Carol Walker.

The mustang came to North America long before the arrival of the Spaniards, crossing the Bering straight into a new world. These “dawn horses,” as they were called, roamed free along with the American camel, sabre-toothed tiger and the wooly mammoth. The native American horse is the only animal that survives from this world.

The American mustang began as a “dawn horse” during pre-history, living on the plains with the American camel, wooly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers.

In the face of # 9579 I saw not only dignity and sorrow, but the palimpsest of a being older than time, whose journey to me had taken place over thousands of years.

#9579 running in her paddock @ the BLM.

The plight of this mare — one of so many posted on the BLM online auction site — haunted me.

But before I could intervene, I needed to find a home for her and someone who could bid on her once I had secured a place for her to live. (Canadians are prevented from online bidding, for reasons I never looked into.) So, working with my friend, John Pettyjohn, I began to search for mustang rescues within proximity of the mare’s location. Which, in turn, led to Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

As I learned more about Black Hills, I knew that this was where I wanted “my” mustang mare to live. In fact, Black Hills is where I wanted to live!

The stories below, written by founder Dayton Hyde about two of Black Hills’ personalities told me more about the spirit of Black Hills than any “fact-based” documentary ever could:

And then there was Dayton’s story of Medicine Hattie:

But I learned that there was another treasure at Black Hills: Susan Watt, the Executive Director and driving force behind her partner, Dayton Hyde’s, dream. Without Susan’s vision, expertise and skill, Black Hills today might have looked very different. But under her guidance, the Sanctuary thrives as well — or better — than most non-profits. And a good thing too. Because if there’s one thing she can count on, it’s the calls Susan gets every day about horses needing rescue. So when I called, she wasn’t surprised to hear my request.

Executive Director SUSAN WATT, who brings vision and strategic planning to Dayton Hyde’s dream.

Having worked for a number of non-profits during my career, I understood “the basics” they all share, the central one being the constant search for funding. I suspect that Susan was relieved to find that Jim and I were prepared to sponsor our mare, once we had purchased her. And so this amazing woman from South Dakota and two people she had never met, one from Montreal and the other from Portland, began to plot the adoption and return to freedom of mare #9579.

And then there were two: #8869, a mare of the same age, gathered from the Divide Basin herd in Wyoming, turns out to be #9579’s best friend.

Jim and I sent more money than was needed to secure # 9579 and Susan suggested we look into whether or not the mare had a best friend. Sure enough, she did. It was another bay mare, with a bit of white on her hind leg, who had been captured the same year from the Divide Basin herd of Wyoming. So we bought her as well.

This all happened in November 2015. It would take until March 2016 for the best friends to set foot on the vast reaches of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota.

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Once we had “our girls” and had secured the best home in the world for them, Jim and I decided that they should be named in honour of Bear Witness.

We named the first mare Maya Littlebear and asked John and Jessie Kunz to name her BFF. The name they chose was Felicitas Witness aka “Tassy.”

MAYA LITTLEBEAR (foreground) and FELICITAS WITNESS (bay mare in background, looking into the camera) shown together @ the BLM in Canon City, Colorado. They arrived at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary on March 10, 2016.

Maya and Tassy: carry Bear into your future and anoint him with your joy. You are his eagle feathers.

(“Prairie Lark Gets Her Eagle Feather” filmed at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary)

BONUS FEATURE

Take a tour of the amazing Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary on their website or (below) on video: http://www.wildmustangs.com

Videos:

BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY: THE MISSION

FREE TO RUN: AN AFTERNOON AT BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY

REFERENCES

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

http://www.wildmustangs.com

“What Happens To Racehorses Who Never Win?” at The Dodo: https://www.thedodo.com/bear-witness-horse-abuse-1571398906.html

Wild Hoofbeats: Carol Walker

http://www.wildhoofbeats.com

Bureau of Land Management, Canon City, Colorado

This will be one of the top stories in the UK racing world this year. About a horse with a heart murmur and the team that brought him back to Cheltenham — two years later.

The eye of a champion. Photo and copyright, THE GUARDIAN. Photographer:Tom Jenkins.

If you loved Lassie, or My Friend Flicka, or Black Beauty, or The Black Stallion then you already can sense what this story’s all about. Except that it really happened. One of those cases where truth trumps fiction by a mile.

This was the scene in 2013 at Kempton, when one of the best horses to ever race in the British National Hunt was pulled up.

Sprinter Sacre was THE STAR of the British National Hunt from his debut in 2011 until he was pulled up by jockey Barry Geraghty at Kempton in December of 2013, half-way through the Desert Orchid Chase. The race had been billed as a showdown between the undefeated Sprinter Sacre, who had raced to victory 10 consecutive times, and another star of the chase, Sire de Grugy. Geraghty probably saved Sprinter’s life that day, because the early diagnosis was “something to do with the heart.” No-one wanted to believe it: a brilliant horse, fondly nicknamed “The Black Aeroplane,” might be finished.

The cardiac problem had, quite literally, come out of nowhere. There were no warning signs of any kind. Brilliant trainer, Nicky Henderson, would have known if something was wrong with a horse who was the Frankel of chasers. As for Sprinter’s fans around the world, one could almost hear the silence, heavy as a stone, as the great horse was led off the course.

It was this Sprinter that all were expecting to see at Kempton that day. The superstar who had most recently won the 2013 Queen Mother Chase at Cheltenham:

Champion jockey,Barry Geraghty, after SPRINTER’S 2013 win at Cheltenham: “I’ve ridden some brilliant horses over the years, but it’s the ease and grace [with which] he does it that sets him apart.”

Trainer Henderson would refer to the next two years as “a wilderness,” stressing that Sprinter’s full recovery — if such was even possible — was to be “very, very hard on everyone involved.” Because, initially, it was thought he might be back to his winning ways within about three months, in time for Cheltenham 2014, the biggest event on the National Hunt calendar. The equivalent of the Breeders Cup or Champions Day or the Dubai Carnival for hurdlers and chasers. To win at Cheltenham is to be anointed a Champion of Champions. There’s just nothing quite like it. But there was no Cheltenham 2014 in the cards for “The Sprinter,” as the stable calls him..

SPRINTER SACRE with his groom and best friend, Sarwah Mohammed.

SPRINTER SACRE with his “best girl,” Hannah Maria Ryan.

And so it was that two long years of hoping and praying began. Team Sprinter was formidable, including owners Raymond and Caroline Mould, equine cardiologist Celia Marr, groom Sarwah Mohammed, exercise riders Nico de Boinville and Hannah Maria Ryan, Henderson’s amazing Seven Barrows stable staff and — last but not least — the trainer himself. However, two years off for a National Hunt horse is long, since most don’t even begin their careers until the age of four or five. And The Sprinter was “on a roll” in his seventh year, often one of the best years for jumping horses. In April of 2013 he had become the first horse since the mighty Istabraq to win at all three major jumping festivals (Punchestown, Aintree and Cheltenham) and was on his way to the third highest Timeform rating ever, behind the jumping gods Arkle and Flyingbolt.

By the time The Sprinter made it back, he would be an older horse who’d been out of action for over 24 months. In how many countries do nine or ten year-old thoroughbreds still run — and win? (Note to the reader: National Hunt horses must be thoroughbreds, with the exception of the Selle Francais, who are permitted because the origin of the breed goes back to the thoroughbred. Sprinter Sacre, classified as a Selle Francais by some, is the son of thoroughbred sire, Network, and a grandson of the great Monsun. National Hunt horses typically compete until the age of ten and/or until they show that they are no longer competitive. Hurricane Fly, for example, raced until he was eleven.)

Some trainers might not have been bothered to even try. But Nicky Henderson isn’t “some” trainer. With champions like See You Then, Remittance Man, Punjabi, Binocular, Caracciola and Bob’s Worth on his CV, the Eaton graduate is considered one of the top National Hunt trainers. But the horse who had stolen hearts and raced off-the-charts for two undefeated years was, in Henderson’s view and, indeed, in the eyes of all who worked with him, set apart from all before him. Trying to bring The Sprinter back to form just wasn’t an option. But all agreed that the horse came first. Nothing new there: Nicky Henderson’s horses always come first.

“THE SPRINTER” with trainer, Nicky Henderson. Nicky is no stranger to great horses, having trained the likes of See You Then, Long Run, Caracciola, Bob’s Worth and Simonsig. But The Sprinter holds a very special place in his heart.

Team Sprinter must have been glad to be part of a community as they worked shoulder-to-shoulder, all the time knowing that if Sprinter wasn’t going to be safe running (i.e. in perfect health and condition), then retirement was the only recourse. And each day over twenty-four months, they had to find the courage to believe that he could come back, that he would come back. To say that the mission of bringing The Sprinter back was tricky would be an understatement of huge proportions, as Henderson indicated in February 2014:

By late in 2014, the horse’s cardiac problems had been ruled a thing of the past. But he still didn’t seem quite himself. Pivotal was young Nico de Boinville, The Sprinter’s regular exercise rider, who had a kind of special bond of his own with the 17h gelding. It was Nico who rode The Sprinter on his works, and Nico who told Henderson, “… I can’t put my finger on it, but he’s not quite right. There’s something missing.” So they soldiered on, hoping to see a glimmer of The Sprinter of old.

Nico and THE SPRINTER head out for a gallop. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

A pause on the gallops. Nico and SPRINTER SACRE. Photo and copyright, Toby Connors.

There were long sojourns with Nico and Hannah over the Lambourn downs, loving hands and loving words and, at last, there he was: back with the team that loved him. His first start was in January 2015 and this was how it ended:

The headlines read “Dodging Bullets Destroys Sprinter Sacre,” but that wasn’t true. Barry Geraghty stated that the horse had tired, which made a good deal of sense after not racing for two years. Nicky Henderson was quick to point out that, as a nine year-old, The Sprinter may not be the “same horse” but he had run a blinder despite his age. Next came another two races: at Cheltenham in the 2015 Queen Mother’s Chase, a tired Sprinter Sacre was pulled up. Then, at Sandown in April, he finished second to Special Tiara with Nico de Boinville riding him for the first time. As The Sprinter’s exercise rider from the very beginning, Nico was a natural partner for the horse and, although the move was precipitated by Barry Geraghty signing on as first rider for owner JP McManus, Nico had ridden himself into the spotlight as the jockey of the 2015 Hero of Cheltenham, Coneygree, in March.

CONEYGREE and Nico de Boinville after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase on Gold Cup Day, Friday March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/PA, David Davies)

At this point, Henderson remained optimistic and Nico reported that The Sprinter had felt most like himself since 2013 during the Sandown run. But it would also be fair to say that the jury was still out on the horse’s future and his passionate fans were beginning to suspect that his best days were behind him and mourned his demise with statements on Facebook like, “Poor boy….he’s just not the horse he used to be. Retire him, please!”

And then “…the real Sprinter Sacre” showed up, on November 15, 2015, with Nico again in the irons:

As he said, Henderson found the win “overwhelming” and was quick to note that, for the first time, The Sprinter “took” Nico to the win. Next came a re-match with his old nemesis, the wonderful Sire de Grugy, in the 2015 version of the same race — the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton — where the champion had been pulled up in 2013:

Granted, he didn’t put miles between himself and Sire Grugy to win, as The Sprinter of old might well have done. Nicky Henderson was of a mind that the Desert Orchid performance had been better, but what happened at Kempton was that The Sprinter fought back, every inch of the way, to defeat a champion chaser in Sire de Grugy. And that told the trainer that heart and courage were igniting his big gelding’s spirit.

” I can dream, can’t I?” Nicky Henderson and THE SPRINTER early in 2016.

The Sprinter had weathered his 2015 season well and after consultation with the Moulds, Nico and others in his inner circle, Henderson determined to aim the big horse for Cheltenham 2016 and The Queen Mother Chase. Now, The Sprinter is a racing icon and beloved by his whole team, but he’s not a “love bug” as far as personality goes. Rather, he’s a curmudgeon….not exactly Mr. Grump, but close. So, when he started to show aggression on a regime of slower gallops, someone who knew him less well might have just chalked it up to temperament. But Nico and Henderson knew better: The Sprinter was saying that he wanted a race and wanted it badly. As the trainer pointed out, “Horses know when they’re stars and they know where they belong…in the winner’s enclosure, right at the top of the heap.”

As Racing UK reported at the end of the 2015 season, quoting Henderson:

“He is not what he was two years ago but we are creeping up there,” Henderson added. “They are two very good performances so far this year. He has done a lot of slow work, rather than fast work. It has been different. We put in a new deep sand canter and he did a lot of work in there. He does not do a lot of galloping.”

Despite one reported pre-Cheltenham work where The Sprinter looked spectacular, Henderson remained cautiously optimistic about his ten year-old champion:

March 16, 2016: the field was set for the Cheltenham Queen Mother Chase. The Sprinter was one of three ten year-olds entered, the others being Sire de Grugy and Felix Yonger. All the others were eight year-olds, including impressive jumpers like Dodging Bullets, Somersby and Un de Sceaux. Nor did The Sprinter go off as the favourite, although he clearly was THE ONE that people were there to see. Could their fallen hero triumph, joining the only horse to ever stage such a comeback: the great Moscow Flyer, who had won the Queen Mother Chase at Cheltenham in 2005 as a ten year-old?

The place went potty. The stands shuddered and shook. Trainer and jockey cried. Twitter exploded with cries of joy. Trainers like the eminent Willie Mullins showered praise on Henderson and Team Sprinter. Horses just don’t do what Sprinter Sacre had just done and everyone knew it.

The Kiss: Nico and SPRINTER SACRE in the winner’s enclosure, Cheltenham 2016.

So thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Mould, Nicky Henderson, Nico de Boinville, Sarwah Mohammed, Hannah Maria Ryan, Barry Geraghty and the staff at Seven Barrows for taking us to Dreamworld on the back of your fabulous, fabulous horse:

BONUS FEATURE

For a look at Sprinter Sacre’s career from 2011-2013, including videos:

“HE’S BETTER THAN FRANKEL” : SPRINTER SACRE

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Recently, I was asked by The Chateauguay Valley Historical Society to write an article about my grandfather and his champion mare. It was a pleasure to write but also a very intense experience since, after I’d completed a decent draft my brother, Robert, discovered among my late mother’s papers a bill of sale for Topsy and a short text my mother had written in 1987, in response to a poem I had written about Grandpa and his beloved mare. I knew both of these artefacts existed but had never actually seen them. In particular, my mother’s narrative about her father and Topsy was moving and beautifully rendered, while bringing details of their story to the fore that I had not known.

Her politically incorrect name aside – a “topsy” was the term once used to describe a black woman in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – our Topsy was a Standardbred mare, reputedly one of the first of that breed to show up in the Chateauguay Valley in the 1920s. 

TOPSY NICO with Hilda Anderson. Photo taken by my grandfather, Carl L. B. Wheeler, at Huntingdon Fair in Huntingdon, Quebec in the early 1930s. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

In our maternal family, the narrative of Topsy Nico had no equal.

My grandfather, Carl Leroy Boynton Wheeler, was born in Barnston, Quebec in the Eastern Townships in 1885, one of two sons of Hiram Nathan Wheeler and Lydia Abigail Melloon. He was a sickly child and even as an adult, was wracked by illness. The effects of illness still showed when, in the 1950s, his brother Harry came from Alberta to visit him. In the photograph commemorating their reunion, Harry towers over his tiny brother, who stood just over five feet tall.

It was a catastrophic event that brought my grandfather, his wife, my grandmother, Myrtle Beatrice (nee Chadsey) and their daughter, my mother, Myrna Carlene, to Huntingdon. After an unsuccessful bid at farming (likely due to Carl’s poor constitution) my grandparents moved into the tiny village of Ways Mills and took over the general store. But sometime between 1921 and 1925, despite the efforts of an untiring bucket brigade, the store burned to the ground. Almost everything the family owned was destroyed.

Grandpa, Gramma and my mother, circa 1920. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

The General Store, Ways Mills, Quebec. My grandmother has marked with an X the top window where the fire started that burned the store to the ground. (The other two Xs indicate where “Myrna fell down the stairs.”) Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

Topsy Nico appeared on the scene shortly before or after the tragedy, in 1925.

The filly was unruly and “no-one could do anything with her,” according to my mother. My grandfather, always a shrewd businessman, acquired her in 1925 with the exchange of a promissory note that was considered legal tender at the time.

Bill of sale for “the T.E. Gascon mare.” Copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

The bill of sale (above) indicates that the final transfer of ownership “in full for note” took place on February 10, 1926 in Coaticook, Quebec between my grandmother and G.C. Tillotson of the Sale and Exchange Stable for the handsome sum of $33.75 CAD. At this time, Topsy Nico was identified simply as the “T.E. Gascon mare.” It seems likely that it was my grandparents who named her: “Topsy” for her ebony coat colour, and “Nico” possibly from an individual in her lineage, perhaps her sire. The filly may have been given this name by T.E. Gascon if she was registered before she was sold, although no filly of this name appears in the records I have consulted to date.

It may have been that the promissory note, although legal, was arranged on the condition that my grandfather could gentle the filly, since it is doubtful that the Wheeler household could have afforded the luxury of a pretty horse that couldn’t be either ridden or driven. According to an unpublished text written by my mother in 1987:

“[Topsy Nico] was a Standardbred filly with a good bloodline, but her disposition caused the owner to offer her for a very low price. My father’s keen eyes noted her conformity, the bargain price and the challenge she presented. The vision of this delicate man managing the impossible creature was the subject of considerable amusement in the small village of Way’s Mills…”

 My mother goes on to say that “… she [Topsy] prolonged his life … The bond which developed between them was instantaneous. His patience and gentleness, coupled with her love for him, developed into a county legend … In the accomplishment of training her he had proved his manhood and his ability to judge a good horse when he saw one.”

The socio-historical context in which my grandfather bought Topsy is known as the “Golden Age” of horse racing, both here in Canada and in the USA. The pacer Dan Patch had become an American legend during the first decade of the twentieth century, and in 1920 one of the most famous thoroughbreds ever born, Man O’ War, was blazing his own trail to immortality. My grandfather followed the exploits of Dan Patch and Man O’ War on the radio and in the press. He could tell stories about Man O’ War and other great thoroughbreds as though he knew them intimately. Too, his passion for the Standardbred never waned, and especially for the great Greyhound and the filly, Rosalind. Closer to home, Blue Bonnets racetrack, first opened in 1872 in a suburb of Montreal, was well-established as a popular venue for thoroughbred racing. Too, there was Connaught Park (later known as Hippodrome d’Alymer) established in 1913 in Aylmer, Quebec where thoroughbred and harness racing, as well as steeplechase events, were showcased. My grandfather may well have attended events at one or both of these venues.

BLUE BONNETS race track in 1907. Photo and copyright, The McCord Museum, Montreal, CA. Used with the permission of the McCord Museum.

The mystique of the horse had incited Carl Wheeler’s imagination throughout his life, making it probable that he took one look at the proud, beautiful filly and knew that Topsy was meant to be his. Was he in the market for a trotter, pacer or thoroughbred of his own? Perhaps. But his choice to show Topsy rather than race her would indicate otherwise. Too, for a man who had just lost a business and most of his family possessions, the cost of maintaining a racehorse would have been unthinkable.

At any rate, after the fire and sometime between 1925 and 1926, my grandfather hitched Topsy Nico to a buggy and drove her to Huntingdon. There, he would find work as a milk inspector for the Elmhurst Dairy and subsequently move his wife and daughter into a house at 184 Chateauguay Street. We know that the Wheeler family had resettled in Huntingdon about this time, since my mother, who was born in 1919, started Grade 1 at Huntingdon Academy and, in keeping with the admittance age of the day, was 6 or 7 years old.

Of the journey from Ways Mills to Huntingdon, my grandfather simply said, “Topsy got there without raising a sweat. We trotted most of the way.” It was a distance of 150 miles: Topsy made the trip in three days.

The house at 184 Chateauguay Street is still standing, but when my grandparents lived there it looked rather different. Facing the street it boasted a large balcony covered with ivy on one side and an enclosed sun porch, mostly used in warmer weather, on the other. The exterior was whitewashed shingle crowned by a shiny tin roof. Attached to the house at the back was the Elmhurst Dairy store, where Huntingdon residents came to buy milk, cream, butter and ice cream. And behind the house was a small barn, where my grandfather kept Topsy and the Hackney ponies that he acquired some time later, when my mother was older.

TOPSY NICO standing in front of the Wheeler home at 184 Chateauguay Street in Huntingdon, Quebec CA. Hild Anderson holds the reins. My grandmother is nearest to the camera. Photo taken by my grandfather. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

Once settled in his new home, my grandfather was determined to show his mare in harness and under saddle at the annual fairs in Huntingdon, Valleyfield and Ormstown. He wasn’t a vain man, but my grandfather was unquestionably smitten with his elegant coal black mare and her potential. I wager the horse folk of Huntingdon admired her immensely, and may well have been responsible for putting the idea of showing Topsy at local fairs into his head in the first place. At this time, agricultural fairs were a cornerstone of rural life – a place to look over bloodstock, meet up with neighbours and celebrate the fruits of another year’s labour, be that a fine dairy cow or a beautiful quilt or an exceptional horse.

My grandfather with the family’s white Boston Bull Terrier, appropriately named “White Teddy” (“Teddy” after Teddy Roosevelt)

However, before he could show Topsy, my grandfather needed another experienced handler. Now standing at least 16 hands tall, Topsy was beyond the capacities of the Wheeler women. And she was an individual who had “a mind of her own,” according to both my grandparents.

My grandmother knew horses and, despite her tiny stature, was not one to be intimidated by them. But although there are photographs attesting to her relationship with Topsy, the history between the mare and “CLB,” as my grandfather was affectionately called by his friends, made her a whole different horse for a less-experienced handler. “She was wilful,” my grandmother once said, “but she wasn’t mean. Still, I was afraid to drive her … she was so strong. And she was high-spirited.”

My grandmother upon her graduation from McGill University, circa 1906. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

Enter Hilda Anderson, a young woman who lived in Huntingdon at the time and boarded with my grandparents, who stepped in to take over the reins.

Topsy’s appearance at Huntingdon, Valleyfield and Ormstown fairs must have been spectacular. Late in her life, my mother recalled one occasion at Ormstown Fair, when the mare, in harness with my grandfather at the reins, received a standing ovation that went on for more than five minutes. “It was really something,” my mother added. “She was the star of the show everywhere she went. People just loved her. “

In the text she wrote in 1987, my mother described what it felt like to witness Topsy in the show ring:

“She grew into a breathtaking creature of unusual beauty. People stood in the arenas when she entered the show ring, competing against horses from Montreal and Toronto. Her performance was flawless, with her arched neck and high-stepping gait.”

A darling of the local horse show circuit, Topsy’s wins came one after another, in combination (driving and riding), line and pleasure classes. Her performance was a natural extension of her Standardbred blood – her feet were never weighted and her gait was “born into her,” as my grandfather would have said. Topsy was simply dancing out her love for the man who had changed her life.

Of equal significance was the fact that it was through Topsy that CLB gained entry into the small community of horseman in the Valley, and the relationships he forged were to last a lifetime. On at least two occasions, when he was a senior, I went with him to “look at a horse with a few problems,” at the request of its owner. My grandfather also remained active on the executive of Huntingdon Fair until shortly before his death in 1964. All this suggests that the horse folk in the Chateauguay Valley respected his knowledge and experience greatly.

TOPSY NICO and my grandfather, Ormstown Fair in the 1930s. Photo taken by W.A. Strohmeyer Jr., a professional photographer from the USA who did the rounds of county fairs in New England, Quebec and Ontario at this time. Photo and copyright, the estate of W.A. Strohmeyer Jr. Property of Robert H. Anderson and family.

When the show season was over, Topsy was usually sent “to the country,” to a farm where there were other horses. On one occasion, my grandfather was called and asked to come and collect her, since she had “stolen” a foal from its mother and, as Topsy had no milk for it, the foal’s life was at risk. Said my grandmother, “Your Grandpa had to go get her because no one could get near her. She was guarding her baby, as she saw it.” Topsy had never been bred, but the incident played on my grandfather. Finally, he decided to breed her, although, according to my mother, the mare was “really too old to be put through something like that.”

Topsy gave birth to a colt and the family named him “Happy.” Whether or not this was his registered name (if he was registered at all) is unknown, as is the identity of his sire. Initially, Topsy and her foal were kept in the barn at the back of the house on Chateauguay Street. Before Happy was weaned, my grandfather sent Topsy into a harness class at Huntingdon Fair. It would be the only “wrong turn” he ever took in his career as a horseman.

My mother, who would not have been much more than twelve or thirteen, was at the reins. However, as she told it, Topsy could hear Happy crying and quickly went from restless to determined in her desire to get to her foal, rearing up and overturning the buggy. Fortunately, neither my mother nor the mare was injured, although the latter charged out of the arena dragging my grandfather and the ruins of the buggy behind her.

TRIXIE FLAME, one of my grandfather’s Hackney ponies, with my grandfather circa 1936. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

This incident heralded Topsy’s retirement from the show ring. “Topsy was never quite right after that,” my mother noted. “She wasn’t the same. She wasn’t even interested in the things Dad did with her. She’d act up. She’d had enough.”

In what must have been a difficult decision for my grandfather to make, Topsy was retired and shipped to a farm where she lived out the rest of her days. At some point, the mare died of an infection after foaling, likely sometime in the 1930s. Whether or not the foal survived and what happened to it is unknown. The fate of her first foal, Happy, is also unknown. This part of the narrative was never discussed, perhaps because it was too painful.

By the time I came along, Topsy had been dead for well over a decade and the days of showing horses had ended for my grandfather. The stalls in the little red barn behind the house on Chateauguay Street were rented out to other horse people in the community and on most weekends, the then-Postmaster of Huntingdon, James O’Hare, could be found grooming the horses. If I pestered him long enough, I could get “Uncle Jim” to tell me more about Topsy.

Grandpa riding TOPSY over the Walker Bridge in Huntingdon in the 1930’s. This is my favourite photo of the two of them. Photo and copyright, Robert H. Anderson and family.

Every story began with “Now, Topsy … there was a horse … she was really something.”

One story had to do with the Walker Bridge. As Uncle Jim told it, “Now Topsy she wasn’t having any of that damn bridge. It has wood planks you know and horses, most don’t like that they move and make a clatter. And there’s your granddad with Topsy all harnessed up and she won’t move.

“And he’s jumping around and yelling and waving the whip at her. Nope. She’s not going to move. So your granddad takes off the harness. You know, the buggy and all. And he takes off his jacket and wraps it around her head so she can’t see. And across the bridge they go. Your granddad and that big mare, she just as quiet as a baby.

But then Carl realizes he can’t just leave her there and go back for the harness and all. So doesn’t he bring her back over again, hitch her up and put his jacket back on. Went up to her, pulled her head down into his chest and spoke to her. Smoothed down her forelock a little, like he always did when he was getting her ready. Then didn’t he get into the buggy and off they went.”

And then Uncle Jim laughed and shook his head. “It was the damndest thing. Across they went like it was nothing. Clickety-clack.”

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I wrote this poem in the early 1970’s. It is reproduced here as it appeared in 1973 in GOT POEMS IF YOU WANT ‘EM. (FYI: The spellings and punctuation disruptions are intentional.)

Topsy Nico

raven back mare

you are crafted into rooms of memory:

in a picture

framed with ribbons

carl leroy boynton and his tall lean horse

Topsy Nico

with sadset eyes

a nose as straight

as crows fly

from Ways Mills to Huntingdon

carl leroy small sicklechild

tripleggy filly whom nobody wanted

Carl Leroy in squarehat

pushed grease from his brow

laughed 

when he thought of you

(as hoofbeats

down country roads echo

as old leather

dying

of cancer

Over trophies more rust than silver

stand round legs under sadset eyes

of Topsy who paced from valleyfield home

leather reins sleep

across ravenback

Abigail Anderson, Montreal, Canada

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SPECIAL NOTE: I hesitated to use Topsy’s name for decades because of its rascist connotation even though it was she who first awoke my love of horses. In my grandparents’  day, terms like “a topsy,” “a darkie” and, of course, “nigger” were in common usage. They would not have associated any of these terms with the history or meanings they hold for us today. In this light, I hope my readers will appreciate my use of our beloved mare’s full name. Thank you, Abigail

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Bateau was one of the very best of Man O’ War’s daughters when it came to racing, but she risks being forgotten because of one failure that was completely beyond her control. Hers is also a cautionary tale: the same fate often befalls great thoroughbreds today.

George Conway, pictured with Man O’ War at Saratoga.

Bateau was referred to at least once as “…the Amazon daughter” of Man O’ War (The Barrier-Miner, November 26, 1929) suggesting that she was a large, powerful individual. Thank goodness for The Barrier-Miner paragraph! The super filly of the early part of the last century barely exists in photographs and of the ones here at THE VAULT, it is often tough to judge her height.

Bateau came into the world in 1925. The daughter of the French-import, Escuina (1919), must have been an impressive foal. Her dam had been imported from France by Walter Jeffords, who was married to a niece of Samuel Riddle and who, with Riddle, owned and operated Faraway Farm. Escuina proved a Blue Hen for the Jeffords-Riddle stable, producing the very good Jean Bart as well as Bateau. Too, her daughters were largely excellent producers themselves and this was no accident, since Escuina was bred in the purple, carrying St. Simon(1881) and the exceptional broodmare, Fairy Gold (1896), by Bend Or in her third generation.

Fairy Gold was the dam of Friar Rock (1913) by Rock Sand and Fair Play (1905) by Hastings, the sire of Man O’ War. Imported by August Belmont Jr., Fairy Gold died in 1919 together with her foal by Hourglass(1914) and is buried in an unmarked spot on the grounds of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. But her power in the blood remains unmistakeable and it found expression in Escuina and her daughters.

A very blurry image of FAIRY GOLD, from the Thoroughbred Heritage website.

At two, Bateau was put into the hands of trainer Scott P. Harlan. In 1926, just prior to the arrival of Bateau, Harlan had earned $205,681 — an extraordinary sum in those days — and a fair portion of those earnings were thanks to Man O’ War’s offspring, specifically the 2 year-old Scapa Flow, as well as Edith Cavell, whose 3 year-old campaign was nothing short of sensational.

The filly, whose name means “boat” in French — possibly another reference to her size and confirmation — was exquisite. With her deep bay coat, the white star on her face and her intelligent expression, she was undoubtedly the gift of an exquisite mingling of bloods.

Who better to picture the champion than the great C.C. Cook? Here she is in 1928 with jockey Kelsay in the irons. Photo and copyright, C.C. Cook/Keeneland.

Back of the photo, signed by C.C. Cook.

In her first stakes start in 1927, the Schuylerville, Bateau finished second to Pennant (1925), but she beat the Hertz’s Anita Peabody (1925) who would be named Champion two year-old filly of 1927. Anita Peabody’s most famous victory came that same year, when she defeated another Hertz entry, Reigh Count, in the Belmont Futurity. Reigh Count, as our readers will know, sired Triple Crown winner Count Fleet.

ANITA PEABODY, a gift to Mrs. Hertz from her husband, was a spectacular filly in her own right.

Next came the 1927 Fashion Stakes which Bateau won, followed by two thirds in the Matron and Spinaway. Drama punctuated the Pimlico Futurity, where Bateau finished third, when Earl Sande who rode her in that race was accused of slamming violently into the Hertz colt, Reigh Count, costing him the race. Sande’s license was initially suspended, although he was subsequently reinstated and Bateau was DQ’d. Pimlico aside, by the end of her 2 year-old campaign, both Jeffords and Harlan knew they had a very special filly in Bateau. She had her sire’s will to win and his strong mind, and she was courageous.

1928 blossomed for the three year-old, with wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Gazelle. In the former, she beat another exceptional filly by Man O’ War in Valkyr (1925), the Champion Handicap Mare of 1928, and the future dam of  champion Vagrancy (1939). Bateau’s performance was sufficient to get her noticed, and she was awarded Co-Champion 3 year-old honours with Easter Stockings (1925), the best of Sir Barton’s daughters.

BATEAU with Frank Coltiletti up in 1928. Photo and copyright, THE BALTIMORE SUN.

The grey VALKYR as a broodmare. She was still another impressive daughter of MAN O’ WAR whose sons and daughters were invariably good on the track and in the breeding shed.

Her four year-old season saw some impressive wins for Jeffords’ champion filly. Racing against the boys, Bateau beat the older Display(1923) to win the Whitney in a thrilling finish. (Since 1928, when Black Helen became the first filly to win the Whitney, only five others, including Bateau, have ever won it to the present day. The last was the incomparable Personal Ensign, who won it in 1988.) Bateau then went on to beat the 1928 Preakness winner, Victorian (1925), in the South Maryland Handicap and battled the excellent Petee-Wrack (1925) to victory in the Suburban. This would be Bateau’s last stakes race before her retirement, but it was enough to have her honoured as the Champion Handicap Mare of 1929.

Expectations were high as Man O’ War’s champion daughter headed off to the breeding shed. But after a few tries and much frustration, Bateau was declared barren. Rather than risk losing her on the track, Bateau was given a new job, that of the Jeffords’ hack, or riding horse, and kept in the same stable as other Jeffords’ pleasure horses.

Since it is through their progeny that many great thoroughbreds live on through time, this failure of Bateau’s has seen her relegated to something close to obscurity. Biographical notes about her are thin on detail and surviving narratives almost non-existant.

BATEAU, with jockey Ambrose up, after her win in the 1929 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park. When were the blinkers added? Photo and copyright, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

Press reports of Bateau’s exploits are similarly hard to come by, but evidence was found from New South Wales, Australia and England that suggests her reputation was international. Too, the Daily Racing Form wrote a lengthly article on her Suburban win:

DAUGHTER OP MAN O’ WAR WINS FAME IN DIG RACE

New York, November 23, 1929

Bateau, a daughter of Man o' War, has achieved fame on'the snow covered Bowie tracie hy winning the South Maryland Handicap of £8000. Repeating the performance of her great sire, Bateau 
finished gamely, winning by a nose. The Amazon daughter of the super-stallion galloped the mile and 110 yards in lm. 46 2-5s. (The Barrier-Miner Newspaper, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA)

EXTRAORDINARY RACE

Two Noses and a Head Separate Four Horses in Suburban.

Bateau Wins by a Nose, Petee-Wrack Second by a Nose, Toro Third by a Head.

NEW YORK, N. Y., June 1.




With four thoroughbreds fighting it out furiously in one of the greatest finishes ever seen on any race course, Walter M. Jeffords* Bateau dropped her nose down in front of J. R. Macomber's Petee-Wrack, Edward B. McLean's Toro, and Richard T. Wilson's Sunfire to win the old Suburban Handicap, over one mile and a quarter.

Then after the finish there came a claim of foul, lodged against Ambrose, who rode Bateau, and there was some delay before the stewards confirmed the order of the finish. The running had a
new value of $14,100 to the winner and Bateau finished the distance in 2:03%, making it an excellent performance.

The Suburban renewal was the big event of a holiday card offered by the Westchester Racing Association at Belmont Park today and it attracted a crowd that approached that of Decoration Day.

The claim of foul that was lodged by O'Donnell, who rode Petee-Wrack, was that Ambrose had pushed him out of the way to come through on the inside with Bateau. The Ambrose defense was that he had pushed Petee-Wrack away to avoid being put over the inner rail. In any event, the claim was not allowed.

…Little time was lost at the post in the Suburban Handicap and with the exception of Chicatie, which left slowly, the others left in excellent alignment and Petee-Wrack was the one to show theway with Soul of Honor and Sunfire following him closely, while Bateau was also in the front division. Chance Shot began well and was not far back, while, Toro was slower to find his racing
legs and he was well back.

It was going to the turn out of the back stretch that it became apparent that Chance Shot, the topweight, would not do. There Willie Garner shook him up in an effort to improve his position,
but the big son of Fair Play did not respond and from that stage of the running he began to drop back well beaten.
Petee-Wrack was still forcing the pace under a slight restraint and Sunfire was close after him on the outside. Soul of Honor ran closely lapped on the Wilson colt, but it was evident he was
doing his best.

Ambrose still had Bateau close after the leaders and the daughter of Man o' War was racing kindly.

Old Display was holding his position, while Toro was beginning to make up ground on the outside in threatening fashion.

There was a general closing up as the field turned for home and Petee-Wrack was holding resolutely to his lead, but it was a scant one. Sunfire was right with him, while Ambrose had Bateau on the inner rail and the filly had her nose at the saddle of the Macomber colt. Soul of Honor was beginning to tire, while Toro was swooping along outside of him in gallant fashion.

TORO MOVES UP.

Well inside the final sixteenth Soul of Honor was through, but Toro had moved up until he was in the fight to the finish. Bateau was holding her place on the inside, but in remarkably close quarters, with Petee-Wrack almost on top of her. Then it was that the alleged foul was committed when Ambrose, to protect himself and his mount, pushed the colt over to find room.

Right to the end the four battled along and in the last stride Bateau had squeezed through to earn the verdict by a nose, while Petee-Wrack was no further before the fast finishing Toro, and Sunfire a head further back. Then right on the heels of Sunfire came Sortie, which had been forced to race wide all the way.

It was a magnificent renewal of a great race and the first victory for a filly since the victory of Beldame in 1905. (DAILY RACING FORM, June 1, 1929)




 


Author and artist C.W. Anderson can still be counted on today as a faithful ethnographer of racing in the first part of the last century. Anderson was passionate about Man O’ War, recording aspects of his life and legacy with details he undoubtedly took from the newspapers of the day. Including her in his classic book, Big Red, Anderson’s evaluation of Bateau speaks for itself and provides a fitting conclusion to the story of an exceptional filly.

Sources

Anderson, C.W. Big Red. The Macmillan Company, New York: 1943

Hunter, Avelyn: American Classic Pedigrees (online: http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com) related to Bateau and Valkyr

Daily Racing Form in University of Kentucky Archives, June 1, 1929

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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It’s early days yet. But the mighty Frankel has already bested the record of first non-stakes winners in their first crop of both his sire, Galileo, and of one of Europe’s most consistent sires, Sea The Stars.

Of the 130 mares booked to Frankel in 2013, the first eight have hit the turf running, with seven winning on debut. The eighth, Last Kingdom, finished second in his first start. Two of the eight, Cunco and Queen Kindly, earned black type based on their performances at Royal Ascot, where they both finished third in two different stakes races. And all of this has sent the British press into the same tizzy of delight as they evinced during Frankel’s racing career.

It is easy to forget that Frankel represented over 40 years of breeding by his owner, HRH Prince Khalid Abdullah, making him a “jewel in the crown” like no other. Too, as we have indicated in previous articles about Frankel, the colt demanded the skill of the incomparable Sir Henry Cecil, of work-rider Shane Fetherstonhaugh and jockey, Tom Queally, to get his exuberance under control in a manner that didn’t quench his spirit and allowed him to dominate on the turf. In the early stages it was hard work, and the colt didn’t make his two year-old debut until mid-August of 2010 where he was shadowed home by the brilliant Nathaniel who, of all the Frankel challengers in his 14 starts, remains the colt who got closest to him.

Like everything else in his life, Frankel’s stud career has been meticulously planned. It was anticipated that 100 mares would be accepted from outside breeders, including Japan and America, and in all cases, preference was given to Group 1 winners and/or producers of Group 1 winners. (The remaining 30 would come from Juddmonte bloodstock.)

Said general manager of Banstead Manor Stud, Philip Mitchell, shortly after the champion’s retirement:

“We’d always try and keep a restriction on the number of mares he covers … This is an exclusive horse and we want to keep him exclusive.

“If someone is spending that level of nomination fee [£125,000] to use Frankel, you don’t want to get to a situation where you find a large number of his progeny being sold. By keeping him to 130, we won’t be flooding the market. Juddmonte are owner-breeders and we’ll aim to get the right balance between owner-breeders and commercial breeders.”

“… We have certain mares that whatever we send them to, they produce the business … For instance, Clepysydra is one of those mares. The stallion could be the best in the world but I feel it’s hugely important to get the right calibre of mare.

“It’s still early days for us [Juddmonte] with the matings for next year but Frankel will be getting first pick. We want to give Frankel every opportunity at stud and we’ll be supporting him as much as possible. But it is very difficult – we’re spoiled at the moment because we’ve also got Dansili and Oasis Dream and we can’t ignore them. It’ll be a balance.” (Racing Post, November 23, 2013)

FRANKEL and OASIS DREAM at Banstead Manor.

As trainer John Gosden said of a recent Frankel winner, Seven Heavens, “He has a positive attitude on life and he likes to get on with things. He is a strong-willed horse and is like his father in that way. I think he (Frankel) will probably pass that on to his offspring.” (Sky Sports, July 8, 2016)

Bred by Cheveley Stud, Seven Heavens was a rare Juddmonte purchase at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last year.  “Rare” because Juddmonte is a huge breeding enterprise all on its own, making the purchase worth noting. Seven Heavens is beautifully bred: his dam, Heaven Sent (2003), a daughter of Pivotal (1993), was a dual winner of the Dahlia Stakes. And Pivotal is a world-class leading sire, with 100 stakes winners to date, including Farhh (2008) and Excellent Art (2004).

SEVEN HEAVENS as a yearling in 2015. Photo and copyright, Tattersalls.

Watching Seven Heavens’ debut was the kind of thing that makes you believe time and space really is curved: the youngster looks so much like Frankel and, unlike his other winning progeny to date, Seven Heavens shows that “pumping” action in his fore that we so associate with Frankel’s distinctive running style. Add to that the parallels in performance between Seven Heavens’ maiden race and that of Frankel’s own debut (above), and the picture is complete.

Video of Seven Heavens’ win, with the beautifully-bred Lockheed (Exceed and Excel/BM sire Motivator) chasing him home. (Please advance the video to 2:46 to see the whole race without the preamble, or click on the link under the video that just offers the race itself.)

http://www.tdn.premiumtv.co.uk/streaming/watch/RacingUKFlashVOD/partnerId_166/videoFileId_15587411/clipId_2612660/index.html

Said his jockey, Robert Havlin, after the win:

“He’s a nice horse … They didn’t go very quick early on, and following Tom (Marquand on Monoshka) he was struggling after three and a half furlongs and couldn’t take me any further, so literally from the two-pole to the line he had to do it all on his own.

“He’s never been off the bridle in his life before, so it was a big ask, and he just got a little bit lonely and just started to drift to the left a little. I was impressed with him.

“I’ve ridden two Frankels now and they’ve both wanted to get on with things at home, but come raceday they are as good as gold.”

SEVEN HEAVENS strides clear of the fast-closing LOCKHEED to win on debut.

An unmistakeable likeness: FRANKEL takes a rehearsal run at Newmarket before his final start.

Seven Heavens isn’t the only first crop Frankel that makes you blink: Cunco and Majoris, to a lesser extent, both have the “Frankel look” about them. Another son, Frankuus, is a grey and his two daughters to race, Queen Kindly and Fair Eva, are both chestnuts. But the whole of this select group seem to have Frankel’s precocity, indicating that at least some of this first crop may have been similarly stamped by their famous sire. Too, as was the case with Team Frankel, will it take patience, together with skill, to harness the inclination of these first few (as well as those to come) to “get on with things” without dampening their love of the race?

Cunco (named after a city in Chile and owned by Don Alberto Corp. Ltd.), Frankel’s firstborn son was also the very first Frankel to hit the turf, winning nicely at Newbury on May 13, ridden by Richard Havlin. Needless to say, there was keen interest among Frankel followers and much praise for his debut effort. Cunco also treated spectators to some of his sire’s spunk, rearing up in the saddling enclosure on his second start at Ascot. Since his May win, Cunco has started twice, coming in third (at Ascot) and fourth, respectively.

Baby CUNCO with his dam, Chrysanthemum.

Blink: CUNCO as a yearling looks the picture of his sire.

As of this writing, Queen Kindly is the first Frankel to chalk up 2 wins (in 3 starts), bringing the stallion’s overall strike rate to 8 winners from 14 starters. The filly is also Frankel’s first-born daughter and her dam, Lady of the Desert, by the great Rahy, gives the filly’s story a distinctly American connection.

The lovely QUEEN KINDLY after her debut win at Caterick.

Please click on the link below for a video of Queen Kindly’s second win:

http://www.tdn.premiumtv.co.uk/streaming/watch/RacingUKFlashVOD/partnerId_166/videoFileId_15595124/clipId_2613781/index.html

Nor is Frankel’s talented daughter the only offspring in his first crop with American connections. Waiting in the wings are: Brooklyn Bobby (colt by Balance), In Luxury (filly by In Lingerie/Japan), Aspirer (filly by Nebraska Tornado by Storm Cat/Juddmonte), an unnamed filly by Oatsee, the dam of Shackleford, Elphin (filly by Aspiring Diva by Distant View, dam of Emulous/Juddmonte), Finche (colt by Binche by Woodman, dam of Proviso/Juddmonte), Solo Saxophone (colt by Society Hostess by Seeking The Gold), Mirage Dancer (colt by Heat Haze by Green Desert/Juddmonte), Mi Suerte (colt by Mi Sueno by Pulpit/Japan) and Aljezeera (colt by Dynaforce by Dynaformer).

IN LINGERIE (Empire Maker) with her FRANKEL baby, IN LUXURY, in Japan where the filly was born.

However, as has been pointed out by the Racing Post’s Tony Morris, with about 100 or more runners to come, Frankel’s record won’t stay anywhere near his initial wins-starters ratio. It will, in fact, substantially decline — unless every Frankel proves a winner and that is, even for this great, great horse, an impossibility. As for the precocity of these first few, one can’t really talk about Frankel’s tendency to breed precocity into his offspring when so few of them have raced to date. Nor does he occupy the top spot for freshman sires, currently occupied by Mayson (a son of Invincible Spirit with 8 winners of 24 runners), since none of Frankel’s eight progeny to run have scored in stakes company. Frankel currently ranks ninth, but look for that to change.

MAJORIS showed some depth in coming home first in his first start.

The grey FRANKUUS shown winning on debut. He was very green but still had the turn of foot to get the job done.

The lovely FAIR EVA won impressively in her first and only race to date.

Here’s the thing: these early Frankels don’t even represent the best of what he’s got coming, in terms of sons and daughters of champion and/or Blue Hen mares. Together with those listed above in “American connections,” we can add: Nothing But Dreams, the daughter of Arc winner champion, Danedream, who is training in France with Roger Varian; Erdogan, the son of triple G1 winner Dar Re Mi (dam of the impressive So Dar Mi) who is training with the brilliant John Gosden; Mori, the son of the great Midday, training with Sir Michael Stoute; La Figlia, the priciest Frankel to pass through auction, by the dual Guineas champion Finsceal Beo is with William Haggas; and in Japan, there is the daughter of the brilliant Stacelita, Soul Stirring. Consider too: Aurora Gold, the daughter of Juddmonte’s Midsummer, the dam of Midday, who is with John Gosden; Australian champion More Joyous’ unnamed daughter, in training with Gai Waterhouse; the aforementioned Clepsydra’s filly, Amser, who is training with Andre Fabre; champion Alexander Goldrun’s daughter, Gold Rush, training with Jim Bolger; and Dancing Rain’s filly, Rainswept, a Darley purchase, is in the stable of Andre Fabre.

A FRANKEL troupe: MIDSUMMER, the dam of MIDDAY and her FRANKEL filly join other mares with their baby FRANKELS at Banstead in 2014.

DANEDREAM and her 2014 FRANKEL filly. She also has a 2015 FRANKEL colt.

DAR RE MI’S colt by FRANKEL looks a good deal like his sire.

STACELITA’S filly by FRANKEL as a yearling.

MORE JOYOUS with her as yet unnamed FRANKEL filly.

So, yes, it’s early days.

But this is surely what it’s all about: the courage to dream, the courage to hope ……. that one great thoroughbred will slip the bonds of time to go on and on and on.

Sources

The Racing Post, “Frankel’s Flying Start” by Tony Morris

Juddmonte website: http://www.juddmonte.com/stallions/frankel/default.aspx

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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Inspired by a pair of exceedingly rare photographs and the opening of Saratoga — a place of magic, history and imagining — comes this tale of two great fillies.

MOTHER GOOSE wind-up toy by Marx from the 1920’s.

Most American readers know the association between the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose and the thoroughbred of the same name, after whom The Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park is named. Once part of the triad of races that formed the American Triple Crown for fillies, The Mother Goose Stakes were removed from the Triple in 2010, but carries on as an important Grade 1 stakes for 3 year-old fillies. That part of the Mother Goose story is easy. Trying to get a look at H.P. Whitney’s champion filly or even a true sense of her racing career is quite another matter, even though she did everything right on the track and in the breeding shed. In fact, in the latter case, she made a very direct contribution to a thoroughbred dynasty.

The daughter of French import Chicle (1913), Spearmint’s (1903) best son who was also notoriously bad-tempered, Mother Goose was born in 1922, a Whitney homebred. Her dam, Flying Witch, from the Ben Brush sire line, was also the producer of a very fine full brother to Mother Goose, Whichone (1927). He raced against Gallant Fox, whom he managed to beat as a 2 year-old in the 1929 Belmont Futurity, while annexing a number of prestigious races, notably the Champagne, the Withers and the Whitney before breaking down after a dual in the stretch with Jim Dandy and Gallant Fox in the Travers. {If Whichone’s name sounds familiar it might be because of his two best sons: the gelding Whichee (1934), who had the misfortune to race against Seabiscuit and Kayak II, but who was a good runner in his own right, and Bourbon King(1935) a tough campaigner who won the Remsen Stakes.}

CHICLE, the sire of MOTHER GOOSE.

MOTHER GOOSE the broodmare shows a very kind eye, despite her bad-tempered sire. This is one of the very few images of her.

The fact that Mother Goose had a Grade 1 stakes named after her can be taken as proof that she was a filly who sparked the hopes, dreams and imagination of racegoers in the 1920’s, when the sport in North America was relatively new. Her most impressive victory came at two, when she beat the boys in the 1924 Belmont Futurity, most notably Marshall Field III’s sabino chestnut Stimulus(1922), a great grandson of Domino (1891) and winner of the 1925 Pimlico Futurity. In retirement, Stimulus proved a useful sire, producing the champions Beaugay (1943) and Stir Up (1941), as well as a small army of other good runners. {Summer Tan (1952), Nantallah (1953), Decidedly (1959), Sword Dancer (1956), Dust Commander (1967) and Slew O’ Gold (1980) are all direct descendants of Stimulus.}

STIMULUS after his win in the 1925 Belmont Futurity.

I knew that Mother Goose’s rout of the boys in 1924 was her biggest moment on the track, enough to award her champion 2 year-old filly honours that year. But like any good researcher, I wanted to know more.

And then it happened.

A few weeks back, on a day (to quote Thornton Wilder) “when the dogs were sticking to the sidewalk” in the heat, I was cruising around on the internet and spied an old racing photo at auction that had a peculiar heading: “1924 Press Photo Harry Payne on Mother Goose at Belmont Futurity race in NY.”  Could it be…….?

And there she was:

MOTHER GOOSE (on the rail) shown winning the 1924 Belmont Futurity. STIMULUS is in blinkers nearest to the camera. Photo and copyright, Wide World Photo.

And as if that weren’t enough, the press photo included the press release on the back, clear as a bell. Like a message in a bottle, I learned more about Mother Goose the runner than I had been able to uncover in decades of searching.

The press release was as clear as a bell, describing the courage of the juvenile MOTHER GOOSE in battling on right to the wire. Photo and copyright, Wide World Photo.

Of course, I bought the photo — for the unbelievable price of $14.99 USD. (I do feel badly for the merchant but, like people who run bookstores knowing little about authors, the company is one of several who have bought up the newspaper archives of papers like The Chicago Tribune, knowing little about famous thoroughbreds.)

Mother Goose didn’t stop at the Futurity. She also won the Fashion Stakes and came second and third respectively in the Astoria and Rosedale Stakes that same year. After her debut, the filly seems to disappear from the record books. But as a broodmare, she left a lasting mark as the grandam of Almamoud (1947), one of the greatest ancestresses in American thoroughbred history who was the grandam of Natalma (1957), who produced Northern Dancer (1961).

And isn’t it lovely to know that each time you look at a descendant of Northern Dancer (Natalma) or Halo (whose dam, Cosmah, is a daughter of Almamoud) or Sunday Silence (son of Halo) you are beckoning the spirit of Mother Goose?

SUNDAY SILENCE shares a silence with the wonderful Charlie Whittingham.

Since the explosion of online auction centres like EBAY, these kinds of finds have become rare for me. But there was another purchase I made some time ago that is as precious to me as this photo of Mother Goose. It was of another champion filly and matriarch: Alcibiades. And the circumstances that led me to her were remarkably similar.

Alcibiades’ career on the track and in the breeding shed are perhaps better known than the exploits of Mother Goose. Like her predecessor, Alcibiades has a Grade 1 stakes for 3 year-old fillies named after her and now sponsored by Darley as part of the Breeders Cup Challenge series.

Hal Prince Headley’s great filly was a homebred, born in 1927. Named after a soldier and statesman of Ancient Greece (for which Headley took more than a little abuse because the filly’s dam was called Regal Roman), Alcibiades was a descendant of the incomparable Domino (1891) through her sire, Supremus (1922). Her dam, Regal Roman (1921), a daughter of Roi Herode (1904), arrived in the USA from Great Britain in 1923. Alcibiades was her best progeny.

Her major win at two was in the 1929 Debutante; in 1930, Alcibiades captured the Kentucky Oaks and the Arlington Oaks. One lesser known incident in her three year-old season was that she also ran against Gallant Fox in the 1930 Kentucky Derby, setting blazing fractions on the lead before fading to finish tenth. It was easy to forgive her: the Oaks and Derby were only two weeks apart and the Oaks, which Alcibiades won, was the second of the two. So after this effort in the Derby, one must conclude that the daughter of Supremus was one courageous filly, with a heart as big as her ability, to come back to take the Oaks:

After winning the highest award in the land at two and again at three, Alcibiades was retired with a bowed a tendon to take up breeding duties at the Headleys Beaumont Farm. Her last race pitched her against older horses in the Hawthorne Gold Cup, where she ran beautifully to finish third to Wallace Kilmer’s champion, Sun Beau (1925). As serious a competitor as Alcibiades had been on the track, it was as a broodmare that she endowed the American thoroughbred with her most enduring gift. From her brilliant son, Menow (1935), in a direct line of descent, came two jewels of American racing: Tom Fool (1949) and his son, Buckpasser (1963). From her daughter by Man O’ War, Salaminia (1937), descended the Epsom Derby winner, Sir Ivor (1965), the first American-bred to win it since 1954. And Sir Ivor, as many will know, went on to become the ancestor of some very important thoroughbreds, among them Shareef Dancer (1980), Green Desert (1983), Zabeel (1986) and his son, Octagonal (1992), as well as the recently retired Encosta de Lago (1993).

Alcibiades’ son, MENOW, the sire of TOM FOOL and grandsire of BUCKPASSER. Photo and copyright Acme.

SIR IVOR, ridden by Lester Piggott and trained by Vincent O’Brien, goes down to the start.

ENCOSTA DE LAGO, who descends from ALCIBIADES through her daughter, SALAMINIA, is a recently retired champion Australian sire. Photograph published in the Herald Sun (Australia).

I stumbled across her photo on a popular auction site and again, the listing was curious: “Alcibiades and her jockey ready to race, 1930.” Assuming that I would be unlikely to find an actual photo of the beloved American filly, I was shocked to find that the image was, indeed, Alcibiades. Unlike the Mother Goose photo, the press release — normally tacked onto the back — was missing and the context around the filly gives little clue as to where the photo was taken. So it’s impossible to say what race this was, except that she was a 3 year-old in 1930. It’s clearly post-race, given the froth in Alcibiades’ mouth. And her jockey sure looks happy, so this is possibly after her win in either the Kentucky Oaks or the Arlington Oaks. But that’s pure guesswork.

In any case, we see her lovely face and soft, dark eye, and note the powerful shoulder and hindquarters of a champion.

ALCIBIADES as a three year-old.

Finding these two photographs is like opening a time capsule, or slipping through a wormhole to a time over eighty years ago. It’s as though two photographers in the early part of the last century chose to record two fillies in the hope not only that their images would feature in a prominent newspaper but also that they were capturing something significant, since images always signify something to the person who captures them.  Even if they are two hard-working individuals with an assignment, it was each of them who decided the angle, the lighting, the moment to press the button. They could not have known how important Mother Goose and Alcibiades would be for the breed or even what each filly would contribute to thoroughbred history. But framing each photograph is the hope that they just might be witnessing history-in-the-making. By opening the doors of a living present to those of us who stood like shadows in their futures, two people we will never know have, with two great fillies, reached out to us and in so doing, overcome the limitations of time.

Surely it is this, as much as the subjects themselves, that makes these photographs so precious.

Sources

Hunter, Avalyn. American Classic Pedigrees website:http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com

Bowen, Edward L. Matriarchs. KY: The Blood-Horse, 1999.

Mitchell, Frank. Racehorse Breeding Theories. Wisconsin: The Russel Meerdink Company Ltd., 2004

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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L.S. has been a faithful reader of THE VAULT since we started up, five years ago, in 2011. 

So it was that when she contacted me to say that she was planning to make her first visit to OLD FRIENDS in Kentucky, I was quick to send back my enthusiastic response. And I made a request, “If you can, please give ‘my boy’ Tinner’s Way a carrot and tell him that his friend Abigail loves him.” (I had made my first visit to OLD FRIENDS just last September, where Tinner and I established one of those connections that is impossible to forget. He actually called out to me as we were leaving and, honestly, if I could have done it, I would have stayed there with him forever.)

A few weeks back, I heard from L.S. who wanted me to know that she was back and had some photos from her visit that she wanted to share with myself and all of you.

So it is with the greatest pleasure that I ask you to welcome THE VAULT’S first Guest Editor and her beautiful narrative of a first visit to a very, very special place. 

I’ve had an interest in horse racing dating back probably to 1972, when my aunt suggested we watch the Kentucky Derby and bet on the results with nickels. I saw Riva Ridge win, and I was hooked on horse racing from that point on. I rooted for Sham in 1973, disappointed at his inability to overcome Secretariat’s greatness, and hoped one day I could visit my favourite thoroughbred, wherever he was. I continued to follow horse racing through my teens, less later on as I raised my children and was involved in other family-related activities, but I still tried to at least watch the Triple Crown races each year.

In the spring of 2016 we were blessed with our first grandchild, a girl. I was planning a road trip to Chicago to visit with her, and while doing research for interesting attractions along the way and back I came across the Old Friends website. After reading about Old Friends, I realized that, aside from seeing my sweet baby girl in Chicago, I wanted most to visit this rescue and retirement home for thoroughbred horses in Georgetown, Kentucky. Visitors to Old Friends must register for a tour, so I emailed the organization, and was informed that there were two tours a day, at ten and three. I knew the morning tour was not possible due to our traveling schedule, so on the day of our departure, I pushed to get us on the road out of Chicago by 6:00am, so that we could make it to Georgetown in time for the 3:00pm tour!

We arrived in Georgetown, checked in at the hotel, and off I went to see the horses at Old Friends, especially Silver Charm. I made it to the farm by the time the tour was about to start, loaded down with only two cameras, one bottle of water, and sporting a large-brimmed floppy hat. A small group was gathered to the side of the main office building, waiting for the tour to start. I checked with the desk personnel and yes: my name was still on the tour list! I hurried over to join the group, which consisted of a nice mix of younger and older visitors.

Our tour guide was Tom, a soft-spoken older gentleman toting a bucket of chopped up carrots. Before we started down the slope towards the horses, he outlined some rules, including not getting too close to the horses. One young visitor asked if the horses would bite, and Tom said “all horses will bite”. Tom encouraged questions, even those from the younger children, and spoke fondly of the horses that were residents at Old Friends. I asked Tom about Abigail’s friend, Michael, and was told he was around, we might see him. My follow-up question was about seeing Tinners Way, so I could give him an extra carrot for Abigail. Tom informed me that Tinners Way was not on that day’s tour, he was in a paddock farther than we were going to go. Oh well.

And then, away we started, walking down a graveled driveway toward the barns and paddocks situated on the rolling hills behind Old Friends’ main entrance.

“…walking down a graveled driveway towards the barns and paddocks…” Photo and copyright, L.S.

Our first stop was next to a paddock that held a beautiful golden chestnut, identified by a sign as Genuine Reward. His name was familiar, and just as I thought, he was the offspring of the incomparable Genuine Risk, the winner of the 1980 Kentucky Derby, and only the second filly to win in the history of the race. She had difficulties bringing any of her pregnancies to full term, and Tom informed us that this son of hers, Genuine Reward, was one of the only two offspring who survived to adulthood. I did ask who his sire was, and Tom took out his phone to look it up: the well-known Rahy. Genuine Reward never raced, but even at his age, twenty-three, he is a beautiful horse, and looks very similar to his mother. I was enchanted, and one of the first visitors to offer him a carrot, provided from Tom’s bucket.

GENUINE REWARD “… one of only two offspring who survived to adulthood.” Photo and copyright L.S.

Across the lane from Genuine Reward was Sarava, a Belmont Stakes winner, and spoiler for War Emblem’s Triple Crown bid in 2002. He is a very nice looking dark horse, in more ways than one!

SARAVA “…spoiler for War Emblem’s Triple Crown.” Photo and copyright, L.S.

We continued down the road, visiting with Game on Dude, who would not allow his paddock-mate, Cat launch, to eat any carrots! We had to walk down the path a little further in order to feed Catlaunch, as he kept back from the fence while Game on Dude was monopolizing our attention. Both were also very good-looking thoroughbreds, and I noticed that Game on Dude appeared to have more of an Arabian “dish” look to his face.

GAME ON DUDE “…who would not allow his paddock-mate, CATLAUNCH, to eat any carrots!” Photo and copyright, L.S.

Across the pathway we met and fed Amazombie, and his paddock-mate, Rapid Redux. Most of the horses we saw at Old Friends had halters with engraved name plates; some halters also included career highlights of the horse included on the plates.

“Across the pathway we met and fed AMAZOMBIE…” Photo and copyright, L.S.

“…and his paddock-mate RAPID REDUX.” Photo and copyright, L.S.

We were not allowed to get close to another Kentucky Derby winner, War Emblem, as he was in a “time out” paddock, with a double fence between the visitors and this retiree. Tom explained that, after years of racing and being used in breeding, War Emblem did not have the best disposition, and was separated for his own good, and the safety of others.

“We were not allowed to get close to WAR EMBLEM… (because he) did not have the best disposition.” Photo and copyright, L.S.

At this point of the tour we were joined by a gentleman who had ridden down to our location using a golf cart. I’d been asked by Abigail to say hi to “Michael” for her, and when I discovered this gentleman was Michael, I passed on her greeting, and he replied favorably of Abigail. I also mentioned that she had asked me to feed Tinners Way an extra carrot “for her”, and I was disappointed that that particular thoroughbred was not on that day’s tour. At this point, Michael offered to take me in the cart up the road to where Tinners Way was housed, and I readily, and eagerly accepted his offer! I did grab a couple carrots from Tom’s bucket before getting in Michael’s cart.

” At this point, Michael offered to take me in the cart up the road to where Tinners Way was housed…” Photo of Michael Blowen and “Tinner” and copyright, L.S.

We rode up the hill, past a barn, and to a paddock in which a chestnut horse was standing, with a mesh covering over his eyes, and so I met Tinners Way, son of the great Secretariat! It was obvious that this horse was special to Michael, and he talked at some length about the horse, and how Old Friends was started. I was able to give Tinners Way two carrots, and I seem to recall being bold enough to touch his velvety nose. After a few minutes spent with the elderly racehorse, we climbed back into Michael’s golf cart, and talked about Forego and Forli and some other famous horses before I was dropped off with the tour group.

I’M CHARISMATIC and ARSON SQUAD. Photo and copyright, L.S.

DANTHEBLUEGRASSMAN “…seemed to be more interested in cribbing the railing than eating carrots!” Photo and copyright, L.S.

I was glad to see I’d not missed much of the tour, as they were just finishing up visiting with I’m Charismatic, Arson Squad, and across from them, Danthebluegrassman, who seemed to be more interested in cribbing the railing than eating carrots! I took a couple quick pictures, then hastened to catch up to the tour, which was making its way around and down the final turn, toward a very special horse.

That special horse was Silver Charm, the champion that I really wanted to see, and even at his advanced age, he still looked great, though much more white than in his racing days. Tom had imparted a little biography with each of the horses we’d visited, but I don’t recall much about this horse, as I was soaking in just seeing this champion in the flesh. I do recall feeding him at least one carrot, and I might have stroked his nose lightly, I can’t recall for sure. I guess I was rather star-struck!

SILVER CHARM: “I guess I was rather star-struck!” Photo and copyright, L.S.

Across from Silver Charm’s area was the horse graveyard, with markers for all the horses that had been residents of Old Friends at the time of their death. While many of the horses had names I was not familiar with, I knew by the markers whose progeny they were. I was very sorry to have missed being able to visit Gulch, Fraise, and Kiri’s Clown, the last who was the son of Foolish Pleasure, one of my favorite Derby winners.

The final thoroughbred on the tour was Alphabet Soup. I am not totally sure, but I think this guy is one of Tom’s favorites, just by how he talked about him. For an elderly, sway-backed horse, Alphabet Soup had a lot of charisma. The kids gravitated to him, and he was fed several carrots. One of my pictures shows “the look of eagles” in this old-timer.

ALPHABET SOUP and Tom. Photo and copyright, L.S.

ALPHABET SOUP “…had a lot of charisma.” Shown here with Tom, one of Old Friends’ tour guides. Photo and copyright, L.S.

But Alphabet Soup was not the last of our equine tour, as Little Silver Charm awaited us and our attentions. A tiny pony, he had been saved from slaughter many years ago by Michael, the Old Friends founder, and named after Michael’s favorite race horse, Silver Charm. How could Michael know then that eventually Little Silver Charm would be pastured close to his namesake, the original Silver Charm?

“Two Charms” — LITTLE SILVER CHARM and (BIG) SILVER CHARM with Michael Blowen, the founder of Old Friends. Photo and copyright, Liz Read for THE VAULT

With this last stop, our tour was over, and we headed up the slope toward the main office. However, I noticed a gravestone, all by itself in a small paddock, with the infamous name “Noor” engraved across its front. I caught up with Tom, and asked him about this particular stone. The story of Noor’s stone was then related to those of us remaining from the tour: many of the farms where famous racehorses were buried were being bought for development. Apparently, one of the original employees of the farm where Noor was buried recalled the location of the burial plot, and after getting permission, the remains of Noor were exhumed, and reburied at Old Friends. For those of you not familiar with Noor, he was the son of Nashrulla, and was owned and raced by the same man who raced Seabiscuit, Charles S. Howard.

It was a very gratifying, satisfying visit, and I plan to visit again as time allows. Since I have a grandbaby in Chicago, it might not be too long before I walk the fields and roads of Old Friends again.

View of part of Old Friends. Photo and copyright, L.S.

ALPHABET SOUP. Photo and copyright, L.S.

As any parent, grandparent, teacher or librarian will tell you, helping a child to become a reader for life starts when they are young. But it’s not just about introducing books an adult thinks a child might like. It’s about following the child’s interests, because when a child discovers a book that speaks to them in the most intimate way, there will be no turning back. This article is dedicated to my friend, librarian J.D.

The very first Pointe Claire library, built in the late 19th century.

Shortly before I retired from education, my team and I travelled around the province of Quebec to offer seminars to practising teachers on a number of topics. Arguably one of our absolute favourite sessions was the one we animated on early literacy. The reason it was our favourite had a good deal to do with what happened as we began laying out our ideas for the session.

After a good deal of talking — always the beginning stage of any production process for us — we fell into a conversation about the books we had loved as children. As each of us shared our memories, we began to see that literacy is deeply embedded in an individual’s “reading landscape,” beginning with their earliest experiences with books. Anything, in fact, that an individual associates with discovering the pleasures of reading is part of an individual’s reading landscape, from best-loved books to bookmarks to places or events where books were borrowed, bought or received as gifts.

We each set out to uncover, and write about, our own reading landscapes. (The idea was to mount our stories on a blog that teachers we were meeting could access prior to the literacy seminar, which we actually did and the teachers just loved this. In fact, it sent many of them off in search of their own reading landscapes.)

Retrieving my own reading landscape was not unlike an archeological dig — there were layers and layers, going back through my life to some of my earliest memories. Which, in turn, led to the little library in Pointe Claire where I discovered C.W. Anderson for the very first time. I knew about Marguerite Henry and had read many of her books, beginning with Misty of Chincoteague. But these books had been gifts to a younger me, the one too small to ride her bicycle to our local library and choose books for herself.

The librarian at our teeny-tiny Pointe Claire library sat me down in front of a shelf of books by C.W. Anderson.

I will always love Marguerite Henry and I own those books by her that I loved best. (Ditto for the work of Walter Farley, of Black Stallion fame, who also wrote a lovely book about Man O’ War.) But the author who set my heart on fire was C.W. Anderson. “CWA” met me where I lived — right at the corner of Horses + Art.

Cover of the CW ANDERSON portfolio of the same name.

FAIR PLAY, sire of MAN O’ WAR by C.W. Anderson.

In his novel, States of Emergency, author Andre Brink writes “…love forces us to go down into our own archeology.”  As I revisited the moment I had first discovered the books of Anderson, I just knew that I had to do what that little girl didn’t really have the skill to do: research everything there was to know about C.W. Anderson and get busy collecting a number of his books and portfolios of prints, using my child-memory as a guide.

An early discovery was that CWA wasn’t only an author-illustrator of books about horses and ponies. In fact, his earliest works were a bawdy set of cartoons, produced on a regular basis for the New Yorker and Ballyhoo magazines in the 1920’s and 30’s. In addition, his art appeared on the covers of the Saturday Evening Post and Youth’s Companion. This period culminated in 1935 in the publication of a distinctly adult book entitled, “And So To Bed.”

Anderson’s cover for The Saturday Evening Post (October 4, 1924)

“And So To Bed’ preceded Anderson’s arrival on the scene as one of the supreme equine artists of the last century.

A graduate of the prestigious Chicago School of Art, CWA lived in Greenwich Village after the close of WW1. For a few years prior to his move to New York City, Anderson taught school in Chicago. But teaching was not his primary ambition. It was from Greenwich Village that he broke into publishing with his cartoons and art, both of which showed an artist with a sharp, spicy sense of humour. Other interests included music: CWA was a very good violinist but not good enough to make it a career.

Probably late in the 1930’s, CWA moved to Mason, New Hampshire, where he lived until his death in 1970. The permanent move to Mason from New York City happened very gradually, precipitated by CWA meeting Madeleine Paltenghi in the late 1920’s during his New York days. Madeleine was a poet and an aspiring author of children’s books, and it was with her that Anderson developed the Billy and Blaze series, she doing at least some of the writing or editing, and he concerning himself with the illustrations. The books themselves make no mention of Madeleine Paltenghi, which is rather curious. But it may also have been deliberate: CWA was an established name in publishing by this time whereas Madeleine was not. The first Billy and Blaze was published in 1936, gaining instant appeal. It was CWA’s first venture into the world of horses.

BILLY AND BLAZE, 1936.

Shortly before or after the publication of the first Billy and Blaze book, CWA was living full-time in Mason, NH, first alone in a studio he had had built just down the road from the house where Madeleine lived with her young son, Charles Emil. The two married in 1944 and their collaboration as artist and writer continued until Madeleine’s death from mitral stenosis, a condition caused by the narrowing of the mitral valve of the heart. During the last days of her life, CWA wrote her a poem each morning that he would take up to Madeleine with her breakfast. These became known as the “Orange Juice poems,” according to his stepson, Charles Emil Ruckstuhl. There are forty-one of them, the last being written on the day Madeleine died.

Another early collaboration between CWA and Madeleine Paltenghi was Honey On A Raft.

Silverpoint featured poems by Madeleine and silverpoint drawings by CWA.

Madeleine was not only CWA’s partner and best friend, she also shared with her husband a love of horses. During their marriage, the couple owned a number of horses: Peter, Wise Bug, Suzie, Howdy and Bobcat. The latter, a beautiful chestnut, became the subject of one of CWA’s books, published in 1965. Two later books, A Pony For Linda and Linda and The Indians were created for his granddaughter, Linda Ruckstahl.

Bobcat, published in 1965, was about one of CWA’s horses. It seems clear that he and the chestnut shared a deep bond.

Illustration from A Pony For Linda, written for CWA’s granddaughter and published in 1951.

Although it is unclear how CWA made his transition to equine art — and it may have been as simple as the huge success of Billy and Blaze –— one thing that is clear is that he followed the stories of great thoroughbreds through the press and was particularly passionate about Man O’ War and his progeny. His accounts re-fashion news-worthy prose from any number of sources into highly readable, entertaining narratives. The accuracy in CWA’s books about thoroughbreds is an absolute boon for a researcher today, since the “inside stories” of so many great thoroughbreds are all but lost. CWA may have thought he was giving his equine subjects the kind of immortality that print endows, but he was also writing himself into an invaluable source of thoroughbred racing history and culture. Too, there were clearly no severe copyright restrictions during the time that CWA was creating his beautiful and expressive illustrations: many can be traced right back to press photographs that appeared in newspapers and magazines of the day.

An original press photo of COUNT FLEET at work. Photo and copyright The Chicago Tribune.

CWA’s lithograph of COUNT FLEET.

L.S. Sutcliffe’s magnificent photo of EQUIPOISE

EQUIPOISE in a head study by CWA.

Battleship, in his menacing black hood (furthest from front) is in the lead as the son of Man O’ War goes on to win the 1938 Grand National at Aintree. An original photograph that inspired the article on Battleship published in September 2012 here on THE VAULT.

CWA’s illustration of BATTLESHIP on his way to becoming the first American owned and bred horse to win the Grand National at Aintree.

CWA’s stories of great thoroughbreds of the past were supplemented by illustrations as magnificent as any photograph. The book illustrations were actually produced using a traditional lithograph process and it was a slow, painstaking process. The word lithograph comes from the Ancient Greek, litho meaning “stone” and graphein meaning “to write.”  The traditional process uses an image drawn with oil, fat, or wax onto the surface of a smooth, level lithographic limestone plate. The stone was treated with a mixture of acid and gum arabic, etching the portions of the stone that were not protected by the grease-based image. When the stone was subsequently moistened, these etched areas retained water; an oil-based ink could then be applied and would be repelled by the water, sticking only to the original drawing. The ink would finally be transferred to a blank paper sheet, producing a printed page.

This traditional technique is still used in some fine art printmaking applications today, but the more popular process is to capture the original in a photograph and then use the photo-image to print. Many of the prints of the late Richard Stone Reeves were produced from photographs of his original oil paintings, as is the case with the work of the majority of contemporary equine artists. In the case of CWA, his illustrations began life as original drawings, often done in pen and ink, that were then copied by hand to become lithographs. In his portfolios of lithographs, the process is laid out in detail. The portfolios were published beginning in 1952 and the last one appeared in 1968. Each portfolio contained about 8-12 single lithographs. Today, C.W. Anderson single lithographs can be found on sites like Ebay or Etsy, but, sadly, whole portfolios are becoming increasingly scarce.

Portfolios by CWA look like this. Each portfolio has an illustrated portfolio cover and contains an illustrated booklet, an identification chart and the lithographs themselves.

Elements of a CWA portfolio of lithographs. The identification chart is in the foreground.

The cover of one of CWA’s portfolios, All Thoroughbreds depicting the head of the legendary Man O’ War.

CWA actually studied the anatomy of the horse (as did the great George Stubbs before him) and some of his anatomical sketches can be found in a few of his books, notably “Sketchbook” and “Thoroughbred.” The illustrations pre- and post these anatomy lessons are very different: specifically, they show a smooth transition from cartoonist to representational equine artist. During his career, CWA published over thirty-five books about horses, six or seven portfolios of equine art and also accepted an unrecorded number of private commissions. He taught school in Mason off and on and was a judge, certified by the American Horse Show Association, of hunters and jumpers. And, in at least one source consulted in the writing of this article for THE VAULT, CWA is depicted as “a beloved citizen of Mason.”

GALLANT FOX (1939) as he appears in Black, Bay and Chestnut betrays some of the cartoonist’s hand….

…whereas SHUVEE with her first foal bespeaks a full transition to representational art.

A youth theatre in Wilton, NH called “Andy’s Summer Playhouse” was founded in 1971, a year after the death of Mason’s beloved “Andy” as family and friends called him. First located in the Mason Town Hall, “Andy’s” relocated to Wilton about a decade later.

From their website (http://www.andyssummerplayhouse.org/history/) :

...Named for CW Anderson, our namesake, and the inspiration his artwork gave to our original 10 seasons at Mason Town Hall. Anderson’s framed artwork surrounded the room where kids fostered
the initial legacy of Andy’s, which continues in 2016.

...Andy’s Summer Playhouse grew out of the dream of two teachers in the Mascenic Regional School, Margaret Sawyer and William Williams, to keep alive, during the summer of 1971, a theater
experience that had occurred at their high school that spring. The Playhouse found its first home in Mason, New Hampshire. Here the enthusiasm of its founders drew the support of several arearesidents who offered not only financial assistance, but the generous gift of their talent. Most notable among these is Elizabeth Orton Jones, illustrator, author and playwright, whose
contribution through the years has been of vital importance to the artistic growth of the playhouse.

“Andy” was a beloved summer resident of Mason, internationally known as C.W. Anderson., a jovial outreaching man who loved young people. He wrote and illustrated stories about horses and
children, many of which have a Mason background with pictures of local boys and girls. In the world of art, he was known for his meticulously beautiful renderings of animals and people, and
in the world of youth, for his untiring interest and faith in new generations.

“I know well that only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young,” said the poet Walter del a Mare. Andy believed that implicitly, and lived it too. Thus it was
only fitting that the new venture should strive to honor his memory.

And so it does today.

When I want to revisit the day that I first discovered him at our local library, I take one of CWA’s books down from the bookcase in my bedroom, settle into a comfy spot, and slowly open the cover. Sometimes I read the narratives, other times I lose myself in the illustrations. A Filly For Joan, the book I received for Christmas when I was about ten and still have, as well as books I have collected that I remember bringing home from the library all those years ago, cast a kind of spell over me. It’s rather hard to explain, but it feels as though the younger me is completely present and actively reading the book to me. Things like finding a favourite illustration almost unconsciously and then being flooded with liquid sunshine all over, or hearing myself recite a sentence or a phrase before I’ve even read it, happen regularly. It’s a “back-in-time” experience unlike any other I’ve known. Perhaps, I often think, this is what Albert Einstein’s curve of time-space feels like. (Members of my team who, like me, were also digging into their reading landscapes and went on to hunt down the books of their childhood reported similar phenomena when they held a book they had cherished in their hands and opened its pages.)

A Filly For Joan was a Christmas present from my parents at roughly the same period as my first discovery of CWA. It holds pride of place in my own library today.

If I go to my CWA library for research, none of younger me tags along. She probably finds it too tedious. Researching isn’t really about imagining, or the delicious discovery that a book can really speak to you, even though it sparks ideas and draws connections between apparently disparate information. Research is more like a treasure hunt, in that sense. Ridiculously exciting but not the same genre of discovery as a little girl lying in bed at night and imagining herself right in a story.

However, younger me and adult me treasure this: we both know the way to the corner of Horses + Art.

My mother kept many of my early drawings, something I only discovered after her death. This one, of a girl riding her horse, was done when I was about 10-12 years old. Looking at it for the first time, I knew its “archeology” : it was most definitely inspired by “A Filly For Joan.”

Thank you, Mr. Anderson, for opening a world to me.

 Sources

Ruckstuhl, Charles Emil. Andy As I Knew Him. Published by AuthorHouse: 2004. (ISBN 1-4184-2670-9)

Some Mason Biographies. http://home.earthlink.net/~georgeo/mason_biographies.htm

Andy’s Summer Playhouse website: http://www.andyssummerplayhouse.org/info

Smith Center For The Arts website: http://thesmith.org/support-us/lights-camera-auction/fair-play/

It is the oldest classic race in England and, arguably, the most prestigious.

The English St Leger Stakes is the classic that marks the end of the British flat racing season and its prestige is such that a “St. Leger copy” has been woven into racing calendars in Ireland, Jamaica, Australia and the United States. This classic takes place in Doncaster, Yorkshire, a large town that was initially settled on the site of a Roman fort, Danum, in the first century B.C., maturing into a busy town by the 13th century. Near enough to larger cities to make travel there feasible by horse, Doncaster was (and remains) a market, or “mercat” town, with a thriving commerce designated, like all such towns in England, by its market cross. From about the 15th century, Doncaster was known as a prosperous area, populated by the wealthy who lived in estates like Cantley Hall and Brodsworth Hall.

The market cross, designating Doncaster as a market town where goods of all kinds and livestock were sold for centuries, stands to this day on the site of the original market.

Doncaster market in 1906.

Doncaster market today.

Doncaster is one of the oldest centres for horse racing in Britain, with records of regular race meetings going back to the 16th century. In 1600 there was an attempt to put an end to the races because of the number of ruffians they attracted, but by 1614 failure to do so was acknowledged and a proper racecourse was duly marked out. The Doncaster Cup, the city’s oldest classic race, was first run on Cantley Common in 1766; by 1776, the Doncaster racecourse as we know it today was set up in its permanent home, the Town Moor.

Doncaster racecourse as it looked in the 18th century.

Doncaster racecourse circa 1900…

…and today.

The original St. Leger kicked off in 1776 and, with only one exception, has run annually in September ever since.

This year, the field for the 2016 St. Leger is dominated by Coolmore-Ballydoyle’s colt, Idaho, although it won’t be any cake-walk for the promising son of Galileo. Open to 3 year-old fillies and colts (and barred to geldings) the St. Leger remains a gruelling test of stamina in a sport that more and more bows to the “speed gene.” It is the third and last leg of the British Triple Crown, the first two being the 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby. Unlike the practice in North America, the British Triple Crown races are spaced further apart, taking place over a period of roughly 3 months. Interestingly, to sweep the British Triple for fillies, contenders must also win the St. Leger.

But there is at least one powerful reason that the incomparable Nijinsky stands as the UK’s last Triple Crown winner: the crucible of the St. Leger. Run originally at 2 miles, it is slightly shorter today at 1 mile, 6f, 132 yds, making it about 2f longer than the Belmont Stakes. It is a race for “stayers” not speedballs and, as you might well expect, has long been an indicator of prime bloodstock in the form of great sires and mares whose influence on the breed would be a lasting one.

Some rare footage of Nijinsky’s St. Leger win, showing owner Charles Englehardt and the colt’s trainer, the legendary Vincent O’Brien. O’Brien would later say that illness prior to the race, coupled with the toll on Nijinsky of the St. Leger, would cost the champion a win in the Arc a month later. (Apologies for the buzz on the tape.)

The brilliance of Northern Dancer’s most celebrated son, “…cruising up on the outside as smooth as silk…” provided by BCS TV and Steve Mellish, together with a look at why it took another 42 years for a thoroughbred to come along who would try to clinch the Triple again. That colt was Camelot:

But Camelot would go down to defeat, leaving Nijinsky’s 1970 triumph to stand as the outstanding achievement it quite rightly was then, and now. The rarity of any colt or filly today who is up to the Triple Crown challenge is not only a matter of breeding for speed. Many British trainers prefer to bypass the St. Leger, in favour of running in the “sexier,” because more glamorous, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe or the Breeders’ Cup Turf Classic.

Although the first St. Leger was run as a nameless race — won by a nameless filly who was later christened Allabaculia, owned by the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham  — it would become the crowning achievement for many great blood horses whose names we still recognize today and whose bloodlines shaped the modern thoroughbred: Touchstone, The Flying Dutchman, Voltigeur, Newminster, Stockwell, West Australian (first winner of the British Triple Crown), Ormonde, Rock Sand (10th Triple Crown winner and BM sire of Man O’ War)), La Flèche, Isinglass, Persimmon, Swinford, Tracery, Hyperion, Bahram, Tulyar and the smashing fillies Sceptre, Pretty Polly and Oh So Sharp, trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil for Sheikh Mohammed and ridden by legendary Steve Cauthen. With her win in the St. Leger, Oh So Sharp swept the British Triple Crown for fillies, having already annexed the 1000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks.

The mighty OH SO SHARP was a daughter of KRIS. As Steve Cauthen would say on retirement, she was the best filly he ever rode. Pictured with Cauthen aboard going down to the start of the St. Leger, which she won.

In 1778 the St. Leger was given its name and a change of venue. According to British historian Michael Church, “…At a dinner party held at the Red Lion Inn, Doncaster that year, the Marquis of Rockingham proposed the race be called the St Leger’s Stakes as a compliment to the popular local sportsman Lt-Gen. Anthony St Leger of Park Hill. The venue was then changed to Town Moor, Doncaster and the race run on Tuesday, 22 September 1778.”

The term St. Leger Stakes was originally understood to refer to a multiple of races, including the prestigious Doncaster Gold Cup that brought champions like Kincsem to England. Preceding the St. Leger by a decade, it was still to see the (Doncaster) Gold Cup that brought racegoers out when St. Leger Stakes day came into being.  Run over a distance of 2 miles, 2f, the (Doncaster) Gold Cup is another massive test of endurance. In 2014 when HM The Queen’s mare, Estimate, won it as a 5 year-old, there could be little doubt of her stamina. In this, we hearken back to a time when stamina was the true test of a great thoroughbred and both colts and fillies were really pushed to show it, and to show it consistently. Keep in mind that up until the late 19th century, most flat races in the British Isles were run in heats and a thoroughbred with no serious staying power wouldn’t have managed well at all. Those that did were retired to the breeding shed, thus assuring results that we see today in individuals like Galileo, Frankel, Goldikova, St. Nicholas Abbey, Ouija Board, Midday and their exceptional peers.

Since 1778, the first year it was run under this name, the St. Leger has frequently taken place in different locales. From 1915 to 1918, it was held at Newmarket, where it was known as the September Stakes. The St. Leger was cancelled only once in 230 years, in 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, and this cost the brilliant Blue Peter his chance to snare the Triple Crown. It resumed the following year, but changed courses annually throughout the war years. In 1940, the race was held at Thirsk, moving to Manchester in 1941. It was then held at Newmarket for three years (1942 to 1944) before moving to York in 1945. Most recently, in 2006, the race was again held at York, since the Doncaster racecourse was undergoing renovations.

But regardless of where it was held, papers like The Tatler, The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, Bailey’s News and The Illustrated London News considered the winners of the St. Leger and the (Doncaster) Gold Cup a lead story. In the pre-photography days, this meant deploying at least one “on the scene” artist who could render the atmosphere at Doncaster, as well as the winners. And notable artists like John Frederick Herring Jr., as well as prominent photographers like W.A. Roach lined up to record images of the day’s winners.

PRETTY POLLY shown winning the St. Leger.

PETRARCH, another St. Leger winner.

The dramatic clash between LADAS and the filly THROSTLE in the 1894 St. Leger makes the cover of The London Illustrated News.The filly, a daughter of PETRARCH (shown above) won.

Just imagine what it must have been like on the day: ladies in their finery, horses and carriages lined up row-on-row, gentlemen gathering in the walking ring and huddling in the stands, baskets laden with food and drink, punters before their chalkboards and boys swooping through the bettors to gather money and give out chits, hundreds of pairs of binoculars raised in one deft stroke at the start, the roaring of thousands gathered on the ground as the field turned for home. St. Leger Stakes Day had to be quite the spectacle.

Today, the dowager races of the British flat season may have lost some of their glitter, but to top trainers and thoroughbred people they remain steeped in an undeniable history and tradition of greatness.

HARZAND digs deep to repel IDAHO (outside) in the Irish Derby.

Saturday, September 10, Aidan O’Brien’s Idaho (Galileo) will enter the fray to vie for his chance to join the exclusive ranks of St. Leger winners. The colt won The Great Voltigeur (at York) last time out, considered the favoured prep race for the St. Leger and will likely have a rabbit in the form of the very good Housesofparliament (Galileo), whom he just beat out in the Voltigeur. (Below, article with short video of Idaho winning the Great Voltigeur from Housesofparliament.)

http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/45123/idaho-leads-home-aidan-obrien-one-two-in-great-voltigeur-stakes-at-york

The other Ballydoyle entry is Sword Fighter, completing a treble of Galileo’s for trainer Aidan O’Brien. Good as Idaho’s credentials are, it is worth noting that O’Brien’s previous 4 St. Leger winners have come from the deceased Montjeu and Sadler’s Wells. However, Camelot came very close in 2012, and Bondi Beach, another Galileo, was held to second place after an inquiry resulting from the bumping of winner Simple Verse last year. So it would appear that there’s nothing to stop a good Galileo from getting the distance — whether it be Idaho, Sword Fighter or Housesofparliament — especially in what looks like a rather ho-hum field.

Should either IDAHO, HOUSESOFPARLIAMENT or SWORD FIGHTER bring it home, they will be the first St. Leger winner for their mega-sire GALILEO.

Handicapping a race for stayers can be tough in today’s racing world. Such an individual may well handle the distance by laying off the pace most of the way and an entry whose done poorly over a shorter distance might come up roses in a contest like the St. Leger. So Paul Hanagan’s Muntahaa (Dansili out of a Linamix mare), a big colt who will love the distance if he’s going to get into gear, should be taken seriously. Another aspect in Muntahaa’s favour is that he’s handy on good-to-soft turf: rain is currently in the forecast for Saturday. Flying under the radar at the moment is Richard Hannon’s Ventura Storm (Zoffany out of a Haafhd mare/Northern Dancer through Unfuwain), another who will cope with rain and has a very good record of 5 wins in 10 starts. Harrison is still another colt no-one is paying much attention to, but it must be said that his sire, Sixties Icon, won the St. Leger and his dam is by Invincible Spirit. In addition, Harrison ran 4th to Idaho last time out and although he hasn’t seen the winners’ circle yet this season, the St. Leger might be a much better distance for him.

The others: The Tartan Unit is lightly raced, loves soft ground and comes from the Storm Cat line through Catienus; Ormito, trained by Andrew Balding, has the benefit of a great pedigree in his BM sire Acatenango (the BM sire of Animal Kingdom); and Harbour Law doesn’t look to have the pedigree to be a strong contender.

There will be some serious competition on St. Leger Saturday from the Irish Champions’ series which is also on that day, so much so that Ballydoyle’s Ryan Moore will stay in Ireland with Seamie Heffernan getting the call to pilot Idaho at Doncaster. It’s not the first time that the St. Leger has been pinched for viewers’ attention.

But it’s impossible to imagine that this venerable race, taking place over the ground where Romans marched and where thoroughbred legends like The Tetrarch raced to victory in the 1913 Champagne Stakes, has any serious equal on September 10.

THE TETRARCH, a racing immortal, danced across the Doncaster turf in 1913. Through his daughters, he lives on and has brought us the likes of MAHMOUD, NEARCO, NASRULLAH, BOLD RULER, NORTHERN DANCER, FRANKEL and AMERICAN PHAROAH.

Sources

Church, Michael. The Origins of the St. Leger and the one running missed! Published on his blog, Michael Church Racing Books.

The National Racing Museum, Newmarket, UK

Racing Post: Race card for the St. Leger (Sept 10, 2016)

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” To be great is to go on,

To go on is to be far,

To be far is to return.” (Tao Te Ching)

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary: abandoned movie set and a herd of American mustangs. Photo and copyright, THE VAULT.

My earliest memories were punctuated by the belief that the essence of the horse — any horse — was their ability to sense the human heart.

The first horse I ever loved was the television star, Fury. In the series, Fury was a coal-black, wild mustang whose freedom was never up for grabs (except by the bad guys who wanted to capture him) and he had chosen to love an orphaned boy named Joey, who was adopted by rancher Jim Newton in the first episode. The stallion’s choice to love the boy set them on a hero’s journey, repeating the structure of the most ancient hero myths and sacred texts, in which the hero is always an orphan whose parents are either dead or irrevocably estranged. This necessitates the hero facing the challenges that he must resolve alone. It is through his/her solitary journey that the hero enters into a state of “oneness” with the world.

During my fierce love affair with Fury, the adults in my life looked on benignly, since to them Fury was undoubtedly a romantic version of what they understood a horse to be in the real world. But I think my grandparents understood why I loved the wild spirit in Fury, and perhaps especially my grandfather, who had loved an unruly black mare who allowed him to train her because she chose to love him right back. The Fury narrative was indeed a romantic one and that likely gave it some of its massive appeal to the young in the first decade of television. But it was the fact that a wild horse had chosen to form an abiding relationship with a child that drew me irresistibly to Fury. My grandmother’s favourite expression hinged on the word “imagine,” that featured in expressions like “Just imagine…” or “Imagine that…” And I duly spent my girlhood imagining that, one day, a mustang would find me and love me the way Fury loved his Joey.

In the real world, my relationships with horses and ponies were largely based on being in control. The mantra was: to be safe, you need to be in charge. Through it all, I couldn’t quite shake the belief that somewhere in the world there were horses as I imagined them to be, even if I couldn’t seem to find them.

Then I saw you and your eyes spoke to me. Identified as # 9579, photographed at the BLM in Canon City, for placement in their online auction.

I don’t remember how I stumbled across her photo online at the BLM in Canon City, Colorado, but when I looked into her eyes I felt something so honest, so true, that I couldn’t look away. She was # 9579, a “plain” brown and copper American mustang: not a showy grulla or paint, the kind that get adopted in a heartbeat. But she was my horse, even though I discovered that Canadians weren’t permitted to bid in BLM online auctions.

Even if I owned a generous pasture to turn her loose, which I didn’t, this was not her destiny: wild horses need to be free. Or, as Susan Watt of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary (BHWHS) in South Dakota — who came to the aid of #9579 — puts it, ” Wild horses need three things: freedom, friendship and food.” In a series of phone calls, Susan and I planned our strategy and I wired her the funds to buy the mare, having assured her that I would sponsor #9579 for life if we got her. Commitment turned the key: Susan gets literally hundreds of calls a week from do-gooders who might be willing to pay for a wild horse, but have no intention of doing much more than that.

Enter Jim of Portland, Oregon, an online friend who, hearing that not only had we gotten #9579 but also her BFF, another bay mare of the same age, pledged to sponsor the second mare forever.

#9579’s BFF in her pen at the BLM.

MAYA LITTLEBEAR (#9579) could see the hills from behind the bars of her pen, but couldn’t return to them. Shown here slightly before she and her BFF shipped to the BHWHS.

Both mares had been captured by the BLM as yearlings in separate herd culls and had lived behind fences since 2011, a span of four years that must have been interminable to them. Deprived of their herd and their freedom, they were essentially in solitary confinement. But with their rescue, their story was changing: three people from two countries (who had never met in real time) had banded together to set them free. And although they arrived at the Sanctuary with their numbers hanging around their necks, the two mares now had names that we had given them — #9579 was christened Maya Littlebear, and her best friend was named Felicitas Witness, aka Tassy.

(A more detailed account of the rescue of Maya and Tassy and their connection to Secretariat’s grandson, Bear Witness, is found in an earlier VAULT article here: https://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/eagle-feathers-for-bear-witness/)

Despite her long and busy days, Susan sent Jim and I photos of MAYA and TASSY throughout their transition from captivity to freedom. Here they are on March 19, 2016, just a week after their arrival at BHWHS. They started out in a small paddock, where they clearly were protecting each other from unknown dangers. Photo and copyright: Susan Watt/BHWHS.

April 2016: At the BHWHS, new arrivals who have no herd of their own are invited to choose the herd they want to join. These are some of the members of Maya and Tassy’s chosen herd. Photo and copyright: Susan Watt/BHWHS.

April 7, 2016: First day of freedom. Jim and I wept for joy. Photo and copyright: Susan Watt/BHWHS.

MAYA and TASSY in May 2016. They still stayed close to one another, not yet confident enough to mingle with their new herd. Photo and copyright: Susan Watt/BHWHS.

So it was that my friend Joan and I turned off the highway in South Dakota onto the gravel road that led to the BHWHS to see Maya and Tassy in their forever home. It would be a first meeting with “my girls” and with Susan Watt, who was going to take us out to find them. It was an immense and unexpected privilege to have Susan herself take us on a tour of part of the 11,000 acres of the Sanctuary. As the Executive Director of the BHWHS, Susan works 24-7 for the horses, doing everything from answering the phone, to taking hay out to the herds in the middle of winter, to the endless task of fundraising for the Sanctuary, which is a charity/non-profit organization.

Susan Watt releasing wild horses to freedom at the BHWHS. There is no such thing as regular office hours: Susan works tirelessly for the Sanctuary and the horses, as do her small band of volunteers. Photo and copyright: BHWHS.

Both Joan and I understood that wild horses are just that. Even with “The Guide of Guides” in Susan, you still need to find the herds in the rolling hills and valleys of the Sanctuary. If they want to be found. Freedom is like that: it has agency and mustangs, like any wild creature, exercise it.

A bluff overlooking part of the Sanctuary. In the valley below is the Visitor Centre, the homes of volunteers and the BHWHS founder, Dayton Hyde, as well as numbers of wild horses. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Another shot from the bluff overlooking the valley of the Sanctuary. The mountains in the background are also part of the BHWHS and wild herds run free there, far from visitors and tour vehicles. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Before Susan joined us, we were set loose around the Visitor’s Centre, where there were several corrals of wild horses, beginning with the Choctaws.

Visitor information about the Choctaw herd. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Choctaw fillies. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Choctaw fillies: I just fell in love with the white & beige filly here, in the middle. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

The Choctaws carry the blood of the Spanish horses first introduced to North America in 1540 by Hernando de Soto. They were the first horses the First Nations of America had ever seen, and were to become an integral part of the culture and life of the Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee and Choctaw nations. But their breed’s survival came close to ending in tragedy.

From the BHWHS website:

“Gentle by nature the Spanish ponies quickly became important family members to the eastern Native Americans, who practiced plantation-based agriculture and advanced systems of government. Great companion animals, the ponies were known as ‘Squaw Ponies’ … provid [ing] transportation for the squaws to bring the wild game from the men’s hunting expeditions back to the village. The high quality of the livestock developed by the Choctaw nation, especially the horses, allowed for the development of western trade routes all the way into the Texas and Oklahoma areas.

“The colorful ponies also played a part in the tragic American history known as ‘The Trail of Tears.’ The beloved little horses were forced to carry their Native American families into forced exile from their southeastern homes to the Oklahoma Territory following the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Later these ponies were ordered to be destroyed by the US Government. The motivation was simple: remove the Indian from his horse and they’d be easier to force onto the reservations. The military knew that Native warriors on their small horses comprised the finest light cavalry in the world. But this equicide wasn’t simply designed to clip the warrior’s wings: military men like Custer knew that the horse was as much a spiritual part of Native culture as the land itself. Taking away the horses was an attempt to break the people’s spirit. All across the West, Native American horses were rounded up and slaughtered –as Custer had orchestrated on the Washita River-or else their herd stallions exterminated and replaced by studs from larger breeds. The military men were blind to the fact that the ‘squaw ponies’  used by the Native American people carried some of the bloodlines of Spain’s most regal bloodlines.”

Due to the efforts of a few First Nations people, small numbers of Choctaw were hidden away during the slaughter and a trickle of the breed managed to flow into the twentieth century. The Choctaws are one of two special projects ongoing at the BHWHS in collaboration with the Institute of Range and American Mustangs (IRAM), aimed at the conservation of this very rare bloodline in order to save it from extinction. In an act of faith in the BHWHS’ mission to provide sanctuary to America’s wild horses, “…3 Choctaw Mares and their 2012 foals were donated to the BHWHS by the Sheaffer Family of Windrider Farm Choctaw Horse Conservation Program in Pennsylvania. These exquisite mares and foals were greeted in South Dakota by their new herd sire. Lakna (Sky Horse), who was donated by Neda De Mayo’s Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lompoc, California. His sire is the renowned Choctaw stud, Beechkeld Icktinicky, owned by Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg.” (BHWHS website). The Choctaw fillies pictured here descend from these individuals. (Further information about the BHWHS Choctaw Program can be found at: http://www.wildmustangs.com/sponsor-a-choctaw)

We had brought a bag of carrots with us, in the hope that we would get close enough to a wild horse to offer him/her a treat. At first, the Choctaw fillies eyed us from a distance, giving me time to take in their different coat colours, reminiscent of the hues of the stone of South Dakota: copper, cream-white, battleship grey, black and sandstone. Then, in unison, they came to us. Eyes as soft as velvet looked us over. Carrots were offered and received. Noses were stroked and faces rubbed.

Lunchtime for the Choctaws. Just look at that textured mane and forelock! Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

A little further along was Lakna (“Sky Horse”), the Choctaw stallion, taking a “time out” from his herd. This is one effective birth control method used by the BHWHS to assure that the total number of wild horses don’t exceed and exhaust the available grazing land. In spite of the vastness of the Sanctuary, five hundred plus mustangs can wreak devastation if left to their own devices.

Having been around stallions, I was prepared to carefully offer Lakna a carrot or two. Spying me from the far side of his corral, over he strolled.

Beautiful LAKNA, thinking about that carrot and letting me know it looks pretty darn yummy. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Can you tell how gently he’s taking the carrot from me? And make no mistake: LAKNA is 100% wild, even though he is accustomed to tourists.

The photos tell the story.

As I talked to Lakna and fed him carrots, a volunteer came over to chat with us. We talked about the Choctaw breed and about Lakna’s character, in response to my confessing that I had never met such a gentle stallion. The volunteer laughed, “Yeah, he’s pretty good. But he’ll still give you a nip.”

There was a sharp nudge on the back of my leg. “Lakna wants another carrot,” I countered. “Nah,” responded the volunteer. “He’s just asking to be part of the talk. We should turn around so he’s included.” And, of course, we did.

The “Youngster Band” — mares with foals, yearlings, geldings and some older mares — heading our way. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

I call these three “The White Tribe,” part of the Youngster Band. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

“The White Tribe” gets close and personal. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Off to meet up with Susan, we drove into another part of the valley where a herd of wild horses ran unfettered. These were the “Youngster Band” — mares with foals, together with young mustangs who were turned out with older mares and geldings to learn “herd manners” before they joined one of the many herds roaming the Sanctuary. As we stepped out of our vehicle, some of the horses lifted their heads. We stood quietly as they advanced, wondering how close they would actually come. But they kept coming, until they were as close to us as the last photo you see here (above).

Horses talk to you in their own language if you are able to hear them. And to do that, you need to be on the same wavelength. The mustangs were standing so close to us that their hooves were inches from the tips of our toes. In fact, they had closed the  social distance that communicates intimacy among lovers, family and friends in our culture. (Called the study of “proxemics,” the distance for different degrees of human intimacy ranges from less than 6 in. to 4 ft., approximately. The closer you are to another person indicates the level of intimacy you share, so that one might expect lovers to stand closer together than friends. This is well-documented in human behaviour and explains why strangers on a crowded bus don’t like to be touched, and why babies are delighted when you hold them face-to-face. The acceptable distances for different kinds of human interaction differs from culture to culture.)

Mustang herds practice remarkably human principles of acceptable closeness. In closing the space between us, the mustangs were accepting Joan and I into their family (herd) and offering us their friendship in a language they appeared to have learned humans would understand.

Joan returns a greeting of friendship to one of the “Youngster Band.” Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

If you have ever wondered why war veterans weep when working with therapy horses, it is the breaking down of boundaries of isolation by the horse that does it. As these mustangs extended overtures of friendship and trust to us, Joan and I experienced comparable emotions that will likely resonate forever.

This yearling took her time, ending up just a few feet away from us. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

In the family and friendship zone, ears forward. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

A cynical part of me whispered, “They’re just used to tourists. That’s why they’re coming over.”

Except that it kept happening…..

The next meet and greet was with the magnificent Don Juan, a Spanish mustang stallion. The Spanish/Sorraia Herd is another group of wild horses found at the Sanctuary, and Don Juan is the band stallion. As with the Choctaws, the BHWHS is working in unison with the Institute of Range and American Mustangs (IRAM) to preserve the ancient Spanish and Portugese bloodlines of the breed.

From the BHWHS website: “… Nearly fifty of our over five hundred mustangs at the sanctuary, in our special Spanish herds, represent primitive remnants from rare bloodlines of the Golden Age of Spain and the Old World Iberian Peninsula …The purpose of this project is to preserve, promote, and educate the public about rare Spanish and Portuguese equine bloodlines still found in today’s American mustangs.” (Further information about this preservation initiative can be found here: http://www.wildmustangs.com/sponsor-spanish)

In the photo and short video that follow, you are invited to study the sharp contrast between Don Juan out on the range, and Don Juan choosing to interact with a total stranger.  This by way of demonstrating that the wild horses we had met at this point in our tour of the Sanctuary were choosing to offer their friendship in conscious, deliberate ways.

The aptly named DON JUAN is an absolute knock-out. One macho boy, as his crest suggests, he spent much time smelling me and making eye contact. (At this point, there were no more carrots, so his interaction with me was wholly based on his own right to choose.) Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

There were repeated hugs and warm smiles when we met up with Susan, and shortly thereafter we set out to locate Maya and Tassy. Rounding a corner, we came upon the girls’ herd grazing in clusters around and under some Ponderosa pines. Given the uncharacteristically dry, hot weather, Sanctuary volunteers had started to feed hay to the herds at the beginning of August and they’d made a trip to Maya and Tassy’s herd just prior to our arrival. The air was redolent with the scent of horses, hay and pine. Even before Susan brought the jeep to a stop, the horses were close enough that we could have reached out and touched them. Only a few lifted their heads: everyone else was focused on lunch.

We located Tassy first. Picking up her head, it only took a moment for my girl to sense that we were focused on her for some unknown reason. But she stood her ground courageously without the slightest show of fear.

Tassy’s eyes expressed a sweet nature, and we noted that she was also beginning to sprout a winter coat. Getting close to her landed us right in the middle of part of the herd. The horses moved around us quietly, taking the greatest care not to bump into us or step on us or frighten us. The only soundtrack was the susurration of horses’  breath in a lazy, mellow quiet. 

TASSY and her new BFF. She clearly understood that we were there to meet her. Everything in her body language said so. Having the opportunity to stand this close to her was an absolute — and totally unexpected — gift. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

TASSY’S soft, kind eye. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

TASSY looking straight into the camera. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

TASSY shows her curiosity at our interest in her. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

We continued to move through the herd, looking for Maya. I was surprised that the girls weren’t side-by-side, but Susan explained that they had each chosen new BFF’s, while adding that this showed their confidence and comfort in their new lives. She explained that the Sanctuary had accepted mustangs that people had adopted but then found they couldn’t handle, and that these horses often took much longer to return to their freedom. Some couldn’t manage it at all.

Finally we came upon Maya, who was busy eating. Although she refused to pick up her head, she nevertheless permitted us to get very close to her. Grazing next to her new best friend, a white American mustang mare, I could see into Maya’s deep, dark eyes. The look of desperation when I had first seen her was gone. She was happy within herself.

Unlike Tassy, the feeling from Maya towards our presence was reserved, as though she was saying, “That’s close enough.” When I mentioned this to Susan, she smiled and squeezed my arm, ” But she has come a very long way since she got here. Some of them never get over losing their original herd families or what happened to them when they were caught. But Maya is coming along nicely.”

MAYA and her best friend attend to the hay, freshly delivered earlier. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

MAYA and her BFF clearly share a close bond. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

MAYA’S beautiful long mane is pretty much gone, a normal occurrence when a wild horse is returned to freedom. (It gets snagged in bushes, mostly.) But MAYA still has her beautiful, coppery fringe and I was glad to see that. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

As we got back into the jeep to continue on our way, I felt no regret that neither Maya nor Tassy had come close enough to invite a human touch. It was enough to stand near them and to know that they were safe, happy and in the process of returning to themselves.

And even now, as I write this, I remain deeply moved by the gift of being accepted into my girls’ herd as though we were one of them.

Being welcomed into MAYA and TASSY’S herd looked like this, but felt like being in a state of grace. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

The Petroglyph Stone seemed to arise out of nowhere, instantly grabbing our attention. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

The Sanctuary area is punctuated by popular tourist attractions other than the horses themselves, together with the sacred ritual grounds of First Nations tribes. In the course of looking for other herds, we stopped at several of these sites.

The coppery red Petroglyph Rock came upon us suddenly, as rock formations tend to do in South Dakota. We spent time there marvelling at its prehistoric face: truly a “Rock of Ages,” evoking that which is eternal, that which endures.

This single slab of stone at the BHWHS is not only beautifully variegated, but bears petroglyphs left by our ancestors. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Petroglyphs dot the face of the stone. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

The wood fencing in the foreground was built by pioneers as part of a corral. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Leaving Petroglyph Rock, we arrived at the site of the 2016 Sundance ceremony.

Chief Joe American Horse and Loretta Afraid of Bear bless Dayton Hyde, founder of the BHWHS,  with a naming ceremony that honoured him as The Protector of Sacred Land a few short years ago. This event perfectly captures the close ties between First Nations and the BHWHS. Photo and copyright: Marisol Villanueva.

At the BHWHS: Annual Sundance ceremonial site, complete with a sweat lodge adorned with skulls. Photo and copyright:THE VAULT.

Remnants of 2016’s Tree of Life from the Sundance ceremony held at the BHWHS. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

When Susan located the Spanish/Sorraia/Sulphur herd, they were far up on a hill. Susan leaned on the horn, a signal the horses clearly recognized, as she turned off the road and into the field towards them.

Hearing the sound of our horn, the Spanish/Sorraia mustangs come to say hello. Note the number of grulla coats, native to the breed. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

More members of the herd. The Spanish mustang is not as stocky as the American, a confirmation it has inherited from its Spanish and Portugese (Sorraia) ancestors. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

A crown of burrs adorns the forelock of one of the Spanish/Sorraia herd. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

It was their love for Susan that brought the mustangs down to us and they greeted her as a member of the herd, forming an arc around the jeep. Faces thrust through the windows, notably that of the irresistible Josephina. Susan knows the stories of most of the horses in the different herds, and Josephina’s was no exception: the stunning bay is often found slightly removed from the herd. She has taken it upon herself to care for her dam, Martita, as well as the other Spanish/Sorraia mare pictured below. As you can see, the bond between Susan and horses like Josephina runs deep.

Susan with Josephina and another member of the Spanish/Sorraia herd. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Another shot of Susan and the beautiful Josephina. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Here is footage of Josephina. Her dam, Martita, can be seen in most of it, together with some shots of the Spanish/Sorraia Mustang herd to which they belong.

As dusk began to hover over the Black Hills we made our return, but not before stopping to visit another herd of American mustangs as well as the Curly Mustangs. The American herd yielded up a sweet surprise.

This particular American mustang herd boasted some exceptional coat patterns. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Sweet surprise: a new foal had been born in the American herd that Susan hadn’t spotted before. Out came our cameras. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

A member of the Curly Mustang herd at the BHWHS. It is said that Curly horses appear in Asian artwork as early as 161 AD. Charles Darwin documented curly horses in South America in the early 19th century and the early Sioux Indians regarded curly horses as sacred mounts for chiefs and medicine men. Native American artwork shows Curlies carrying warriors in the Battle of Little Bighorn. Photo and copyright: THE VAULT.

Curly mustang winter coat.

In the comfortable quiet of old friends, we wound our way back to the Visitor Centre, passed the heavy limbs of pine and multi-coloured stone, a gathering of mule deer camouflaged in the tall grasses and the silhouettes of wild horses, like sentinels, on the ridges overlooking the road. Maya and Tassy were now real, breathing presences to me. My hands and clothing were redolent with the warm scent of wild horses. And my soul was dancing with the spirit of the Sanctuary.

It is unnatural to bring a narrative to a close when its conclusion is, in fact, a beginning.

So I will let you imagine for yourself what is left unsaid, and give the last word to the wild horses of Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary:

CREDIT:

Imagine A Place photo images by Karla R. LaRive
“Winde Ya Ho” (Wind Spirit Drum / D.R.U.M. 2012)
Vocals by Windwalker

Shot on-location at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, Hot Springs South Dakota USA.

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A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM ABIGAIL:

As readers of THE VAULT know, this is a non-profit project of mine. Any advertising you see here benefits WORDPRESS. If you would like to show your appreciation for my work over the last 5 years, since THE VAULT first appeared, please consider a donation to the horses of The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and to the work of the remarkable Susan Watt and her volunteers, who are preserving a part of American history for you and your children. Or, explore the shop to find a unique gift for someone in your life who loves the spirit of horses. If you’re a teacher, consider having your class sponsor a mustang. If you choose to donate, please know that no donation is too small. And please remember to mention THE VAULT when you make your donation. Thank you.

http://www.wildmustangs.com

Thanks to your support, messages and enthusiasm, THE VAULT goes into its 7th year in 2017. I can hardly believe it! This article, over two years in the making, is my special Christmas gift to each and every one of you. With it comes my warmest wishes for a joyous and safe holiday season, filled with laughter, surprises and special moments to cherish. Love, Abigail

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HOF jockey and trainer Johnny Longden rode winners with a capital “W” — champions like Swaps, Noor, Busher, Whirlaway, Round Table, Your Host and George Royal. But no matter how great the others were, Longden would say that “The Count” — Count Fleet — was the best of them all.

COUNT FLEET shown here with his trainer Don Cameron and The Count’s regular exercise lad, Frank Kiniry. Photographer unknown.

Horsemen like my grandfather tend to say, “The reason so few horses ever get to the Triple Crown is because it’s a road fraught with everything but good luck.” And the story of Count Fleet and Johnny Longden is exactly that: so filled with the fickleness of Fate — good and bad — that it is absolutely remarkable they ended up together in the starting gate of the 1943 Kentucky Derby.

As regular readers of THE VAULT know, it was my grandfather who set me on the path that led to writing about thoroughbreds and standardbreds. No question I got the “horse gene,” as my late mother called it, from my Grandpa. It was his passion –a bright fire that illuminated the stories of the great thoroughbreds and standardbreds of his day — that kindled my imagination. In Grandpa’s pantheon, few were more admired than the incomparable John Longden, who had roots in Canada, and his “horse of a lifetime,”Count Fleet. I risk to say that The Count crowned my grandfather’s pantheon. He never said so, but he also never talked about any other thoroughbred, including Man O War, with the same fire in his eye. The Count had moved him in a way that none of the others he so admired, before or after him, would.

Count Fleet came into the world on March 24, 1940 at his owner, John D. Hertz’s, Stoner Creek Stud near Paris, Kentucky. The tiny son of champion and 1928 Kentucky Derby winner, Reigh Count, and the mare, Quickly — a great great granddaughter of the British wonder horse, The Tetrarch — did not impress. Hertz, the rental car magnate, was a canny businessman in all things and Quickly’s little colt foal likely went onto his “for sale” inventory within months of his birth.

REIGH COUNT, the sire of COUNT FLEET. An outstanding looking individual who was bred in the purple, Hertz bought him from Willis Sharpe Kilmer after seeing the colt savage another horse during a race. Photo and copyright, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

QUICKLY, the dam of COUNT FLEET, carried the blood of one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time, THE TETRARCH, in her 4th generation. A sprinter, QUICKLY made 85 starts with a record of 32-14-13 before she was acquired by Hertz from Joseph D. Widener. Photographer unknown.

In 1912, almost three decades before the birth of Count Fleet, Mary Longden and her four youngest children — Lillian, Doris, five year-old John and baby Elsie — closed up their home in Wakefield, England and boarded a train for Liverpool. From there, they would board a ship that would take them to Canada, where they were to meet up with Johnny Longden’s father, Herb, and two older siblings. The family’s eventual destination would be Tabor, Alberta, where Herb had found work in the coal mines.

But the train was running behind schedule. Mary feared for the worst: that their ship would sail before they arrived at the port. And, as it turned out, she was right.

The ship they were booked on was none other than the Titanic.

As Johnny would tell it to B. K. Beckwith, author of The Longden Legend, ” …I was five years old and it didn’t mean too much to me then. I guess kids of that age aren’t overly impressed with the workings of fate or whatever you want to call it…I’ve heard since the iceberg ripped most of the bottom out of the boat. It probably would have been curtains for us. The Longden pocketbook wasn’t in any shape to afford upper deck cabins. Most likely we’d have been among the fifteen hundred that went down with her…”  

The NEW YORK AMERICAN front page following the sinking of the TITANIC.

From his arrival as a little boy in Canada to his first encounter with Count Fleet, Johnny worked first as a herd boy and then as an apprentice coal miner and a clerk, all the while dreaming of becoming a jockey. He started out racing quarter horses before switching to thoroughbreds. By 1927 Johnny was working under contract for small-time thoroughbred owners in Alberta, Canada and in southwest American states just across the border. Along the way he met up with another youngster, George Woolf, and the two would remain best friends until Woolf’s tragic end in 1946, at the age of 35.

The statue of George Woolf and Seabiscuit  captured at the moment when George yelled, “So long, Charley!” to War Admiral’s jockey, pulling away to win the most famous match race in American racing history. The sculpture was commissioned by Cardston ranchers Jack and Ida Lowe and created by Artist Don Toney. Unveiled in 2010, the statue stands in Cardston, Alberta, Woolf’s birthplace.

In the same year that Reigh Count won the Kentucky Derby, Longden’s contract was bought up by one E.A. “Sleepy” Armstrong, a veteran horseman; when Sleepy Armstrong came into Johnny’s life, things started to change. His horizons expanded to racetracks in Cuba and Agua Caliente, where he rode a very good colt named Bahamas against the mighty Phar Lap in the Caliente Handicap of 1932.

Phar Lap won, of course. As Johnny remembered it: “I was leading the field to the three eights pole. About that point the big New Zealander went by the rest of us like we were tied to the fence…” :

By the early 1940’s, Longden was an established American jockey with a growing reputation for excellence, voted America’s leading jockey in 1938. In 1940 he was one of the founders of the (American) Jockey Guild. Now based in California, “The Pumper” — as he was nicknamed by his peers for his tendency to pump his arms as he encouraged a horse forward — had also become an American citizen. Over the testing ground of tracks from Canada to Cuba, Johnny had also learned to ride just about any horse under any conditions anywhere. Today, we would call him a “horse whisperer.” His whispers to particularly difficult mounts were communicated through voice, legs and hands. Johnny wasn’t one to hit a horse unless it really needed a reminder; instead, he relied on the language he had learned that his mounts would understand.

COUNT FLEET during a work, beautifully rendered by C.W. Anderson and based on a photograph taken in 1942/1943.

By the time he was a yearling, Count Fleet already had a reputation for being tough to handle and was, accordingly, sent to auction. One of Hertz’s stable lads, Sam Ramsen, pleaded with the Stoner Creek manager on the colt’s behalf and his words were to become prophetic, “Someday he’s going to be some fine racer. When that leggy brown colt wants to run, he can just about fly.”

(This first attempt to get rid of him as a yearling remains a distinctly odd feature of The Count’s narrative, especially since Hertz had purchased his sire after seeing him savage another thoroughbred in a race, allegedly declaring, ” I love a fighter, man or horse.”)

Despite Ramsen’s plea, there were no takers at the sale. So Quickly’s baby boy was given a name, registered to owner Mrs. John D. (Fannie) Hertz and sent off to the Hertz’s trainer, Gregory Duncan “Don” Cameron.  The stage was set for one of history’s great partnerships: in 1939, Cameron had contracted Johnny Longden to ride horses owned by Fannie Hertz, as well as another owner, Vera S. Bragg.

The stage was set: the paths of Johnny and THE COUNT finally converged in 1942. Here they are working at Belmont. Photo and copyright: The Baltimore Sun.

The first time Johnny rode The Count, the colt came close to killing him. As Longden told the story, the pair were working at Belmont Park and Johnny noticed two horses coming towards them on the track. But The Count had running on his mind and Johnny couldn’t get him to either slow down or change lanes, so he somehow managed to guide him between the pair without anyone getting hurt. Telling the story to his biographer, B.K. Beckwith, Johnny still couldn’t envision how he’d pulled it off. But one thing was certain: after this incident, only Longden rode Count Fleet in race preps and actual races. Everyone else was too terrified to even contemplate it, although there are a few rare images of another young lad working the colt when he was in his 3 year-old season.

THE COUNT was a handful, but according to Longden, he was not mean — just a colt with a mind of his own. Photograph circa 1943. Photographer and source unknown.

Despite the Belmont episode, Johnny was adamant that there wasn’t a mean bone in Count Fleet’s body, although this fact went largely unnoticed in the press of the day. Headlines like “NASTY BUT FAST” dogged the colt throughout his brief racing career, even when he was packing fans in like sardines at Aqueduct or Churchill Downs.

In his biography, Longden explained The Count’s personality this way,” He was not, you understand, a mean horse…Just one full of the devil with a mind which was very much his own.”  As a two year-old, Johnny described Count Fleet as a somewhat sorry looking individual though, “He really didn’t have the look of a top prospect then…He was a medium size — about fifteen hands three inches — and, though he was deep in the girth and had a good shoulder, he was weedy behind…he looked more like a filly than a colt.”  In addition, Count Fleet at two weighed in at only 900 lbs., reaching 1,000 lbs. by January 1943. John Hervey (“Salvator”) was more complimentary, describing the colt as one who, though not handsome, sported a very fine head and a character both intelligent and inquisitive.

“…he looked more like a filly than a colt.” COUNT FLEET as a two year-old. Photo and copyright: Bert Morgan, KEENELAND .

In 1942, before Count Fleet had made his first start as a juvenile, Johnny recalled another trainer, Sammy Smith, coming to Cameron’s barn at Belmont one morning. The Count was led out for Smith to look over and Longden understood that the colt was being offered for sale; the asking price was $4500. Now Johnny had been working for the Hertzes for almost two years at this point, and he had established a trusting relationship with John D. Hertz. When he realized The Count was up for grabs, he picked up a bicycle from the yard and pumped muscle to the nearest phone booth to call John D. Fortunately, Johnny got hold of him and begged Hertz not to sell the feisty youngster.

Hertz replied that he considered the colt dangerous and was afraid that he would kill Longden one day, to which Johnny replied, ” I’m not afraid of him.” There was a long pause. Then came the words,“All right…If you’re game enough to ride him, I’ll keep him.” 

At first, Hertz may well have regretted his decision: in his two year-old campaign, Count Fleet had a kind of seesaw year, breaking his maiden by four lengths in his third start followed by other wins as well as a few upsets. However, throughout the season the colt never finished worse than third. Said Longden of The Count’s juvenile year, ” He beat himself…He never should have lost a race, but he was a tough customer to handle, green and rough in those early starts, and you couldn’t take hold of him –you couldn’t even properly guide him. You had to let him run, and if you didn’t have racing room, he’d go to the outside or just climb over horses. If you were in close quarters with him, you were in trouble.” 

Actually, Count Fleet’s similarity to the most respected speedball of all time, The Tetrarch, was remarkable. It was just as though the “great grey” had come back in the form of a deceptively unremarkable brown colt.

“I’m not afraid of him.” Johnny and THE COUNT. Photographer and source unknown.

THE TETRARCH was selected one of the best thoroughbreds of the last century, even though he only raced for a single season. Ridiculed for his markings (“chubari spots”), THE TETRARCH would have the last laugh by becoming a prepotent sire and BM sire. COUNT FLEET carried his blood in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

But The Count wasn’t only a speed devil — he was also a lover boy.

In the Belmont Futurity, as Longden manoeuvred the two year-old toward the lead, he drew alongside the filly, Askmenow, a daughter of champion Menow. As Johnny told it, “…The Count decided he didn’t want to leave her. She was in that delicate condition that appealed to him. I couldn’t budge him. He just galloped along beside her and let Occupation steal the race.” 

It was the last race Count Fleet would ever lose.

The colt’s next start was in the historic Champagne Stakes in New York. That day, he really took a toll on Johnny’s patience, acting up behind the gate and sending the track lads scurrying. It was the only time he would feel Longden’s whip, which was applied to get his mind on the job at hand.

And The Count got the message: he led from gate to the wire, setting a world record for two year-olds in the process of 1:34 and 4/5. After this victory, Johnny felt he’d found “the key to him” — get the colt out on top and just let him run. “…It was what he loved to do more than anything else.”  In other words, Count Fleet needed to own the track from the first break. And it was exactly this that his gifted jockey would guide him to do. Not that this was always that easy to pull off: “…that horse {The Count} did horrify me on occasions,” Johnny once confided to his biographer.

COUNT FLEET wins the Champagne Stakes, Longden up, and sets a world record for two year-olds. Photographer/source unknown.

In the Pimlico Futurity, The Count faced his rival, Occupation, once again. Although he broke on top, Occupation was soon overtaken by the Hertzes little whiz kid, who flew by to win by five and equal the course record. The Count’s last start of 1942 was in the Walden Stakes. If there had been any doubt as to his ability, it all ended that day: the bay who looked more like a filly than a colt won by roughly thirty lengths, carrying weight of 132 lbs. This performance, together with his other wins that season, made Count Fleet good enough to abscond with the title that, at the beginning of the racing calendar, looked to be Occupation’s — namely, U.S. Champion Two Year-Old (colt).

The Count went into 1943 as the favourite to win the Kentucky Derby, a feat that would allow his sire, Reigh Count, entry into the elite club of Derby sires of Derby winners. Other very good three year-olds of 1943 included Blue Swords, Slide Rule and The Count’s nemesis, Occupation. Older horses who added to the spirit of the sport that year were Equipoise’s son, Shut Out, who had won the 1942 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, Belair Stud’s Apache and Marise Farms’ Market Wise, a son of Broker’s Tip who had famously defeated Whirlaway in the 1941 Jockey Gold Cup in track record time.

Older horses running in 1943 did much to keep the sport an exciting one: Edgemere Handicap, 1943 — APACHE (blinkers) edges SHUT OUT to take the win, with MARKET WISE and Johnny Longden coming in third. Photo and copyright, THE BALTIMORE SUN.

After claiming an easy victory in the St. James Purse, the colt and his team were off to Aqueduct to compete in the Wood Memorial, then run at a distance of 1m, 7yards. These were, of course, the War Years and there were many restrictions on travel being enforced America-wide, all of which seriously threatened the running of the Kentucky Derby, which dilemma Colonel Matt Winn, the President of Churchill Downs, was wrestling with even as the gates swung open for the Wood Memorial.

Rare photo of COUNT FLEET in 1943, breaking in either the Wood Memorial or The Withers. THE COUNT is the first arrow closest to “Copywritten Image.” Photo from the private collection of THE VAULT.

The anticipation of spectators at the Wood, according to John Hervey, seemed to set Aqueduct on fire and derived from The Count’s performance — and new track record — in the slop in the St. James Purse. Both Blue Swords and Slide Rule lined up at the gate, but before The Count was loaded, he was either kicked or grabbed in his hind leg: “…It was low down, near the fetlock. We went on and won easy anyway, but it filled up pretty bad afterwards, and for a times we were afraid we might not make the Kentucky Derby. I sat up and tubbed him in ice all the way to Louisville. We went down in a boxcar. It was nip and tuck, but we made it to the race…” (Longden as quoted by Beckwith, his biographer).

But however uncomfortable the colt might have been, he took the Wood in 1:43, and made two excellent colts look more like cart horses than thoroughbreds.

A look at COUNT FLEET’S hind leg following his win in the Wood Memorial. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Matt Winn had now resolved with authorities that, although the horses would arrive by boxcar and/or on wheels for the Kentucky Derby, only local people would be in attendance at the track that day. As those who crowded Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May 1943 would remember it, the “Streetcar Derby” was worth it, even though they had to leave their cars at home.

The Count did not disappoint, rolling passed Blue Swords and Slide Rule to a victory that bespoke his class. Below, silent footage of the race:

COUNT FLEET wins the Kentucky Derby and makes his sire, REIGH COUNT, a Derby-winning sire of a Derby-winning son. Photo and copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Johnny and COUNT FLEET festooned with roses. Photographer/source unknown.

And then it was on to Pimlico, where the colt scored an even more decisive victory in the Preakness, beating Blue Swords by 8 lengths. Routing Blue Swords still again brought The Count’s reputation to its next level, since the former was a beautifully-bred son of Blue Larkspur whose dam was a daughter of Man O’ War. Blue Swords was the Sham of his day, confronted with a determined athlete who tended to wear his opponents down before the race was even half over. As The Blood-Horse put it, “If Count Fleet is the spectacular comet in the racing skies of 1943, then Blue Swords is the comet’s tail.”

THE COUNT arrives at Pimlico with trainer, Don Cameron. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Leading them on a merry chase, COUNT FLEET swings into the turn at Pimlico. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Wearing the black-eyed Susans. Photographer and source unknown.

Trainer Cameron decided to run him next in the Withers, just to “keep him sharp.”  And The Count might have been at least a tad to blame: after a race — any race, from the easiest to the Derby and Preakness — it was not unusual for the colt to tire out two hot walkers as he cooled down. He never once came back from a race worn out.

Again, in what was becoming an all-too-familiar story, Johnny and The Count came home ahead of the competition in the Withers, leaving Slide Rule — who had skipped The Preakness — six lengths behind. The press — keen to exaggerate anything peculiar or interesting in an otherwise dark time — had already elevated The Count to the status of Man O’ War following his Preakness romp. But when the three year-old took the Withers, they were dumbfounded. This was due also to the fact that only one other Triple Crown winner had pulled off the double, the great Sir Barton. It was “a feat so difficult that any turfman who has witnessed it once need not expect to see it again during his lifetime.”²

Streaking home in The Withers, the second-to-last race of his career. Photographer and source unknown, but possibly The Baltimore Sun.

John and Fannie Hertz with their champion. Photo and copyright, The Baltimore Sun.

Count Fleet went to the post for the very last time in the 1943 Belmont Stakes, although no-one anticipated that it would be his final start. The high rolling colts like Blue Swords and Slide Rule had stayed home, leaving The Count to face a field of two who were truly only going to win if, in Johnny’s words, “… he’d have to fall down … and even then I thought he could get up and win. He was that good.”

Those who ride will tell you that horses react to resistance like dogs — in the case of horses, they just run faster. So it was that when Fate joined the dance, Count Fleet decided to fight back.

“He fractured a bone in his left front leg. I felt him bobble in the long stretch and knew he had hurt himself…I started to pull him up but he’d have none of it. He just grabbed the bit in that bull-headed way of his and took off again.” (Longden as quoted by Beckwith, his biographer).

You’d never know that there was anything wrong with him at all: COUNT FLEET comes home in the Belmont Stakes to become America’s sixth Triple Crown winner. Photo and source unknown.

Count Fleet’s performance was so devastatingly good that the Hertzes were, of course, delighted to welcome their Triple Crown champion into the winner’s circle. But the next morning, the Count was so badly off that neither trainer nor groom could get him out of his stall. The injury involved a tendon and the limb was fired. The colt was then kept at Belmont until October, when he was shipped to the Hertzes Stoner Creek farm in Kentucky. The racing world waited, praying that the champion would return in 1944. But the Hertzes were owners who always put their horses first and when the risk to The Count appeared too great, it was with deep regret that the decision was made to retire him. In the Hertzes’ mind, there was never any question of risking his life on the track.

Johnny and THE COUNT, in living colour. Source unknown, although probably a journal or magazine of the day.

Whether it was his brief career or just the realities of war time, The Count’s story has been woefully neglected over the decades since he won the Triple Crown. In fact, researching Count Fleet’s racing career — in terms of coming up with something other than the obvious — represents the second longest project THE VAULT has ever undertaken. Insight into the character of the horse came principally from two sources: Johnny Longden’s biography and the superb record of John Hervey aka “Salvator,” as provided in “American Race Horses, 1943.” The former reference I owe to the great Steve Haskin, to whom I am deeply indebted.

Another issue pointed out by Hervey that likely had some impact on Count Fleet’s reputation was that criticism of his career was often based on “But whom did he beat?” In Hervey’s view, the Belmont aside, these doubters clearly weren’t much up on their game, since individuals like Occupation, Blue Swords and Slide Rule were extremely worthy competitors. It was more, in Hervey’s view, the fact that Count Fleet made it look too easy. Referencing the wisdom of the incomparable W.S. Vosburgh when writing about America’s latest Triple Crown winner, Hervey also had this to say: “…As racing goes, the enthusiasts have short memories. They require new gods to worship, and if, a season or two hence, these deities show feet of clay, by that time still newer ones will have displaced them.”³ 

Critics of his racing career there may have been, but Count Fleet would triumph again as a sire.

In 1951, a son, Counterpoint, won the Belmont Stakes and the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was also chosen as 1951 Horse of the Year. And again in that same year, a daughter, Kiss Me Kate, was named Champion Three Year Old. But perhaps sweetest of all was Count Turf’s win in the 1951 Kentucky Derby. Then, in 1952, One Count shared Horse of the Year honors with the two year-old Native Dancer for his wins in the Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup.

COUNT TURF. Source unknown.

KISS ME KATE with Eddie Arcaro in the irons. Source unknown.

Nor would The Count’s legacy end here. Through his daughters, Count Fleet was BM sire to one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time, Kelso, as well as to champions Lamb Chop, Quill, Prince John, and the 1965 Kentucky Derby and Santa Anita Derby winner, Lucky Debonair.

KELSO with owner, Allaire DuPont. Photo and copyright, The Chicago Tribune.

Count Fleet lived to be thirty-three when, after foundering for three days, he was laid to rest at Stoner Creek Stud on December 3, 1973.

…… And I learned exactly why my beloved grandfather’s eyes shone so brightly when he spoke about Count Fleet and Johnny Longden: the same year that The Count departed, I watched Secretariat and Ron Turcotte win the Belmont.

COUNT FLEET at thirty years of age, as captured by the genius of the late Tony Leonard. Photo and copyright, the estate of Tony Leonard.

BONUS FEATURES

A Visual Story of Count Fleet:

Johnny Longden’s last ride:

Footnotes

¹As Titanic buffs will know, the ship set sail from Southampton, not from Liverpool. But this is how Johnny told the story to his biographer and Longden had a reputation for being an honest man, unlikely to grandstand by telling a lie. One has to wonder if the “lower deck” passengers weren’t taken on in Liverpool, where the Titanic’s crew boarded the ill-fated ocean liner. Or, was the plan to get a “connecting” ship from Liverpool to Southampton, unlikely as that would seem. Or, is it possible that Mary Longden was employed to work on the Titanic, in turn for passage for herself and her children? Or, was this simply a fanciful tale that young Johnny was told and believed to be true?

² John Hervey, in American Race Horses 1943, pp. 107

³ Ibid, pp 99

Sources

Beckwith, B.K. The Longden Legend. 1973: A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc.

Hervey, John. American Race Horses 1943. 1944: The Sagamore Press.

Archives of the Daily Racing Form in the University of Kentucky Digital Library.

Archives of the Milwaukee Journal.

Unofficial Thoroughbred Hall Of Fame: http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/countfleet.html

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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This little ditty comes to you, dear reader, at the close of 2016 with my best wishes for a New Year filled with an abundance of lovely surprises, new adventures and discoveries, radiant health and many occasions for laughter. This narrative aspires to set a mood of joy and hope as we ring in 2017! Love, Abigail

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Dedicated to the family and descendants of W.J. Gray, and especially his granddaughter, without whom this article would have been so much less than it became.

BLUE LARKSPUR, a superb thoroughbred from track to breeding shed, carrying the W.J. Gray stamp. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

As many of you know, I am wholly addicted to photography and especially vintage photographs. One of my favourite haunts, even when I’m not looking to buy anything, is Ebay — a superb place to just enjoy old photographs of all kinds.

Over the years, my collecting of rare old photographs of thoroughbreds and standardbreds has netted a handful of surprise discoveries and chance encounters with people from all around the world. One was with a descendant of Colonel Phil Chinn of Kentucky, and another took place when I bought a photograph of Safely Kept beating Dayjur in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in the now famous “shadow incident” (below). As it turned out, the seller was the then owner of the UK’s Pacemaker magazine (now Owner Breeder), who was in the midst of selling off his magazine’s photo archives. So it was that I was gifted with some rare and wonderful photographs of Nijinsky, Danzig, Danehill and Sadler’s Wells from the Pacemaker archives. As a thank you, I sent this gentleman a copy of Secretariat from the Thoroughbred Legends series, as he was a huge fan and this was one book he didn’t have in his collection.

But one of the most fascinating of my discoveries began on an ordinary day, when I was trawling Ebay for no particular reason. I was scrolling through a search I routinely do of vintage horse photos when I stumbled upon a relatively rare Phar Lap, at a ridiculous price. I bought it and then returned to the seller’s listing, to see what else s/he had on offer. What came up was the kind of “find” that makes a collector dizzy: photos of the beloved Exterminator, the great Discovery (BM sire of Native Dancer, Bold Ruler, Bed O’ Roses and Hasty Road), of Blue Larkspur (outstanding in every way, the son of Black Toney is credited as being one of the X -chromosome, large heart sires), Pavot (US Champion Two year-old and grandson of Man O’ War), beloved Stymie, “The People’s Champion,” and a couple of more obscure thoroughbreds. These were large and possibly authentic photographs of the day. I bought the Exterminator and a few others. And then I sent a note off to the seller, asking about the provenance of the photographs. S/he duly responded to say that they were purchased at a garage sale in Los Angeles, where s/he had found them “stuffed into a cardboard box” on the front lawn, surrounded by vast arrays of household goods.

COALTOWN by W.J. Gray. His signature is just under the colt’s hind leg. (This was one I was too late to buy, unfortunately.) Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

I waited for the arrival of my bounty, feeling that this might well be my personal “Antiques Roadshow moment.” You know the reference: the moment where the little lady from some tiny town that no-one has ever heard of is told that her photograph is worth a small fortune. Or not: many purchases turn out to be not quite what they appear to be in the Ebay listing, mostly due to sellers who know little or nothing about the difference between original and newly-minted photographs.

In the interim, I went back to the seller’s Ebay profile to check on other photographs that s/he might have sold. There I discovered images of a handful of thoroughbred champions who had been scooped up by other buyers: Calumet Farm’s Coaltown, who had the misfortune to race in the same years as Citation; the champions Alsab, Challendon and Gallorette, together with Reigh Count, the sire of Count Fleet; and Rosemont, he who famously beat Seabiscuit and Omaha and sired the champion filly, Bed O’ Roses.

Anyone who collects thoroughbred photos of the past will know that getting an authentic, original photo of Coaltown, Exterminator, Reigh Count, Phar Lap, Discovery or Gallorette is a definite coup because, for whatever reason, images of them are scarce. But what was equally fascinating in this seller’s lot was that the majority of the images were ones that I had never seen anywhere before. And this, of course, peaked my curiosity. I hoped that my own photos would yield some clue as to the photographer’s identity and/or the source (i.e. studio or printer’s mark, date of production, etc.)

The champion ALSAB. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

My anticipation was rewarded shortly thereafter when a large, padded envelope arrived. As one photograph after another emerged, I was beyond delighted. Each one was 13.5 X 11 ” with very little border, printed on thick,nicely aged paper presumably used by printing studios/photographers of the day. The images themselves were crisp and compelling. With the exception of the Exterminator and the Phar Lap, each one bore either the signature (within the print itself) of a “W.J. Gray ” or an oval stamp that read “W.J. Gray, Photos, 411 So. Main Street, Los Angeles.”  

The Exterminator bore an encircled C in one corner that I can attribute to the great equine master, C.C. Cook, as well as recognizing his distinctive hand in inscribing the horse’s name, the jockey (A. Johnson) and a few other details on the print itself. Affixed to the photo, on fading newsprint, were typed details of Exterminator’s race record.

The print of EXTERMINATOR. Note the paper note affixed, listing his race record. Photo and copyright: Keeneland-Cook.

The Phar Lap only carried a typed newsprint square of the date and locale of his death, together with his career earnings. Had it been taken at either Menlo Park, CA or at Agua Caliente? I knew that, after his celebrated arrival in California and at the request of the American press corps, the champion was kitted up to pose for photos — the last that exist of Phar Lap before his untimely death.

There were no other identification marks on the print, although the image was superb and I knew that this was an exceedingly rare image of Australia’s beloved “Red Terror.” (At this writing, I have only managed to locate one copy of this photo online, but the site is in a foreign language so I was unable to read it. If any of you have any information about it — including recognizing the track where it was taken — please contact me here below, in the section reserved for COMMENTS. Thank you. AA)

The PHAR LAP photo. I am fairly certain that this is Billy Elliott in the irons and Tommy Woodcock in the background, in coat and hat. (Phar Lap’s Australian jockey, Jim Pike, had very noticeable cheekbones and a sharper nose. But at a distance, his official trainer, Harry Telford and Woodcock look somewhat similar. However, it was Woodcock and not Telford who accompanied Phar Lap to America, making it important to know who that figure in the background is, as it would date the photo.) Taken either at Menlo Park, CA or at Agua Caliente, Mexico, or else taken in Australia at some point in his career.

Once I had fully savoured my treasures, and framed the photos of Old Bones (aka Exterminator) and Bobby (aka Phar Lap), I began a search for the mysterious Mr. W. J. Gray.  But “Gray” is a common surname and searches kept giving me any instance of “W.J.” separately from “Gray.” After several dead ends, I finally hit upon a lead.

As it turned out, W. J. Gray was a photographer of some of Hollywood’s most iconic stars:

INGRID BERGMAN by W.J. Gray. Note his signature on the photo on the left-hand side. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

JUNE ALLYSON by W.J. Gray, also carrying his signature on the right. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

A young FRANK SINATRA by W.J. Gray with the latter’s signature visible under Sinatra’s. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Too, I found one image of an iconic historical figure in American – World War II history that Gray had captured in understated dignity …

GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR by W.J. Gray. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

…as well as numerous aircraft, and one snowy scene of Los Angeles in the winter of 1944:

This was enough to tell me that Mr. Gray was, indeed, a very fine photographer, one whose reputation for exceptional work was acknowledged. After all, not just anyone was called upon to photograph Ingrid Bergman or General Macarthur. As well, many of the airplanes he photographed were produced by the industry giant Lockheed, with whom Gray likely had a contract.

From the scanty information I was able to retrieve, it appeared that much of Gray’s extant work was done in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

The great CORNELL WILDE, photographed by Billy Gray. Gray’s characteristic signature sits to the left, below Wilde’s. Photo and copyright, the estate of W.J. Gray.

But nowhere –nowhere — was there any indication of the photographer’s perhaps secret passion for the great thoroughbreds of his day. Whereas the Hollywood and possibly the Lockheed photos could well have been taken in California, several of the horses I had discovered never raced in California, indicating that Gray may have travelled around the country to record their exploits. Did he, I wondered, also work for (a)newspaper(s), capturing images of great thoroughbreds for their pages?

A quite spectacular photograph of DISCOVERY, the BM sire of Native Dancer and Bed O’ Roses, carrying the W.J. Gray stamp. Copies of this shot can be found on Ebay by those unscrupulous dealers who copy and sell other people’s work. Photo, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Another thorny question: why a stamp and not a signature? Could the stamp indicate that the photograph was developed by Gray at his studio, whereas the signature, as seen in the Hollywood photos and on some of the thoroughbred shots, indicated that Gray himself was the photographer? This explanation seemed most likely, and is reinforced by the handwriting on the Discovery shot (above) that looks very much like C.C. Cook’s hand and carries only the Gray stamp. I hasten to add that, unlike today where so many unscrupulous types download someone else’s work from the internet and sell it on places like Ebay, if Gray did indeed sell others’ work in his store, it would have been through an agreement reached with the photographer, who likely made a commission on the sale of his work.

However, Gray — like C.C. Cook and other photographers of the day — was also given to writing on some of his negatives, as is the case with the photo of Alsab (above) that carries both writing and his signature (while minus the Gray stamp). If signature vs. stamp weren’t intended to discriminate the photographs Gray handled,  it’s equally possible that he just switched from signing his photographs to stamping them, making all those bearing either identification mark attributable to him. A tough call, and one impossible to resolve without the knowledge of someone who knew the man and something about his career.

So, on went the winding trail of the narrative of these stunning images and their creator, until I came across a blog that held a new Gray photograph. Although not of a thoroughbred, in the Comments section below it there was a reply from W.J. Gray’s great grandson, who confirmed that his great grandfather had owned a photography shop in Hollywood/Los Angeles. I duly obtained Mr. Gray’s great grandson’s coordinates from the blogger and shot off a hasty email. Could he tell me something more about his ancestor and about Gray’s thoroughbred photos?

CHALLENDON, in what appears to be a press photo. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Within a few days, I received a very cordial note from Mr. Gray’s great grandson, who told me that he was researching his great grandfather, knew he had taken photos of Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin and commercial aircraft, but had absolutely no idea that he had an interest in thoroughbreds. I duly sent him copies of some of the thoroughbred photographs that had been listed on Ebay. Again I received a reply and a promise that he would forward the photos, as well as my letter, to other Gray family members. This was in 2014.

As the photos I had found were outstanding and reflected not only Gray’s skill but his knowledge about some of the most important thoroughbreds of his time, it was hard to forget about him.

Then, a day after I began writing this piece, I saw that there were many comments on The Vault that I had had no time to answer, given the Christmas holidays…and first among them was a message from W.J. Gray’s granddaughter. In fact, in a context where truth is stranger than fiction, she had written to me the day before I decided to try to pull something together about her grandfather for my first post of 2017.

Happy coincidence? Certainly.

I had been thinking about the mysterious Mr. Gray as a great subject for a new year post, because I believe that discovery is one of the great spices in life, even if its story is incomplete, which Gray’s clearly was until the moment I read his granddaughter’s note to me.

Sometimes the Universe is indeed inexplicable — and on December 26, 2016, it was presenting me with a gem.

Some horses don’t “wear well” down through time. Meet the excellent LADYSMAN, winner of the Arlington Futurity, the Hopeful, the Grand Union Hotel Stakes and the United States Stakes in 1932, when he was also honoured with Champion Two Year-Old honours. LADYSMAN was a real press and fan favourite until his retirement in 1935. Used with the permission of WJ Gray’s granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

W.J. (Billy) Gray’s granddaughter’s initial message to me was followed by a flurry of emails and an actual “phone date.”

As it turned out, she had been born two weeks after her grandfather died, in January 1958, but had grown up hearing many stories about him. Her mother, Billy’s daughter-in-law, had only wonderful memories of him: “…She adored him and his gentle spirit, {he} was the absolute kindest person she ever knew! …My grandfather was a self-made man who lived his life with dignity, integrity and kindness.” (Private correspondence)

As she went on to say:

“…When you contacted my second cousin, his dad sent me copies of the photos you found (where did you find them?)

That began my search for horse racing photos…I couldn’t find any, except one that had been hand painted and was sold at an estate auction a few years prior. I searched for months! Many many months with no success.

Then one night I was watching the movie “Seabiscuit.” I was crying at the appropriate moment and then put the movie on hold and asked out loud (no one was home) ‘Grandpa, am I ever going to find your horse racing photos?’.

I began to search on the internet, again. This time I searched ‘WJ Gray Seabiscuit’. On the third page of searches I found three lines that included contact info and:
‘large, original photos of Seabiscuit and War Admiral by Wm Gray of Los Angeles for $100, Philadelphia’

I called him immediately and told him that {the photographs he was selling} was my grandfather who died 2 weeks before I was born and I was searching for his photos. The man called me back the next day and said I must have those photos and {that he had} discovered 4 more in his stash! He said his father had bought them in Philly when a bar closed and they were selling the photos off the wall! He’d tried to sell them before and thought that no-one understood what they were. But he did. He liked the ‘ponies’.” (Private correspondence) 

A very dapper WJ GRAY getting ready to take a photograph, possibly at Santa Anita. Used with the permission of his granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Then scans of the photos she had tracked down and purchased from the man in Philadelphia arrived. Once again, I was astounded. Not only were the images crisp, but most were shots of thoroughbreds I knew well but had never seen before: War Admiral in close-up coming into the final turn of the Belmont Stakes (and victory in the Triple Crown); Phar Lap after his win at Agua Caliente; an apparent press photo (because it included a typed byline) of Seabiscuit losing the Santa Anita Handicap to Rosemont; A.C. Bostwick’s champion, Mate, winner of some important races, notably the the Preakness, Champagne and American Derby in 1931; Equipoise winning The Metropolitan (1932); and Granville, a very good son of Gallant Fox, on track in the colours of the famous Belair Stud. Each large photo carried the oval “WJ Gray Photos” stamp.

GRANVILLE on track. Photo and copyright, the Estate of WJ Gray.

Mr. Gray’s granddaughter was also kind enough to send photos of her grandfather, as well as biographical notes.

W.J. GRAY with an unidentified horse. Used with the permission of his granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

William (Billy) J. Gray was born on Edisto Island, SC in 1883, the youngest of ten children. He was orphaned at the age of seven and while in an orphanage was taught a trade that presumably allowed him to work on the railroad, possibly as a cabin boy. He eventually ended up in Los Angeles CA. Some time before 1919, Billy had bought himself a camera and learned how to use it, because in that year he took a photograph of Woodrow Wilson that he sold to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. (A signed copy of this photograph hangs in the Ronald Reagan Library, where it was discovered by Billy’s granddaughter. She tells me that the family has the original print.)

It was the sale of the Woodrow Wilson to the LA Times that suggested to the twenty-six year old Billy Gray that his photography hobby could, in fact, be potentially lucrative. And he had the courage to follow his instincts — and his heart. As Hollywood and its stars together with various newspapers came to recognize Billy’s endowment, it was possible for the then father of five to support his family during the dark days of the Depression by taking pictures. At some point soon after the sale of the Woodrow Wilson photo, Billy opened his first place of business in Los Angeles, to be followed by a second establishment, also in Los Angeles.

An early advertisement placed by W.J. Gray, sometime after 1921. Note the company name: FILM STARS PORTRAIT CO. Used with the permission of his granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

As the ad above indicates, Billy Gray was targeting Hollywood stars in the early years of his career and to say that he was successful would be an understatement. Below, a W.J. Gray photograph of Hollywood icons and, in his own hand, a note on the back:

This was Charlie Chaplin’s private plane. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Back of the photograph above, listing of the names of the Hollywood icons pictured. Used with the permission of Billy’s granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

A cousin also supplied memories of Billy “on the job,” as in this excerpt from my private correspondence with Billy’s granddaughter:

“My cousin, as a little girl, remembers visiting our grandparents in Los Angeles and walking to our grandfather’s studio on Pico (his other studio). Grandfather was developing his own film and in those days you printed a photo, ad or sheet of stationary one-at-a-time. She remembers helping stack the sheets of naval ship stationary, one at a time. During and after the war, grandfather would go down to the docks and take a photo of the ships. He’d come back, develop the film and then print one sheet at a time on stationary. She added that they {other members of the Gray family} would help Grandpa as he printed the individual stationary paper and envelopes: she would fold them and place them into the envelopes which was how they were sold.

Then he would go back down to the docks to sell it. The sailors would buy the stationary that featured their ship to write home on.

My cousin was born near the end of the war and grandfather was still producing this stationary after the war.”

In addition, Billy’s granddaughter mentioned a photograph she had of Billy in a printing shop in Chicago, as well as evidence that he had travelled to Greenland at some point. She further told me that her grandfather’s wife hand-coloured portraits and other photographs associated with the Gray’s photography business and that she had located one, of a thoroughbred, that had sold at auction.

In our lengthy exchanges, she was also able to confirm that Billy was indeed a horse lover (as opposed to just a photographer of thoroughbreds), who had friendships with several of the jockeys at the California tracks and possibly at other racing venues. (This reported by her aunt, Billy’s 91 year-old sister.) As for the “stamp vs. signature” issue, she was unable to provide clarification. However, when I asked about the typing at the foot of some of the photographs, she told me that it was indeed her grandfather who had typed in these details himself.

The Santa Anita Derby of 1937. Typed underneath by WJ GRAY: “Start –Santa Anita Derby. Won by “FAIRY HILL.” (M. Peters up) Photo and copyright, the estate of WJ Gray.

A portrait of Billy Gray. Used with the permission of his granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

Finally, Mr. W.J. Gray was emerging out of the shadows for me and I was glad. He was an exceptionally gifted photographer and one who deserves to also be celebrated by anyone interested in thoroughbreds and the history of racing in America.

In recording facets of the world as he knew it, Billy made his mark in the world a lasting one.

He could not have known that his photographs would leave a trail for a little girl who loved him to follow. But I’m betting he’d be pleased. I know that his granddaughter is.

What a precious, precious gift Billy Gray left her: the opportunity to literally see a part of his world, through his eyes.

W. “BILLY” J. GRAY: Here’s looking at you! Used with the permission of his granddaughter. Photo and copyright, the Estate of W.J. Gray.

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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(Source: Facebook.)

The heart and mind process imminent endings before they actually happen. There are reflections, a fondness for the past tense, a sense of distancing the self from the event, because when heart and mind know an ending is upon them, they rehearse.

But eyes and mind are different, as they must be, since the eyes live in an eternal present. On January 29, 2017 California Chrome left his stall on the Gulfstream shed row to begin a new career at Taylor Made in Kentucky. Eyes and hearts watched him go for the final time, saw the empty stall, began to register the absence.

As I watched Chrome leave his home in Los Alamitos, I knew in my heart what Art, Alan, Dhigi and Raul were feeling. They had welcomed me into Chrome’s world, closing the space between the far-away me and themselves, and as the van pulled out of Los Alamitos for the last time I was filled with sadness. “The eyes are the window of the soul” and my soul was right there beside the people who made Chrome’s stall a home.

Chrome’s departure for Gulfstream had almost nothing to do with the Pegasus and everything to do with the closing chapter of a brilliant career for me. And along with the Team Chrome family, I knew I’d miss the presence in my life of this magnificent copper horse and his honest, courageous heart.

TEAM CHROME: IN THE BARN AND ON THE TRACK

Trainers Art & Alan Sherman, exercise riders Willie Delgado (until April 2015 approx.) and Dhigi Gladney (April 2015-January 2017 approx.), groom Raul Rodriquez and jockey Victor Espinoza comprise the “hands on” of Team Chrome, the people who did everything from picking out his feet to teaching him how to win.

And they did it brilliantly, while always making time for the press and their colt’s devoted Chromies by throwing open windows to the tribulations, trials and excitement of campaigning a great horse.

(Videos: from 2014, produced by David Trujillo and Blood-Horse, respectively):

Art Sherman was not entirely a stranger to the media, having been champion Swaps’ exercise rider in 1955, at the age of eighteen. Between 1957-1979, Sherman was a professional jockey, turning to training thoroughbreds after that. And even though California Chrome was Sherman Stables’ first Kentucky Derby contender, Art brought a depth of knowledge about thoroughbreds to the table. His down-to-earth, straight-shooting and always cordial style set the bar on what it means to be a consummate professional. The Shermans are sportsmen and they love the game. Art’s admiration for Shared Belief and Arrogate was palpable following their victories over Chrome, and bespoke a classy gentleman of the track.

In the three/four years that the colt and his trainers were under the microscope they taught us all so much — not only about California Chrome, but about the life of a trainer responsible for a North American racing icon. Expressions like, “He (Chrome) ran his eyeballs out…” and “He’s just a cool horse,” became part of my lexicon, as did the familiarity of Art in cap and jacket, hands in his pockets, answering still another round of questions.

Of all the interviews with Art, this one, after his colt’s win in the 2016 World Cup, is my favourite. I was so thrilled for Art, Alan, Dhigi and Raul that I danced all around the living room, my eyes glazed with tears.

But glamour of Dubai aside, the largest percentage of Chrome’s racing life happened at the Sherman Stables in Los Alamitos (and before that, at Hollywood Park). It’s easy to forget just how much time thoroughbreds spend in their stalls or in training; a trainer’s greatest skill is keeping his horse happy during the (sometimes) long stretch between races. Keeping a horse “well within himself” is based on familiar routines, appropriate exercise and attention from those who are most important to him/her. Centre stage are the exercise rider(s) and the groom(s) and it is the latter who often become a thoroughbred’s best friend. As with dogs and cats, the person who cares for them is, in the horse’s mind, the person to whom they belong.

Enter Raul Rodriguez, who accompanied Chrome from his very first start to his retirement (video produced by the Blood-Horse in 2014):

Raul’s bonuses from Chrome’s wins have allowed him to purchase a home amid an 80-acre ranch in his home, Jalisco (Mexico), where he intends to retire. As I write this, Raul is with his boy at Taylor Made, helping him to settle in. And I’m remembering Eddie Sweat taking Secretariat and Riva Ridge to Claiborne, and that photo of Eddie in tears, leaning against a stone wall….. May your goodbye be a kinder one, Raul.

Raul and his boy

It was William Delgado and Dhigi Gladney who put the muscle on America’s 2014 and 2016 Horse of the Year. Working in tandem with Art and Alan, they were the ones who taught the juvenile his job. Through their hands and voices, Chrome learned about gallops, works and cooling out. They taught him how to break from the starting gate and how to change leads on the fly. It was from Willie and Dhigi that he received praise, and began to understand how to work with a rider instead of against him. Too, it was from Willie that the colt first heard “the question” — that moment a thoroughbred is invited to really run. With Dhigi came the fine tuning — sharpening Chrome’s sensitivity to his rider’s commands, helping him move fluidly from one “gear” to another. And both of these fine young men had everything to do with the champion’s “attitude” towards racing.

Delgado worked Chrome as a juvenile and then until April 2015, teaching him many key lessons along the way (video produced by America’s Best Racing in 2015) :

And it was Dhigi’s beautiful smile, cordiality and enthusiasm that lit up the last 18 months of Chrome’s career, as he added his skill to the racing repertoire of the champion (video produced in 2017 by Gulfstream Park):

The accomplished Victor Espinoza was Chrome’s jockey throughout most of his career. Victor is a man known for his generosity with fans. But he is also the man that guided Chrome home, giving him confidence when he needed it and helping him navigate safely through traffic. There is another kind of intimacy between a jockey and a horse he knows well, and it was when Victor took over the irons in the King Glorious Stakes at Hollywood Park in 2013 that California Chrome began to turn into the Chrome we know and love. There was a chemistry between them. An understanding. And it was Victor who took care of Chrome in his final start, making certain that the horse got back to the barn without sustaining what could have been a fatal injury.

Here they are in the August 21, 2016 Pacific Classic, where they took on an absolutely stellar field:

TEAM CHROME: THE OWNERS

Msrs. Steve Cobourn and Perry Martin were the first owners of California Chrome and through the eyes of two new to the sport, we shared the ups and downs of Chrome’s early career. One can only wonder how many newcomers were inspired to get into the game by knowing the enthusiastic duo and their copper-coated colt with his purple silks.

Mr. Perry Martin and Mr. Steve Cobourn

Although Perry Martin had wanted to retire the colt in 2015, partner Steve Cobourn sold his share in the horse to Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky and the whole game plan changed. When the Taylors joined Team Chrome, the colts silks turned from purple to chrome, literally. Too, following his loss in the 2015 Dubai World Cup, he was sent to Taylor Made after a stint spent in the UK before returning to the Shermans for the 2016 racing season. It was a joy to see him hanging out in Kentucky and I thought the idea a brilliant one: since Chrome would retire to Taylor Made, I wondered whether or not getting used to the place would ease the transition, when it came.

But in Taylor Made, the Champ found a new home. A family business where he was greeted with deep respect and love.

Chrome playing with Taylor Made Stallion Manager, Gilberto Terrazas (video produced in 2015 by Armando Reyes)

This superb Blood-Horse video features the story of post-UK Chrome (2015) right up to the Dubai World Cup win (2016) and gives viewers a great look at what Taylor Made is all about:

Leading up to California Chrome’s retirement, the new partnership busied themselves setting up a form of “super syndicate,” partners who will make a 4-year commitment to Chrome at stud and assure him great mares.

Through the final campaign in the Champion’s career, Taylor Made were there. And when he arrived at the farm, they found their own way to make it clear that they knew we Chromies were out there.

(Video produced on Jan. 30, 2017 by Taylor Made Sales Agency Inc.)

(Video produced on Jan. 30, 2017 by Taylor Made Stallions)

THANK YOU, TEAM CHROME.

Thank you for your warmth and kind generosity.

Thank you for reaching out and “seeing” me — and understanding what it is to love a horse.

And thank you, Chrome. You made my heart soar. You made me feel wonder.

And I will love you forever.

(Video by David Truhillo, Nov 2016)

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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Special thanks to Charlotte Farmer, who introduced this great filly to me, and John Engelhardt, Executive Director, Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners. Without their help, this article would never have been written and I would have missed out on the story of an exceptional thoroughbred. Thank you.

This article is dedicated to Ryan Brady, whose journey with a filly he had never met speaks of a love great enough to overcome adversity, and an enduring respect for those who weave our history. 

GLACIAL PRINCESS with her dam, GAY NORTH, a daughter of the mighty NEARCTIC, who sired NORTHERN DANCER. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners.

When you study thoroughbred history you quickly come to see that the stories of hundreds of great thoroughbreds have been forgotten. The reasons are as many as the individuals themselves, but at particular risk are those thoroughbreds who raced locally, often in the states where they were born, never venturing to prestigious venues or those races, like the Kentucky Derby, that almost guarantees an enduring legacy. That they are forgotten is especially harsh, considering that these horses are in many ways the true heroes and heroines of racing in North America and in the world at large. Without them and the many racetracks where they ran, there would be no sport at all.

The dark filly pictured above with her dam could have run with the best of her year, colt or filly, but she made her stand principally at Beulah Park in Ohio. Glacial Princess, as she would be named by owners William Fouss and Dr. John Graver, crowns the pantheon of thoroughbred champions in her state. A legend and beloved, she brought people to the track just to see her, to breathe in a little of the same air that Glacial Princess inhaled and to go home saying that they had seen a mighty filly run.

Despite a proud 91-year history, Beulah Park, its people and their stories were about to disappear forever.

During a walk through Beulah Park with his fiancee shortly before it closed, Ryan Brady and his intended came upon Glacial Princess’ headstone. Brady’s fiancee wondered aloud if the champion filly’s memorial would be paved over, once the track was sold and developers started to dig up the infield. The thought made Brady feel ill.

“…’It was really important to find a dignified resting place for Glacial Princess,’ Brady told thisweeknews.com. ‘I couldn’t stand the thought of her grave being paved over by a parking lot or a new building.

‘I never got to see her race, but growing up in Ohio, I knew her history,’ added Brady, ‘and I thought this is just the right thing to do.’ ” (excerpted from The Blood-Horse, January 19, 2017)

And so it was that Ryan Brady began a two-year campaign to honour a Princess he had never actually seen. And he was lucky enough to enjoy the full support of many key people, among them Beulah Park’s new ownership.

Dr. John Graver, who owned Glacial Princess in partnership with William Fouss, was stoutly behind Brady’s efforts and agreed to donate his filly’s headstone, should a suitable burial site be found for her. Brady also consulted with Charlotte Farmer, who had located, exhumed and transported the champion Noor’s remains from California to Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky for re-burial. And when he heard about the efforts to find an eternal place of rest for Glacial Princess, Michael Blowen of Old Friends stepped forward once again, just as he had for Noor and Barbara D. Livingston’s beloved champion, Springsteel, who found himself in similar straits when Rockingham Park closed, to offer “…a place for her {Glacial Princess’} fans to come and honour her.” Upon hearing the news, Charlotte Farmer expressed her joy, saying, “…Now my Prince {Noor} will have a Princess beside him to complete his royal court.”

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BRENT’S PRINCE was Ohio’s Horse of the Year in 1975. The son of the 1967 winner of the Kentucky Derby, Proud Clarion (Hail To Reason), BRENT’S PRINCE proved a very good sire. Photo and copyright, the Estate of Tony Leonard.

Glacial Princess was bred by Cider Mill Farm in Ohio and came into the world in 1981. Other than a white star, the youngster bore a distinctive white spot on her right flank. The spot was like a kiss from Mahmoud, who appeared in her female family in the 5th generation. But that was just the beginning. The dark-coated newborn was racing royalty: a daughter of the 1975 Ohio Horse of the Year and 3 year-old Champion, Brent’s Prince (a son of the 1967 Kentucky Derby winner Proud Clarion by Hail To Reason) and Gay North, a daughter of Nearctic, the sire of Northern Dancer. And within the bloodlines of the filly foal’s pedigree were other legendary names: Nearco, Bull Page and his sire, Bull Lea, Hyperion, Turn-To, Blue Larkspur, Scapa Flow (GB) and Gainsborough (GB).

NEARCTIC, the BM sire of GLACIAL PRINCESS, also sired Canada’s NORTHERN DANCER.

There was not much question who had dominated the Princess’ blood. She had Nearctic’s determination to never be headed in a race, and his (at times) thoroughly unloveable personality. In fact, as far as her character went, Glacial Princess was a carbon copy of Northern Dancer, who reserved his affection for only one person — Winnie Taylor, the wife of E.P. Taylor, who bred and owned him. Otherwise, he was a mean-spirited little bully. In the case of the daughter of Brent’s Prince, the object of her affection was trainer John Rutherford. By the time she arrived at Rutherford’s barn, Glacial Princess had matured into a tall, iron-grey filly and she quickly let everyone know that she just wasn’t cut out to be a cuddle bug.

Lynn Boggs, herself a thoroughbred owner, got to know Glacial Princess when Rutherford asked her to braid roses into the filly’s mane for an upcoming race.

“With John, she was an angel. He loved that horse and she loved him,” she {Boggs} said. “Other people — she didn’t much like dealing with them.

“She had a little bit of a mean streak in her, it’s true,” she said. “But when you have a horse like that, so regal and proud on the track, you can’t help but fall in love with them.” (excerpted from This Week Community News, January 11, 2017)

GLACIAL PRINCESS on track, wearing the colours of Fouss and Graver’s Equinall Stable. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners.

It didn’t matter that she wasn’t one of the “sweet” ones. Glacial Princess was as rare as flamingos in an Ohio winter: a superstar filly who would triple her sale price in earnings by the end of her juvenile season. Ironically, her nickname was the “Iron Lady,” the same as that of another racing champion born a year after Glacial Princess, Lady’s Secret.

Ohio’s Iron Lady not only earned the title for her steel grey coat, but also for her fierce competitive spirit. Running against fillies and colts, under all conditions and carrying as much as 128 lbs. on her back, Glacial Princess always gave it her best shot. She was one of those thoroughbred’s who answers the question with 150% effort in race after race after race. The jockeys who guided her through to a remarkable career included Heriberto Rivera Jr., Danny Weiler and Sebastian Madrid.

In 1985, Glacial Princess ran 17 times, winning 11, 9 of which were stakes and earning Ohio Horse of the Year honours.

GLACIAL PRINCESS out of the gate. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners.

The following year, Glacial Princess ran 19 times, closing out the year with a record of 8-2-2. The filly made Ohio thoroughbred racing history, when she became the first Ohio-bred to ever record $200,00 plus earnings in back-to-back years and she went on to win a second consecutive Horse of the Year title in a tie with the colt, Rhinflo.

1986 also saw Glacial Princess run her finest race, cruising to victory in the Miss Southern Ohio Stakes at River Downs by 5 lengths. The performance is emphatic enough to spark memories of Ruffian and of Rachel Alexandra’s Oaks. But 1986 also brought disappointment: defeat at Aqueduct in The G.III Vagrancy — although Glacial Princess was later found to have had a virus — and in Hawthorne’s Yo Tambien Handicap (The Chicago Tribune, October 2, 1986.).

And somewhere along the way, the filly had lost trainer John Rutherford, first going to Marvin Moncrief and finally to Gary M. King. In fact, on the Pedigree Query website, two other trainers’ names appear next to the filly’s list of graded stakes wins: Linda Lysher (Evergreen Stakes, 1986) and Patrick J. Kerins (George Lewis Memorial Stakes, 1986, Diana and Lady Liberty Stakes, 1987).

Still, her year had been a winning one. As co-owner Graver told the press, ” …All of her losses this season have been justifiable…She will continue racing as long as she remains healthy and sound.” (The Cincinnati Enquirer, May 24, 1986.)

GLACIAL PRINCESS was Ohio’s greatest pride. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners.

On April 25, 1987 it all came to an end when Glacial Princess broke down. The injuries she sustained made it impossible to save her and she was buried in the infield at Beulah Park, near the finish line.

When a loved one is taken, the bereft mourn forever. So it was with the Ohio racing community: a filly who raised hopes and hearts was gone.

Old Beulah Park cradled her in its arms, an embrace that bespoke memory and loss.

GLACIAL PRINCESS’ headstone, in the infield at Beulah Park. Photo courtesy of the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners.

The film below chronicles Glacial Princess’ career, offering rare footage of her as a filly foal and on the track. It was written and produced in a collaboration between Carroll and Marlane Nibert, John Engelhardt and the filly’s owners.

It is an absolute treasure:

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In January 2017, having the approval of Beulah Park’s Pat Kelley and the Grove City administration, the search for Glacial Princess’ mortal remains began, with the assistance of members of the anthropology department at Ohio State University. John Queen of Richwood, a friend of Brady’s, supplied the back-hoe and the team went to work with Brady in attendance. They knew where the filly had been buried, but other important details were sketchy.

“…after hours of digging Saturday, the group found no trace of her. It’s possible the remains deteriorated, they said.

“They found a railroad spike, the remains of a small dog wrapped in a blanket, and a race ticket believed to be from the 1930s. Ultimately, after excavating a good portion of the infield, they decided that Glacial Princess will remain permanently at rest at the track where her impressive career began and ended.” (excerpted from an article in the Columbus Dispatch, January 22, 2017.)

The video below includes footage from the original short film about Glacial Princess (above) but also includes coverage of the search for the champion filly’s remains:

With mixed emotions, Ryan Brady carefully collected pieces of the winner’s circle, some dirt from the finish line and the burial site, together with an old betting ticket that they had found. Then he deposited it all into a tote that would be sent on to Old Friends, followed by Glacial Princess’ headstone. Of very real comfort was the fact that the plan for the development of Beulah Park will include a sizeable park to commemorate Grove City’s racing history — and preliminary renderings {of said plan} show it encompassing Glacial Princess’ grave, meaning that what remains of her won’t be disturbed.

When the Memorial Service in her honour takes place at Old Friends, Ryan plans to bring red carnations — the state flower of Ohio — for his Princess.

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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In conformation, she is unmistakably her mother’s daughter. But at this stage of the game, Soul Stirring is also the best of Frankel’s first crop, as well as his first and only G1 winner of 2016.

2014: Champion STACELITA with her newborn FRANKEL filly, SOUL STIRRING. Photo source: Twitter.

This is one alliance of bloods that did exactly what might be expected, much to the delight of Katsumi, Haruya and Teruya Yoshida, the owners of Shadai, Northern and Oiwake farms on the island of Hokkaido, in Japan. Take an outstanding stallion in Frankel– arguably the greatest thoroughbred that England has ever known — and put him to a champion thoroughbred mare and daughter of Monsun, Stacelita. Then hope and pray.

Prayers aside, it sure helps if the possibility inherent in a particular mating is a gleam in the Yoshidas’ eye, as this much-anticipated foal was. After all, these are the breeders who imported Sunday Silence from the USA and turned the son of Halo into the Northern Dancer of Japan and a leading sire from 1995-2008. In 2017 Shadai remains the home of Sunday Silence’s most powerful sons and daughters, notably the pre-potent Deep Impact. But there’s a down side to any giant bloodline: so prevalent is Sunday Silence’s blood in Japanese bloodstock in their own country that the Yoshidas, together with most Japanese breeders, are keen to acquire mares who provide an outcross to his bloodline.

Enter champions like Stacelita, Danedream, Azeri, Ginger Punch, Proud Spell, Champagne d’Oro, In Lingerie, Mi Sueno, Zazu, Sarafina, Evening Jewel, Princess of Sylmar and, more recently, Curalina and Don’t Tell Sophia, among other global acquisitions purchased by the Yoshidas.

Nor are the brothers only interested in broodmares. Daughters of Deep Impact, like the great Gentildonna, also need suitable suitors. Shopping in North America, Britain and Europe for great bloodstock for well over three decades, Shadai has acquired champions like War Emblem (now retired and living at Old Friends in Kentucky), Harbinger, Workforce (now standing at Knockhouse Stud in Ireland), Novellist, Carroll House, Tony Bin, Falbrav, Empire Maker (now back in the USA), I’ll Have Another and Pentire.

The Frankel-Stacelita union represents a desire to enrich and diversify the Shadai bloodstock through the introduction of powerful bloodlines like that of Monsun, Galileo and Danehill (through Frankel’s dam, Kind). But the pairing was a crapshoot: Frankel, standing his first season, was unproven and Stacelita was also a wild card, since her first foal, a filly by Smart Strike, was only a yearling.

SOUL STIRRING just before she was weaned was already an impressive individual. Photo source: Twitter.

When snow drifts lay high and gleaming against the bare trees, Stacelita brought her filly foal into the world. As winter melted away and greenery festooned paddock and tree at Shadai Farm, it became clear that Stacelita’s daughter had inherited her dam’s conformation, coat colour and large, expressive eyes. According to trainer Chad Brown, who took over training duties from Jean-Claude Rouget in France, Stacelita was noted for her “presence” — something that other thoroughbreds noticed and respected. At three and four, Stacelita won the Prix St. Alary, Prix Vermeille, Prix Jean Romanet, La Coupe and the Prix de Diane. In France, she was an absolute superstar. Shipped to Chad Brown, she annexed the Beverly D. and the Flower Bowl Invitational, but a terrible trip in the Breeders Cup that same year resulted in her giving a lacklustre performance. It didn’t matter: Stacelita was the Eclipse Award winner for Best Turf Female in 2011. She retired with well over two million in earnings and visited Frankel in 2013.

Right from the start, SOUL STIRRING had presence. Shown here with her dam, STACELITA. Used with the permission of Michele McDonald. Photo and copyright, Michele McDonald.

Frankel followers were beginning to note that many in his first crop shared a distinctive feature: on the outside, they took after their dams. And Soul Stirring, as she was named, had Stacelita’s size, scope and bone. As a baby, what she had inherited from Frankel certainly couldn’t be discerned just by looking at her.

The devotion Frankel had gained as a racehorse showed no sign of ebbing when he retired, and  “The First Frankels” were eagerly awaited, despite the risk that this great thoroughbred wouldn’t necessarily prove to be as great a sire. Frankel nevertheless got the immediate support of Juddmonte, who offered him a modest book of exceptional mares in 2013. And this trend is likely to continue throughout his stallion career. The idea is to keep him “exclusive” — as his privileged status demands.

So it was that Soul Stirring’s first start in July 2016 in the land of her birth was greeted with great excitement. She was, after all, Japan’s own “baby Frankel.”

And her win came with a sense of what Frankel had almost certainly contributed to her pedigree (Soul Stirring is #3, yellow-striped silks and red cap):

True, she won it by a fraction of a nose, but the explanation for that probably came in the walking ring before the race (video below), where the 2 year-old was fractious. Unlike other Frankels, who showed his enthusiastic forward locomotion, Soul Stirring’s running style was reminiscent of Stacelita. But although her willingness and speed couldn’t be attributed to Frankel alone, it seemed likely that on the “X” her sire had contributed was more than a little of Danehill, one of the most stunningly successful sires of the last forty years.

Soul Stirring had indeed stirred hearts around the world. But one start does not a champion make. With Christophe Lemaire back in the irons for trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, the filly made her second start, this time against the colts, in the October 2016 Ivy Stakes (please click on video):

This win was something different: Soul Stirring showed a lightning turn of foot when asked, powering into the lead to finish with ears pricked. It was a thrilling, decisive victory. And even the champion and two-time Horse of the Year in Japan, Gentildonna, had only won once in two starts as a two year-old. So Japanese racing fans, together with Teruya, aka “Terry” Yoshida, were ecstatic.

SOUL STIRRING in the walking ring before the Ivy Stakes looked composed. Photo source: Twitter.

Crossing the finish line, ears pricked. Photo source: Twitter,

Soul Stirring was acquiring a following after beating the colts, and social media was regularly peppered with shots of her preparation for the final start of her two year-old campaign, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, a G1 race for the best juveniles in the land. Should she win it, Soul Stirring would become Frankel’s first G1 winner. The filly seemed to have it all — looks, turn of foot, ability to rate off the pace and blazing speed. It was impossible not to wish the best for her in her final race, scheduled to take place in December.

SOUL STIRRING works prior to the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. Photo source: Twitter.

Elsewhere, it was late in the flat season: The Frankels racing in England and France, despite signs of brilliance, had not managed a G1 and had been put away until their three year-old season. Too, a majority of the best-bred Frankels hadn’t even shown up on the turf: Frankel himself raced at two, but he was by all accounts a “late bloomer,” a quality that seemed in evidence in his 2014 crop.

December 11th arrived and Soul Stirring’s cheering section held its breath, while those in other parts of the world consumed gallons of coffee the evening before and got set to stay up all night. (Soul Stirring is #2, yellow-striped silks, white cap):

With that, it was settled. Stacelita’s daughter was indeed a champion juvenile, having beaten the best of her age and sex with relative ease. The win would be enough to award her Champion Two Year Old Filly honours in Japan, before getting some time off.

A delighted Christophe Lemaire congratulates his filly. Photo source: Twitter.

Victory salute. Photo source: Twitter.

SOUL STIRRING, JRA Champion Two Year-Old Filly of 2016. Photo source: Twitter.

What a difference two months can make.

By February 2017, Soul Stirring was back in training for the first start of her three year-old campaign, the Tulip Sho, in March. The choice of the Tulip Sho spoke volumes: the race is the habitual qualifier for the Japanese Filly Triple Crown, comprised of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and the Shuka Sho (formerly the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, run from 1976–1995). The most recent winner of the Filly Triple is the brilliant Gentildonna, who won it in 2012.

Caught in the lens of eager photographers, Soul Stirring was already bigger and stronger than the juvenile version of herself, just eight weeks after her mini-break. In fact, she had added 20 kgs. Put another way, the filly was beginning to “grow into herself.”

SOUL STIRRING, December 2016. Photo source: Twitter.

SOUL STIRRING, February 2017. Photo source: Twitter.

February 2017: SOUL STIRRING works, prior to the Tulip Sho. The hood is used to keep her mind on business — and likely signals to the filly that something important is on the horizon. Photo source: Twitter.

By now Frankel lovers around the world knew about Soul Stirring and, as even breeders are inclined to feel, the sense that she could be “The One” (of 2014) to carry the beloved Frankel into the future was visceral. When you love a thoroughbred you pray for that, pray that time won’t swallow them up and render them ghostly. And Soul Stirring gave people the same stirring in the heart, in the soul, as Frankel had once done. She drew you in. She had presence alright — and that ineffable something that sets hearts and minds on fire.

But would she train on into her third year? So many brilliant two year-olds don’t…..

March 3, the day of the Tulip Sho, Frankel enthusiast Jess Samy noted: “Don’t mess with me. She’s a girl on a mission” And Soul Stirring sure did. Tight as a coiled spring, she strode the walking ring between her handlers exuding power, making it impossible to take your eyes off her — even at 1 a.m. in the morning (central North American time).

“A girl on a mission,” said Jess Samy. She’s got her game face on. Photo source: Twitter.

Walking ring footage. Soul Stirring is #10:

The competition befitted a Triple Crown qualifier, the strongest of them being Entry Ticket (#4), Lys Gracieux (#3) and Miss Panthere (#7), all granddaughters of Sunday Silence. Two others were by the winningest of Japanese sires, Deep Impact. And Soul Stirring was starting from deep outside the rest of the field.

With Christophe Lemaire once again her pilot, Soul Stirring stepped into the starting gate:

Hugely evident in her victory is that Soul Stirring had come into 2017 very much the same, willing competitor as she had been at two. That, and how readily she quickened to win, ears pricked. As an American jockey might say, “I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of her yet.”

SOUL STIRRING in her winning colours. Photo source: Twitter.

April and the Oko Sho (1,000 Guineas) await, where Soul Stirring may very well face another very good Frankel daughter in Mi Suerte (out of Mi Sueno), as well as Miss Pathere and Lys Gracieux who finished second and third, respectively, in the Tulip Sho.

But on that day, all around the planet, you’d better believe that hearts will swell and hope will power her wings.

SOUL STIRRING, taken in February 2017. Photo source: Twitter.

SOUL STIRRING seems to be saying, “That’s right. I did it again.” (In winner’s circle, Tulip Sho.) Photo source: Twitter.

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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Each year that the Oaks is run, it brings with it different stories and contexts. And if we have a “filly favourite” running, we learn their stories by heart. Some of these narratives stay with us. Join me as I re-memory the fillies and the Oaks runs over the last sixteen years that remain my favourites to this day.

A Brief History of the Kentucky Oaks

Despite the fact that the history of the Kentucky Oaks is as venerable as its twin, the Kentucky Derby, through much of the latter part of the last century it has been treated as the “second” on the card. Yet it’s fair to say that any filly who runs in the Oaks is as exceptional, in every way, as the colts who will run in the Derby on the first Saturday in May. Like the boys, these fillies are the best of their year and, in some Oaks years, even better than the colts that win the Derby.

The first Kentucky Oaks was run in 1875 and won by a filly named Vinaigrette. Its founder was Colonel Meriwether (aka “Lutie”) Lewis Clark, Jr., the grandson of explorer General William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame. The tempestuous Lutie — who would commit suicide after the stock market crash of 1893 — did much to introduce horse racing to America, also founding the Kentucky Derby and the Louisville Jockey Club, as well as supervising the building of Churchill Downs on land purchased by his mother’s family, the Churchills, after which the track takes its name. In Lutie’s eyes the Oaks and Derby would showcase America’s finest thoroughbreds, just as the Epsom Derby and Oaks did in the United Kingdom.

It was a place built to welcome dreams. And it did just that.

Colonel Meriwether aka “Lutie” Lewis Clark, Jr.

My Favourites: Kentucky Oaks 1990 – 2016

These are the Oaks that most moved me over the last quarter of a century. I have never had much interest in comparing the winners, since each filly ran in different contexts unique to her time and circumstance. But there are two qualities the fillies showcased here share: the racing heart that got them to Churchill Downs in the first place, and the courage to take on their peers no matter the challenge.

1990: SEASIDE ATTRACTION (Seattle Slew ex Kamar, by Key To The Mint)

She was a daughter of Seattle Slew out of a Key To The Mint mare, Kamar, but she was decidedly unlucky to be born in the same year as the incomparable Go For Wand.  An over one million dollar Keeneland purchase by William T. Young of Overbrook Farm, Seaside Attraction was trained by D. Wayne Lukas. In the 1990 Oaks, Seaside Attraction would have her work cut out for her: even the legendary Joe Hirsch (in video below) felt the winner was a foregone conclusion. The track was sloppy, but few felt this would hinder Go For Wand, a “filly for the ages.”

(Note: The videotape runs for 41 minutes, but I started it closer to the actual race itself, even though the whole telecast is a treat to watch.)

Hearts were broken on this day, mine among them.

I wanted to see Go For Wand wear the blanket of pink, but her previous start had almost been a walkover, the Churchill track was tiring, and the sheer number of times she had raced as a three year-old may have, indeed, been her Achilles heel. But this takes nothing away from Seaside Attraction, who ran her heart out. And even through my disappointment, I was reminded of the hopefulness that fills the heart in a race of this calibre. It’s the “secret ingredient” of the sport: the knowledge that nothing is certain once the starting gates fly open.

1994: SARDULA (Storm Cat ex Honor An Offer, by Hoist The Flag)

In 1994, Sardula was Jerry and Ann Moss’ Kentucky Oaks filly. The daughter of Storm Cat, like her grandam Terlingua, had been a hot-blooded two year-old and trainer Brian Mayberry had invested hours and hours into teaching her how to relax. This is another “secret ingredient” of racing: colts and fillies that don’t relax when they run are unlikely to do their best work. Too, the risk of injury is far greater when a thoroughbred is wound up too tight.

A year earlier, at Del Mar, Sardula broke into racing with a 10-length victory. A month after that, she won the Del Mar Debutante by 7 1/2 lengths. In April, after a layoff of almost four months, she won the Santa Paula Stakes at Santa Anita by 8 1/2 lengths. And only a month before the Oaks, at Hollywood Park, Sardula won the Princess by 5 1/2. All very Terlingua-like. Sardula was a speedball and she came into the Oaks a multiple-stakes winner. Regular jockey Eddie Delahoussaye would again be in the irons.

But despite earnings of over $800,000, Sardula didn’t start as the Oaks favourite. That honour went to another outstanding filly: Lakeway.

I was, of course, in Sardula’s camp and principally because of my lifelong love for Terlingua. But Sardula’s courage in battling Lakeway to the wire is something I will never forget. It is the mark of a champion and was to be Sardula’s final legacy. Later that year, the filly was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a painful bone disease. Despite the efforts of veterinary facilities in Kentucky and California, the magnificent Sardula could not be saved. She is buried in California, on the grounds of the veterinary facility where she was humanely euthanized.

1999: SILVERBULLETDAY (Silver Deputy ex. Rockeby Rose by Tom Rolfe

Like so many Oaks contenders, Silverbulletday had a spectacular fan following before she even stepped onto the track at Churchill Downs. Under Bob Baffert’s guidance and in the skilled hands of Gary Stevens, Silverbulletday had won top honours as the Two Year-old Eclipse Champion filly in 1998. As a juvenile, she had raced on the East and West coasts but seemed to prefer the former to the latter, resulting in her being permanently moved to Churchill Downs. There, she reeled off another three straight wins including the G2 Alcibiades and the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Silverbulletday’s three year-old campaign was as brilliant as her accomplishments at two. She annexed the Ashland, Black-Eyed Susan, Monmouth BC and Fair Grounds Oaks, the Gazelle, Alabama and Davona Dale Stakes, losing out to Beautiful Pleasure in the Beldame. Her achievement resulted in an Eclipse Award that year. She raced at four but was less accomplished, retiring at the end of the season with over three million USD in earnings. In 2009, she was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.

Silverbulletday was a hard-working filly and an honest one. Those who loved her during her racing years loved everything about her, but it was her honesty that won my heart. She always gave everything she had and that determination was breathtaking to witness.

2004: ASHADO (Saint Ballado ex. Goulash, by Mari’s Book)

Ashado: I loved her name and everything about her. She was the first filly in the twenty-first century that I thought of as “My Girl.”

Ashado didn’t win every race at two, running against some powerful competition in Society Selection and Halfbridled, winner of the 2004 BC Juvenile Fillies. But she never gave up either, even though Todd Pletcher cited “morning laziness” ( the filly was so resistant that trainer Pletcher felt guilty working her at all) and the fact that Ashado got bored on the lead as probable causes for the races she lost. Context in the year a thoroughbred races has a direct impact on how they do. And in 2004, Ashado went up against the likes of Storm Flag Flying, Nebraska Tornado, Madcap Escapade and Stellar Jane. But her wins in the Oaks and BC Distaff that year were gutsy and brilliant, earning her Eclipse Champion Three Year-Old honours.

Ashado raced on at four, winning three G1’s, before her retirement in 2005. In 2014, “My Girl” was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.

2007: RAGS TO RICHES (A.P. Indy ex. Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister)

How could you ignore Rags? Although arguably not the most cuddly of personalities, Rags To Riches’ courage — some might say “sheer bloody mindedness” — swept all before her, even the mighty Curlin, whom she defeated in the 2007 Belmont Stakes, despite bobbling at the gate. Everything about this filly was bigger than life, from her size to her stride to her determination to win. Those devoted to A.P. Indy saw in this burly, chestnut daughter a fitting testimonial to an outstanding sire nearing the end of his stud career. And, of course, she was all that, defeating the 2006 Eclipse Champion Two Year-Old and BC Juvenile Fillies winner, Dreaming of Anna, in the Kentucky Oaks.

Rags’ defeat of Curlin and Hard Spun in the Belmont Stakes just a few weeks later was a heart-pounding, gut-wrenching battle to the wire that few will ever forget. It was the first time that a filly had won the gruelling classic in over a hundred years.

Following a number of minor injuries, Rags To Riches was retired in 2008 with in excess of one million USD in earnings.

Rags never gave me that “warm and fuzzy” feeling. I didn’t dream of meeting her, or of giving her peppermints as I stroked her head. But she was greatness on four feet, the kind of thoroughbred whose refusal to be headed bespoke a will of iron. It was her weapon and she used it fiercely, like the Warrior Queens of myth and history. Boadicea would have happily ridden her into battle, that’s for certain.

2009: RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro ex. Lotta Kim, by Roar)

It will be impossible for me to ever watch another Kentucky Oaks without carrying Rachel in my heart. Even though she would go on to great heights, culminating with her induction into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 2016, it is the Kentucky Oaks that I still watch, over and over again. With her mane flying, down the home stretch she came — and she owned me, body and soul, from that day forward. That race, at least for me, defined her. Bred by Dolphus Morrison, trained by Hal Wiggins and ridden by Calvin Borel, Rachel’s Oaks was also a victory for small breeding enterprises and successful, hard-working trainers and jockeys who seldom tumble into the spotlight.

It is so hard to know why some fillies go straight to your heart while others, themselves beautiful and brilliant, don’t. But in Rachel’s case, it was the kind of feeling associated with those of us who see in horses something otherworldly, embodying an essence that transports the human spirit. Watching her, I was overwhelmed by the conviction that this is what it must have been like to actually see a Man O’ War or Count Fleet in action. Too, I was reminded of Secretariat’s Belmont, of the exaltation of the soul watching a great thoroughbred running for the sheer love of it.

Watching Rachel cantering home on Oaks day, I was the little girl who played with Breyers and made up stories about them, and who shortened long trips in the car by imagining a beautiful, powerful horse running along beside me, jumping fences and floating over fields high with corn.

Rachel Alexandra took me home.

2010: BLIND LUCK (Pollard’s Vision ex Lucky One by Best of Luck, a son of Broad Brush out of Crowned, by Chief’s Crown)

The anticipation going in to the 2010 Oaks was huge. Two great fillies, Evening Jewel and Blind Luck, were anticipated to face-off in the run for the pink. Blind Luck’s come-from-behind running style was always risky, although she had won the Las Virgennes and the Fantasy by a hair’s breadth and would go on, after the Oaks, to victories of the same genre. Evening Jewel had the more conventional running form, moving into mid-pack and rating just off the pace before striking out for home. Blind Luck went into the Oaks’ the favourite, but I held my breath as the race got underway:

The challenge that Blind Luck and Evening Jewel threw down bespoke magnificence. Two brilliant fillies — one sweeping to the front from the tail of the field — going head to head, as the wire drew ever closer. For anyone unsure as to what “heart of a thoroughbred” looks like, this is it.

2011: PLUM PRETTY (Medaglia d’Oro ex Liszy, be A.P. Indy)

It was a young Martin Garcia and trainer, Bob Baffert, in the spotlight in 2011 when they brought Plum Pretty to the winner’s circle in the Oaks. I tuned in to see Zazu, Daisy Devine and Joyful Victory, and I don’t really remember knowing much about Plum Pretty, even though I was wise enough to respect any filly that Bob Baffert brought to the Oaks. Like so many Medaglia d’Oro’s, she was a striking filly with lots of scope and a fine head. But for all that, what lay within on that first Friday in May was so much more:

Plum’s Oaks might not have conjured the stuff of legend: she hung on to just win it. But the willingness to hang on, to do your very best, is a quality bred into the best thoroughbreds — and this was the signature of Plum Pretty’s 2011 Kentucky Oaks.

2013: PRINCESS OF SYLMAR (Majestic Warrior by A.P. Indy X Storm Dixie by Catienus, a son of Storm Cat)

Dreamers make-up at least 85% of the constituency of horse racing. These are the folks who take risks because they really believe that anything is possible and that dreams can come true.

Princess of Sylmar is a dreamer’s elixir: a filly who lacked a trendy pedigree and throughout most of her early, brilliant career was ignored because of it. Bred in Pennsylvania by Ed Stanco, “The Princess” raced in Stanco’s colours for his King of Prussia stable and was trained by Todd Pletcher.

In her second start at two, The Princess won a race at Penn National by nineteen lengths before moving to Aqueduct, where she won an allowance race by four under jockey, Rajiv Maragh. At this point, the filly was one of those hard-working girls running in small races that nobody much notices.

The filly kicked off 2013 with combined wins of fourteen plus lengths in the Busher and Busanda Stakes under jockey Javier Castellano. Moved up in class in The Gazelle, The Princess went down to defeat to Close Hatches and the loss caught people’s attention, likely resulting in her starting in the Oaks at 38:1 odds.

In a way, it was easy to ignore Princess of Sylmar, since the field included the Two Year-Old Eclipse Champion, Beholder. Too, both Dreaming of Julia and Close Hatches had distinguished themselves as very good fillies.

The start was unkind to Beholder, who fell in the Post Parade, throwing jockey Garrett Gomez. When the race was over, Gomez saluted Beholder for the way she had regained her composure, although he knew that she had quite possibly lost her Oaks at the gate. Dreaming of Julia got smacked at the jump out by Rose To Gold, impeding her chances of winning as well.

But was Princess of Sylmar’s win a fluke, at the expense of Beholder and Dreaming of Julia? It’s possible, but she defined herself in subsequent authoritative wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks, the Alabama and the Beldame, where she beat champion Royal Delta. When she finally met up with Beholder again, in the BC Distaff, The Princess failed to produce the kind of performance we had all come to expect from her. But, then again, she had had a long season by current standards.

Retired at the end of her four year-old season, Princess of Sylmar was sold to Shadai in Japan, where she delivered a colt by super stud Deep Impact in 2016. Princess of Sylmar was reportedly bred back to Deep Impact for 2017.

2016: CATHRYN SOPHIA (Street Boss by Street Cry X Sheave by Mineshaft) 

She was another filly who, though not ignored by the punters, languished in the background, largely because of the hopes tied to Rachel Alexandra’s talented daughter by Bernardini, Rachel’s Valentina. And like so many who tuned in to watch that day, I was practically willing Rachel’s daughter to follow in her dam’s footsteps.

Cathryn Sophia was trained by the great John Servis, who conditioned Smarty Jones, another love of mine. Even though I favoured Rachel’s Valentina, my respect for Servis meant that I always paid attention to his runners and Cathryn Sophia was, indeed, very impressive. But when I read a column that quoted Servis as wondering whether or not his filly would stay the distance, I kind of pushed Cathryn Sophia off my radar. After all, her sire was a sprinter and Sheave, a daughter of Mineshaft (A.P. Indy) had beautiful bloodlines but Cathryn Sophia was her first foal.

Too, it was not as if there weren’t other serious challengers: notably, Land Over Sea, Lewis Bay and Terra Promessa, although the latter’s front-running style made her chances of taking it more risky than those of the other two.

But the Oaks played to Cathryn Sophia’s advantage, and Rachel’s Valentina seemed to have no more to give once the field turned for home. It was a thrilling finish, as the daughter of Street Boss danced away from the rest of the field:

Cathryn Sophia was retired in 2016, after a third place finish to Songbird in the G1 Cotillon. She was bred to Pioneerof the Nile in 2017.

With Cathryn Sophia’s win I was reminded of those fickle racing gods, who never fail to make me doubt myself, while assuring that each Kentucky Oaks is an adventure in its own right.

Postscript

Thoroughbred racing is more often than not the theatre par excellence of sports. With their rich history and tradition, classic races like the Oaks are punctuated by triumph and loss, and the promise of hope and possibility. The dramatis personae may change from one year to the next, but the tone and message endure.

On Oaks day, these elements help to construct a rare opportunity — that of slipping away from daily cares to take your place in a country of dreams, dreamers and magnificent fillies.

KENTUCKY OAKS 2009: RACHEL and Calvin, coming home.

Imagine, if you will, the world of thoroughbred racing without sires like Northern Dancer, Sunday Silence, Halo, Mr. Prospector, Seattle Slew or their descendants: Sadler’s Wells, A.P. Indy, Galileo, Tapit, Sebring, Deep Impact, Medaglia d’Oro, Snitzel, Dubawi, King Kamehameha,  or the late Street Cry…………. 

Named the top two year-old of the last century (John Randall and Tony Morris in ” A Century of Champions”) The Tetrarch ran only as a juvenile and proved a shy, disinterested stud, siring only 130 foals before retiring to become a pleasure horse.

Remarkably, his influence is such that The Tetrarch appears in the pedigrees of most modern thoroughbreds worldwide, making him a huge influence on the breed. Each entry in the 2017 Kentucky Derby carried The Tetrarch in his pedigree. And you can bet that the winners at Royal Ascot 2017 have a 95% or better chance of carrying The Tetrarch in their pedigrees too.

The Tetrarch might well have been the very best there ever was. 

THE TETRARCH displays his famous chubari, or Tetrarch, spots. In the early decades of the last century, these markings were so strange that they sometimes inspired fear among the superstitious. Shown here as a two year-old.

Of course, The Tetrarch did not rise to legendary status on his own. He was an unruly individual and it took three other equally tough, Irish characters — the renowned trainer Henry “Atty” Persse, stable lad Dick McCormick and the legendary jockey, Steve Donaghue — to get him right.

But before Atty, Dick or Steve laid eyes on him, The Tetrarch began life as the offspring of a stallion described as a “plodder,” who had been purchased by one Edward Kennedy of Straffon Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. Kennedy was a rich cattle owner who developed a taste for thoroughbreds and was determined to revive the Herod male line in Great Britain. This determination may well have stemmed from the fact that Herod was a direct descendant of the Byerly Turk, who, with his owner, Captain Robert Byerly of the Sixth Dragoon Guards, had spent time in Ireland in the late seventeenth century. In 1690, records show that the “Byerly charger” won a flat race, the Silver Bell,  on Down Royal in Northern Ireland.

The BYERLY TURK, one of three sire lines to which all thoroughbreds can be traced.

HEROD, together with MATCHEM and ECLIPSE, is a foundation sire of the thoroughbred breed. HEROD was a direct descendant of the BYERLY TURK.

Herod (originally King Herod, 1758-1780) is one of three foundation stallions from which the thoroughbred descends. Like the better-known Eclipse, Herod was also bred by Prince William, The Duke of Cumberland, the youngest son of King George II.

Herod is the foundation sire who represents the Byerly Turk sire line and he was a fine racehorse who began his career as a five year-old, the usual age that thoroughbreds started their racing careers in the eighteenth century. He raced until he was eight, winning at a preferred distance of four miles in several races at Newmarket. But it was really as a sire that Herod would make his lasting contribution to the sport. Although he sits very far back in The Tetrarch’s pedigree, Rouge Rose, a direct descendant of Herod appears in the colt’s pedigree on both top and bottom.

ROI HERODE, sire of THE TETRARCH.

Always on the lookout for a Herod descendant, Edward Kennedy finally found a horse that caught his eye at Doncaster in 1909, where the French-bred Roi Herode finished in second place in the Doncaster Cup. This race was arguably Roi Herode’s absolutely best lifetime performance and Kennedy bought him, intending to race the five year-old for at least another year before sending him to the breeding shed. But, as luck would have it, Roi Herode broke down shortly thereafter.

The breeding season was almost over, so Kennedy bred him to one of his own mares, Vahren, a granddaughter of the great Bend Or, another Herod descendant. But Kennedy’s expectations regarding the union were likely moderate. Vahren had produced two decent fillies before The Tetrarch, but neither could have been considered brilliant.

VAHREN, by the 2000 Guineas winner BONA VISTA (BEND OR) was lightly raced, winning only three minor races before retirement.

The Tetrarch came into the world on April 22, 1911 as a chestnut with dark spots. It is an irony in the narrative of so many great thoroughbreds that they are often dismissed at birth by their breeders for any number of reasons, including their lack of beauty. And The Tetrarch was no different: not particularly appealing as a youngster, his “coarse looks” were only exacerbated by the changes in his coat. Already huge for his age at six months, the emergence of a peculiar grey coat made him look distinctly odd, so much so that this was all anyone really seemed to notice about him. The youngster’s coat featured huge Chubari (later renamed “Tetrarch”) spots that gave an overall appearance described best by Steve Donaghue:  “…he was a sort of elephant grey with big splotches of lime colour, looking as though someone had splashed him all over with handfuls of wet lime…” (in Just My Story by Steve Donoghue, pp. 138)

Little surprise, then, when a fellow horseman advised Kennedy to geld the yearling and train him for the chase, rather than send him to the sales at Doncaster.

THE TETRARCH as he may have looked during his racing career.

But Edward Kennedy had his mind made up and off the colt went to auction, where he was promptly purchased by Henry Seymour aka “Atty” Persse. Of course, Kennedy had a pretty good idea that the hammer would fall to the trainer. Atty had conditioned both Roi Herode for Kennedy, as well as the colt’s half-sister, Nicola, and the trainer liked the family. The colt was, as Atty saw, well-made with a broad, intelligent head and looked like a 3 year-old. However, Atty wasn’t the only bidder impressed by the Roi Herode-Vahren colt and he had to go to 1300 guineas to secure him. But, as was usual for the trainer, Atty planned to sell The Tetrarch on at a higher price, thus making a profit, albeit a small one, given the handsome sum he had originally paid. Before the year was out, Atty had sold The Tetrarch to his cousin, Major Dermot McAlmont. He made no profit on the transaction.

Atty was forty-three years old when he first laid eyes on The Tetrarch. The Persse family of County Galway were large in number and wealthy. They had interests in everything from real estate to local governance to high culture. The fifth of ten children, Atty was brought up like an aristocrat, graduating from Oxford with an M.A. before turning his heel on England and heading off to America to ride steeplechasers with the Meadowbrook Hounds. Returning to his homeland, Atty continued to build a reputation over courses in Great Britain and Europe until debilitating injuries put an end to his riding career.

Young ATTY PERSSE.

In 1902, he began training horses in a yard near Dublin and by 1906 he had set himself up on the downs at Chattis Hill near Stockbridge in Hampshire, England. Atty already had a reputation for excellence well before The Tetrarch came along, but his relationship with his employees has been variously described as cruel, bloody-minded, mean and dictatorial.

Some speculate that the chronic pain of his jumping injuries may have been largely responsible for this; others, that he was an aristocrat dealing with a dime-a-dozen work force of boys — and treated them accordingly.

His stable lads, most of whom were under fifteen years of age, signed contracts to work for Atty that stipulated what they could and could not do. Working hours were of indeterminate length; sleeping quarters were above the stable, where the boys were locked in overnight; and they entitled to one day off a year. However, there were meals and wages provided, and for boys with neither prospects nor training, this seemed to be enough, even though few lasted for more than a year.

Secrecy was as paramount in Atty’s yard as hard work, mainly because the trainer made a small fortune at betting. A favourite strategy was to place a very good horse that no-one knew anything about in a race where his odds were say, 60-1, and then bet on him/her to win. The resulting income may not have been essential, but Atty really got a kick out of taking the bookmakers to the cleaners.

However, when it came to training thoroughbreds, Atty Persse was arguably a genius. Trainers like Cecil Boyd-Rochfort, the stepfather of the late Sir Henry Cecil, apprenticed under him and considered him comparable to none. (Boyd-Rochfort was Champion British flat racing trainer five times and perhaps most famously, was trainer to George VI, the father of HM Queen Elizabeth II.)

Dick McCormack, one of the lads in Atty’s yard who would rise to the position of head lad and apprentice trainer, attempted to welcome the colt with the funny spots on his arrival, but that proved almost impossible. Given his imposing size, The Tetrarch was so unruly as to be dangerous.

But Dick was one of Atty’s most trusted apprentices and the trainer let him get on with gentling the colt and giving him his early training, begin with lungeing. As The Tetrarch and the boy got to know one another, trust grew. Throughout his brief racing career, Dick was the only other person who could ride The Tetrarch other than jockey and fellow Irishman, Steve Donoghue. According to McCormick’s son, Richard, “My father was one of only two people to ever to ride The Tetrarch…The other one was his racecourse jockey Steve Donoghue who later wrote Dick was the only man able sit on him long enough to stay there. If he hadn’t been around, the horse may well have been cut (gelded) and that would have changed things a lot.” (Excerpt from Colin Greaves’ article in the Irish Examiner, March 2017)

Dick McCormick riding THE TETRARCH. Dick was the only other person to ever ride the colt and knew him best of all.

Even in Dick’s able hands, The Tetrarch had shown something of himself that was rather unique: he essentially trained himself. Jockey Steve Donoghue, who likely heard a recount from Dick McCormick, tells it like this:

“…Even when first in the side-reins, he seemed to know all about it beforehand and to require no teaching, and as for going through the starting-gate, he only saw the tapes once before he ran and won at Newmarket…I always said from the first day I rode him that this was ‘his second time on earth’! He had in my opinion experienced it all before, in everything connected with racing…” (in Just My Story by Steve Donoghue, pp. 139)

Atty brought each individual along at their own pace. The Tetrarch was still growing and even when Dick had the colt well in hand, he wasn’t really put into a training regimen, with the result that he was far behind the other two year-olds in the Chattis Hill stable.

As the story is famously told, a day came when Atty asked Dick to saddle up The Tetrarch for a run across the downs with some of the trainer’s other two year-olds.

It was not easy to surprise Atty, but the day of The Tetrarch’s first run sure did.

The colt jumped out with the others and in less than two furlongs, he left them behind in the dust. Atty couldn’t decide if this was a fluke.

THE TETRARCH, Steve Donoghue up.

So he sent him out again with a very good, seven year-old called Captain Symons whom Atty relied upon to help him cull out really promising youngsters. To make it a fair contest, Atty applied weight-for-age, meaning that The Tetrarch was weighted down with an additional twenty-one lbs. in lead weights. Added to the mix were two other very good horses. In addition, Atty asked jockey Steve Donoghue to ride The Tetrarch for the first time. Off they went and the same thing happened, Steve reporting that the colt almost pulled his arms out of their sockets as he galloped along.

Below, a taste of “the gallops” today. The Tetrarch did his gallops over the grass on the downs near Atty’s stable where there was likely little fencing, as you see here:

The third time out, racing against a very good and speedy four year-old mare, Noramac, Steve thought he heard Atty shouting at him half-way through the trial. As The Tetrarch sailed along, Noramac was nowhere in sight. When jockey and colt returned to the trainer, Donoghue inquired whether or not something was wrong.

To which Atty responded, “Oh, no. I was only shouting to the lad on the mare to tie her onto the grey’s tail!” (in Just My Story by Steve Donoghue, pp. 141)

At two, THE TETRARCH was as big as a four year-old. For this reason, trainer Atty Persse was slow to start his training regime. But it didn’t seem to matter. The colt seemed to know how to do everything without anybody teaching him how to do it.

A rare and lovely silent video of the 1923 Derby at Epsom, won by the great Steve Donoghue and Papyrus. The two would later travel to the USA to race against Zev:

The Tetrarch’s first start came at Newmarket, on April 17, 1913. As might have been expected, Donoghue and the big grey were teased before the race, some asking if The Tetrarch wasn’t actually a much older horse, others referring to him as a “Rocking Horse” because of his unique markings. The pair took it all in good fun.

But when the tape went up, The Tetrarch jumped out, blazing along to take his maiden race by a good four lengths. But it could have been by twenty  — and everyone knew it. Even the other jockeys, riding out after the finish, pronounced The Tetrarch a “wonder-horse.” (Below: The Tetrarch shares a page in The Illustrated London News [1913] with the higly-rated Prince Palatine.)

And so it went all through The Tetrarch’s two year-old season, and the public fell in love with him. One distinguished stakes race after another fell to the “dynamic duo” of British racing: the Coventry, the Champagne, the Woodcote, the Rous Memorial and the National Breeders Produce Stakes.

The last of these saw The Tetrarch’s closest finish — he won it by a neck.

But the reason for that was simple enough to explain and Donoghue did so publicly, in an effort to dispel some of the opinions in the press: The Tetrarch had misjudged the start. The colt was always speedy at the jump out, quick to anticipate when the tape was about to drop. But in the National Breeders Produce Stakes, he moved forward too quickly, forcing Donoghue to pull him back and as he did, the tape went up and the race was on. Leaping forward, The Tetrarch was caught on the shoulder by another horse and nearly toppled forward.

It was a cloudy day and no-one in the stands really saw the start. It was also a holiday, so Sandown Park was packed with people, many of whom had come there to see The Phenom of 1913. Too, it was a valuable race and as the field rushed away from them, Donoghue knew he had to get his colt balanced and then coax him to run.

“Coax” was the operative word: The Tetrarch needed to always be on the lead. He had won every race before this one on the lead because he tended to “sulk” if asked to rate off the pace. By the time that Donoghue had the colt ready to go, the rest of the field was 20 lengths away. By mid-field, the colt had managed to pass two stragglers. With only 100 yards to the finish, The Tetrarch had two lengths to make up. He began a furious charge, with Donoghue urging him on with his hands, to win by a neck.

Many felt it was the best performance of The Tetrarch’s brief career.

Steve Donoghue and “The Spotted Wonder.”

Having ridden many champion thoroughbreds, among them Papyrus, Brown Jack and Captain Cuttle, Steve would always say that The Tetrarch was one of the greatest he ever rode. No small bow from the man who had won six Epsom Derbies, two Epsom Oaks and St. Legers, as well as three 2000 Guineas:

“…He was a magnificent creature — a super-horse. I have never during the whole of my career ridden another horse that gave me the feeling of immense power behind the saddle that The Tetrarch did. The leverage of his hind quarters was so great that as he galloped one was fairly lifted from the saddle. The terrific speed he displayed seem to be all impelled from behind. To be on him was like riding a creature that combined the power of an elephant with the speed of a greyhound. He was, indeed, a ‘wonder-horse.'” (in Just My Story by Steve Donoghue, pp 139)

THE TETRARCH winning the Woodcote Stakes, Steve Donoghue up.

The “Spotted Wonder” as he was fondly dubbed enjoyed the popularity of a Zenyatta or a Treve or a Caravaggio. The colt was already in the betting to win most of the three year-old classics, including the Epsom Derby. None expected that the final race of his two year-old season would be his last.

Then, suddenly, it all went terribly wrong.

THE TETRARCH’S two year-old season, captured in photo and drawing.

The Tetrarch had a bad habit of crossing his forelegs — or “plaiting” — when he walked or slowed up after a work or a race. Unable to correct this, Atty Persse had special shoes put on the colt’s forelegs that were shaved back, so that, should he catch himself, The Tetrarch would escape injury. The trainer was quoted as saying that you could “actually hear it” when the colt plaited and that it had been a serious concern since he had first arrived in Persse’s yard.

And it was, indeed, the plaiting that would end The Tetrarch’s career. It first happened shortly after the end of his two year-old campaign. Even pin-firing the foreleg didn’t help, as the colt struck himself again and this time, the injury was career-ending.

In Atty’s view, it was best to retire him and so, with his public jolted from worry to despair about first the silence surrounding their hero’s preparation for his three year-old season and then the announcement of his retirement, the colt was sent back to Ireland, to Thomastown Stud in Kilkenny where he stood his first season in 1915. The following year, The Tetrarch moved to Ballylinch Stud, where he lived until his death in 1935.

The Tetrarch proved an indifferent stud, or a “shy” breeder, siring only 130 foals during his breeding career. Although he never reproduced himself, he got some very good colts and was the leading sire in 1919. One son, Stefan the Great, is a great grandsire in the female family of Triple Crown winner Count Fleet, himself a superb sire and the BM sire of Kelso.

But his most brilliant offspring was “The Flying Filly,” Mumtaz Mahal, who was purchased by the Aga Khan, to whom is owed the founding of a thoroughbred dynasty through the Mumtaz Mahal’s daughters: Mumtaz Begum (Blenheim) dam of Nasrullah (Nearco); Mah Mahal (Gainsborough) dam of Mahmoud (Blenheim); Mah Iran (Bois Roussel) dam of Migoli who sired Gallant Man and also the dam of Star of Iran and grandam of champion Petite Etoile; and Rustom Mahal (Rustom Pasha) dam of Abernant (Owen Tudor), from whom a number of champions of the British turf descend. In the USA, two other daughters of The Tetrarch, La Dauphine who got champion Anita Peabody(Luke McLuke) and Herodias from whom Prince John and Lamb Chop descend, also made their mark.

The brilliant MUMTAZ MAHAL was dubbed “The Flying Filly” by British racegoers. Painting by Lionel Edwards.

But when we say that thoroughbreds worldwide carry The Tetrarch in their pedigrees, including those running in 2017, we refer principally to the overwhelming influence of Nasrullah and Mahmoud on the breed.

From the Nasrullah sire line comes Grey Sovereign, Bold Ruler (sire of Secretariat, grandsire of Spectacular Bid, great grandsire of Seattle Slew, great great grandsire of A.P. Indy), Nashua (BM sire of Mr. Prospector and Roberto), Nantallah (dam of Moccasin, Thong and Ridan, grandam of Nureyev and great grandam of Sadler’s Wells), Red God (sire of Blushing Groom) and Never Bend (sire of Mill Reef, grandsire of Shirley Heights). From this Tetrarch descendant alone comes any thoroughbred who descends from any of Nasrullah’s sons and their individual sire lines.

From the Mahmoud sire line comes most importantly Northern Dancer, through his dam Natalma, a granddaughter of Mahmoud. Any thoroughbred who descends from Northern Dancer — including names like Nijinsky, Sadler’s Wells, Istabraq, Danehill, Galileo, Yeats, and, of course, the mighty Frankel — would never have come to be without some help from The Tetrarch.

In addition, Cosmah (whose sire Cosmic Bomb was also a Tetrarch descendant) out of Almahmoud, Mahmoud’s daughter, was the dam of Queen Sucree (Ribot), herself the dam of Cannonade. The brilliant HOF Tosmah (Tim Tam) was also a daughter of Cosmah. But Cosmah’s most influential progeny was undoubtedly Halo (Hail To Reason) who is, most importantly for this discussion, the sire of Sunday Silence. In other words, the Japanese thoroughbred champions that descend from Sunday Silence, including the prepotent Deep Impact, owe their existence — at least in part — to The Tetrarch as well.

Simply put, the world of contemporary thoroughbred racing would be impossible to imagine without these champions, all descendants of The Tetrarch.

And, for those who only focus on the first five generations of a champion’s pedigree, consider this: without The Tetrarch’s influence, all of the individuals featured here would never have come into being.

And the list goes on and on and on…………

References

The Tetrarch. The Spotted Wonder. AuthorHouseuK, 2014

(Note: Yes, The Tetrarch is the narrator of his own biography and that fact led me to debate on reading the book. But when I decided to buy it, I was pleasantly surprised. Beautifully researched and the “horse’s voice” is never soppy or humanized — it’s simply the vehicle for telling The Tetrarch’s astounding story. Available also on Kindle.)

Mortimer, Roger. Twenty Great Horses of the British Turf. New York: A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc., 1967.

Donoghue, Steve. Just My Story. London: Hutchison & Co. No publication date.

Karen, Frances J. The Tetrarch: The Story Behind The Spotted Wonder. In Trainer Magazine, Issue 50, July-September 2015.

Greaves, Colin. Charles Haughey’s Balidaress. In the Irish Examiner, March 30, 2017 edition. (Note: Provided some insight into the story of Dick McCormick, The Tetrarch’s best friend and the person who knew him best.)

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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By the end of 2017 Royal Ascot, Scat Daddy was back in the news. With four winners over five days, he was the top sire at Ascot. Some of us weren’t surprised. 

The great Mick Kinane gives JOHANNESBURG a well-deserved pat after the 2 year-old’s win the the 2001 BC Juvenile.

INTRODUCTION

As in education, the thoroughbred sport and industry owes its sensibility to the metaphor of the machine, that which produces and reproduces a perfect product. But this mechanistic process and the lexicon that frames it take little account of what real development looks like.

In “machine dreams,” an individual with genuine ability is expected to develop along an established continuum, reaching their apex at an appropriate, pre-established moment. In thirty-six years in education, I had few students that arrived at their very best exactly before their final evaluation was issued, and I doubt that thoroughbreds are any different. Development does not proceed along a linear path; rather, it is iterative, moving forward and circling back, only to move forward again.

So it is that neither Johannesburg nor his son, Scat Daddy conform to expectations that accrue to a smooth, linear and machine-like development. The former was a brilliant two year-old who never rose to the same heights as a three year-old. Scat Daddy was a promising colt whose career was cut short in his second season and who then, as a consequence, joined the ranks of young sires who need much support to make any mark at all in the sales ring. Thanks largely to the positive reception both got in South America, their careers as stallions were able to flourish.

The daughter of HYPERION is the grandam of NORTHERN DANCER. Source: France Galop

The science of breeding itself is fraught with imponderables in which success often takes decades. Prince Khalid Abdullah cultivated his stock for thirty-five years before the arrival of Frankel. Galileo’s story began when a pregnant mare, Lady Angela, a daughter of Hyperion, stepped off a steamer in Toronto, Canada. Her foal, Nearctic, would sire Northern Dancer. Tapit took three generations to arrive on the scene and even then, having only managed two stakes wins before his retirement and an “up and down” three year-old campaign, could well have been ignored by breeders.

Scan any pedigree and it emerges with startling clarity: how the genes of their ancestors cross and inter-lace like the most exquisite of tapestries in the making of a thoroughbred. It would appear that the breed owes far more to the process of iterative development than it does to the mathematics of Euclid.

JOHANNESBURG

In the 2001 Breeders Cup, the juvenile that sparked the most interest was Coolmore’s Johannesburg, a son of Hennessy (Storm Cat) out of Myth (Ogygian).

Johannesburg came to North America a champion two year-old, undefeated in six starts, with wins in the UK and Europe:

In 2001, what the Storm Cats shared on either side of the Atlantic was blazing speed, suggesting a strong sprinter profile. Johannesburg’s sire, Hennessy, had only raced at two and therefore had no three year-old form, even though he was considered the best of Storm Cat’s sons at stud at the time.

The colt’s dam, Island Kitty, a daughter of Hawaii, certainly came from a stamina background.

Hawaii, bred in South Africa, was purchased by Charles Engelhardt of Nijinsky fame after a championship season in South Africa and raced to stardom in the USA, winning the United Nations H., Man O’ War S. (NTR), Stars And Stripes H., Sunrise H., and the Bernard Baruch H. as a five year-old. He stood at Claiborne Farm upon his retirement.

As a broodmare, Island Kitty not only produced Hennessy, but got Shy Tom (Blushing Groom) an earner of over 800,000 USD who became a very successful sire in Argentina, plus two very good fillies in Pearl City (Carson City) and Wild Kitty (Bold Bidder).

ISLAND KITTY with her BFF TERLINGUA in the background. Photo and copyright (I believe) Audrey Crosby McLellan.

HAWAII, beautifully depicted by the late Richard Stone Reeves.

HENNESSY during his racing career. Photo and copyright Lisa Kryston.

Bringing their undefeated juvenile to a Breeders Cup was a smart strategic move on the part of the Coolmore “lads” and a means of enhancing Johannesburg’s future as a stallion prospect. But the gamble was huge: the colt had only ever raced at 6f on the turf and would now be asked to take on 8.5f on the dirt at Belmont. It was the test of a champion.

In brilliant style, Johannesburg handed O’Brien and Coolmore their first Breeders Cup Juvenile win, showing that he could stay the distance — and win under conditions that were brand new to him.

Even though Tiznow would come back to win an unprecedented second Breeders Cup Classic in 2001 and in so doing, help to heal the hearts of America in the year of 9-11, for many it was Johannesburg’s win that stood out as the race of BC 2001.

JOHANNESBURG the stallion. Conformation shot, JBIS.

Breathtaking as his juvenile campaign had been, resulting in both the Cartier and Eclipse 2001 Two Year-Old Championships, 2002 was not a good year for Johannesburg. Trainer O’Brien would later admit that he may well have pushed the colt too far too fast in 2001: Johannesburg’s three year-old season ended with a second in the Gladness Stakes as his best performance. In the 2002 Kentucky Derby he was unplaced, finishing eighth. It was better than half the rest of the field, but it made a poor impression on those who remembered his brilliance at two and half-expected him to blaze to victory again.

Retired to Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Johannesburg joined Giant’s Causeway as the “British contingent,” the idea being that despite a poor three year-old season, the colt would appeal to American breeders. During this time, he also shuttled to Coolmore Australia, as well as to Argentina.

JOHANNESBURG at Ashford Stud, Kentucky.

However, despite producing Scat Daddy (USA), Teuflesburg (USA), Baroness Thatcher (USA), Sageburg (IRE) and Turffontein (AUS) from his very first crop in 2004, and earning Leading Freshman Sire of 2006 in the USA, the decision was made in 2009 to sell Johannesburg to the Japanese Bloodhorse Breeders Association.

Off he went to Shizunai Stallion Station on the island of Hokkaido where he stands with notables like Cape Blanco, Came Home, Aldebaran, Squirtle Squirt and the more recent acquisitions, Creator and Eskendereya.

HELENA BAY (2006) and one of her foals. Source: Pedigree Query

Red Jazz (USA), Horai Akiko (JPN), Juhaya (ARG) and Once Were Wild (AUS) top the list of Johannesburg’s best later progeny and in 2013 Johannesburg was crowned Japanese Champion Freshman Sire. As a BM sire, he is represented by two very good offspring out of Baroness Thatcher (who now is part of Katsumi Yoshida’s broodmare band) in Hilda (JPN) and Night Baron (JPN). Another daughter, Helena Bay, who raced in Canada, produced Collected (2013), who just ran to a stunning win in the Precisionist Stakes (June 24, 2017):

Still active at the age of eighteen, Johannesburg has become a sire of sires, principally through sons Sageburg (Peace Burg and Si Sage), Turffontein (Fontein Ruby, Lyuba, Fontiton) Teuflesburg (Trinniberg, Nofinancingneeded, ), Marcavelly (Killin Me Smalls, Quidi Vidi) and Scat Daddy.

SCAT DADDY

SCAT DADDY at stud. Photo: Ashford/Coolmore

Based on earnings and stud record, it is Scat Daddy who stands out as his sire’s best son.

Out of the unraced Love Style (Mr. Prospector), Scat Daddy was bred by the Swiss publisher and racing enthusiast Alex Ward. The bay colt came into the world in 2004. He took his name not from the scat of the jazz world, but from his owner, James T. Scatuorchio, a Wall Street banker, for whom he was purchased by trainer Todd Pletcher as a yearling for $250,000 USD.

Inbred 4X2 to Mr. Prospector and 5X4 to Northern Dancer, Scat Daddy was a product of two powerful influences stemming from both his sire line and female family. The incomparable Mr. Prospector was an American sire who knew no equal. American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner, is a direct line descendant and the 32nd American classic winner who descends from Mr. Prospector. And the Northern Dancer influence is well documented.

The best of the best: MR. PROSPECTOR.

In his two year-old campaign, Scat Daddy broke his maiden at first asking and then went on to win the prestigious Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, where he beat another son of Johannesburg in Teuflesburg. It was an impressive rally for a colt making only his second start, and it caught the attention of Coolmore’s Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who immediately purchased a share in him.

After running second to Coolmore’s Circular Quay in the Hopeful, Scat Daddy returned to Belmont to take the Champagne Stakes from another very promising two year-old, Nobiz Like Shobiz:

Winning the Sanford and the Champagne are major steps to becoming a serious prospect on the “Triple Crown Trail” that begins with the Kentucky Derby. Scat Daddy wrapped up his juvenile season by finishing second overall on the Experimental Free Handicap to another brilliant two year-old, Street Sense.

SCAT DADDY during his racing career. Source: internet. No other information available.

With the rest of the Pletcher stable, Scat Daddy went off to winter in Florida. Two races run there that are considered key indicators for three year-old colts on the Triple Crown Trail are the G2 Fountain of Youth and the G1 Florida Derby.

After a third place finish to Nobiz Like Shobiz and Stormello in the Holy Bull Stakes (his first start as a three year-old) Scat Daddy reappeared in the Fountain of Youth:

In the mean time, the Carl Nafzger-trained Street Sense (Street Cry X Bedazzle by Dixieland Band), also wintering in Florida, took the Tampa Bay Derby, defeating another very good colt in Any Given Saturday (Distorted Humor X Weekend in Indy by A.P. Indy). Street Sense had won the Breeders Cup Juvenile at two and the win was also a new track record for the distance.

March also brought another promising three year-old into the limelight. Curlin (Smart Strike X Sherriff’s Deputy by Deputy Minister) was unraced at two, due largely to court battles involving his owners and trainer Ken McPeek. By March 2007, the colt’s new owners were a racing partnership headed by Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Farm. His debut in February as a maiden was an absolute stunner for his connections and his trainer, Steve Asmussen:

Back Curlin came in March to win the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas, before going on to win the Arkansas Derby by 8 lengths a few short weeks later. In the first three races of his career, Curlin had vanquished the field by a combined 28 1/2 lengths.

Back at the Pletcher barn, Scat Daddy was being readied for a start in the G1 Florida Derby, run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby. The son of Johannesburg came through to win decisively, stamping his ticket to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May:

On Kentucky Derby day, Curlin and Street Sense were installed as favourites.. And, besides Scat Daddy, there were other challengers who could well upset the favourites: Hard Spun (Danzig), Nobiz Like Shobiz (Albert The Great), Stormello (Stormy Atlantic), Any Given Saturday, Teuflesburg (Johannesburg), Circular Quay (Thunder Gulch) and Tiago (Pleasant Tap).

Scat Daddy would have his work cut out for him. He broke from post position fourteen in the twenty horse field:

Scat Daddy finished up fourteenth. The fact that the brilliant Curlin only managed to get up for third didn’t help ease the disappointment. Shortly thereafter came the news that, having been bumped and jostled back, Scat Daddy had sustained a tendon injury to his right foreleg during the race.

Tendon injuries can heal, but as it would take at least ninety days, the colt would miss most of the key races that remained in 2007. Scat Daddy was retired to Ashford Stud in Kentucky with a record of 9-5-1-1 and earnings of over one million USD.

SCAT DADDY at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. Photo: Ashford/Coolmore

Could Ashford have predicted that Scat Daddy’s explosive turn of foot would rate as a footnote to his qualities as a sire?

The young sire didn’t come out blazing with his first crop, as have young stallions like Coolmore’s Uncle Mo, and perhaps because of the parallels to his sire’s career on the track, American breeders were wary. By 2011, when Scat Daddy sat atop the American freshman sire list, his stud fee had plummeted from $30,000 to just $11,000 USD.

Looking to give the son of Johannesburg a decent chance at stud, Coolmore cast its eye around the globe. Australia didn’t seem an option, since Johannesburg’s record there had been dismal, although he had gotten two stakes winners in Turffontein and Once Were Wild.

The decision was made to shuttle Scat Daddy to Chile, to Haras Paso Nevado. It turned out to be fortuitous: so influential did he prove when teamed up with Chilean bloodstock that Scat Daddy topped the Chilean Champion sire list for two consecutive years, from 2013-2015. The “Galileo of Chile” — as he was dubbed by Chilean breeders — made such a splash that in 2012 his full brother, Grand Daddy, was acquired (on loan) to stand at another Chilean breeder, Haras Mocito Guapo. And although Grand Daddy hardly tore up the tracks in the USA, in Chile he is well on his way to becoming a smashing sire, just like his big brother.

Notable Scat Daddy progeny in Chile include the millionaire Dacita, as well as Cimalta, Southern Cat, Wapi, Solaria, Il Campione and The Dream. In the same week as Royal Ascot 2017, Ruby Love (#17 in white noseband below) gave her sire another Grade One winner when capturing the Clasico Arturo Lyon Pena in Santiago (Chile). Ruby Love remains undefeated in three starts and looks to be another exciting Scat Daddy filly:

In America and Great Britain, Scat Daddy made his first big splash in 2012 with sons Handsome Mike, Daddy Long Legs and Daddy Nose Best and daughter, Lady of Shamrock.

LADY OF SHAMROCK’S first foal, the filly SILENT WAR (War Front) was a maiden winner in France in June 2017. SILENT WAR is owned by Wertheimer & Frere and trained by the great Freddy Head.

Handsome Mike winning the 2012 Pennsylvania Derby for owner Paul Reddam. Retired with winnings in excess of a million USD, he now stands at stud in Florida:

In 2013, Scat Daddy’s stars of 2012 were joined by No Nay Never, Dice Flavor, Frac Daddy and Solaria.

2014 brought El Kabeir to the table in the USA, while American-bred Acapulco shone at Royal Ascot. A brilliant juvenile, Zayat Stables El Kabeir was a 2015 Kentucky Derby favourite but was withdrawn due to injury. Below, two year-old El Kabeir makes a stunning debut at Saratoga:

As 2014 drew to a close, breeders, owners and racing fans around the globe were beginning to sit up and take notice of Scat Daddy progeny.

Then, on December 14, 2015, tragedy struck: as he was led out of his paddock at Ashford, Scat Daddy dropped dead of an apparent heart attack. He was only eleven years old.

SCAT DADDY at Ashford in Kentucky. His premature death at the age of eleven shocked and saddened his owners together with breeders and thoroughbred enthusiasts around the world.

Through 2016 and 2017, the deep significance of Scat Daddy’s loss has become painfully apparent. His progeny were making their mark around the world, but it was on the big stage of Royal Ascot 2016 that two of his offspring dazzled.

Looking for all the world like his sire, Coolmore’s Caravaggio showed a speedy turn of foot to win the Coventry Stakes. But the race that sparked the most chatter was Lady Aurelia’s Queen Mary win  — and not only because she was an American-bred. Since Frankel, there had not been such a dominant performance by any two year-old at Royal Ascot:

If Royal Ascot 2016 was a credit to Scat Daddy, 2017 was an absolute triumph.

He ended the Ascot meet with more winners than any other stallion: Caravaggio in the Commonwealth Cup, Lady Aurelia in the  King’s Stand, Con Te Partiro in the  Sandringham and Sioux Nation in the Norfolk.

Trained by Wesley Ward and under the brilliant American jockey, John Velazquez, Lady Aurelia returned to the site of her juvenile victory to take the King’s Stand in breathtaking style. (Lady Aurelia #18 in the black & green silks):

Coolmore’s undefeated Caravaggio was a brilliant winner of the Commonwealth Cup. For those mourning the recent loss of his American BM sire, Holy Bull, who had died on June 8, Caravaggio’s victory was particularly poignant:

In Japan, on the last day of Ascot 2017, Scat Daddy landed his 9th winner from 12 starters in that country when two year-old Derma Kaseki (ex Tashawak by Night Shift) won at Hakodate in a thriller of a finish. About the same time, Inflexibility placed in both the Oaks and the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine in Canada for trainer Chad Brown. And early in July, Seahenge broke his maiden at Naas (IRE) for Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore.

Coolmore has a number of Scat Daddy colts and two year-old DALI is one of them. His BM sire is CAPE CROSS, sire of SEA THE STARS. DALI has made three starts, winning once. There will be more to come from this beautifully bred Scat Daddy. Photo and copyright, David Betts. Used with the permission of David Betts.

POSTSCRIPT

There is only one more crop of Scat Daddy foals to come and you can bet that the ones that come up at the sales will be the subject of fierce bidding, with big names like Coolmore and high-profile Japanese breeders leading the charge.There will be no replacing him, but with fine to brilliant progeny around the globe, Scat Daddy will undoubtedly remain an influence on the breed.

And this is how I choose to remember the dark bay colt I so loved: in his wake, echoes take on colour, heart, bone and sinew.

Bonus Feature:

With jockey Victor Espinoza at Ashford in Kentucky where he visits Scat Daddy:

France Sire visits Giant’s Causeway and Scat Daddy at Ashford (in French voiceover but English is still discernible):

SOURCES:

A special thank you to photographer David Betts for permission to use his photos (https://www.facebook.com/davidbettsphotos/) and to Paul Rhodes of http://www.aidanobrienfansite.com for his kindness in contacting David on my behalf.

Hunter,Avalyn.Scat Daddy.American Classic Pedigrees

http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com

Vlcek, Miloslav. Hennessey And His Line.On Black Type Pedigree

http://www.blacktypepedigree.com

The Racing Post for stud records of Johannesburg and Scat Daddy.

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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The influence of Holy Bull in Caravaggio’s bloodlines presents an exciting prospect. Coolmore’s gifted three year-old has already flashed brilliance on the turf. But this is just the beginning. 

The magnificent CARAVAGGIO and Davey Leigh, his lad. Photo and copyright, David Betts. Used with the permission of David Betts.

HOLY BULL, CARAVAGGIO’S BM SIRE

Bred by Pelican Farm, Holy Bull was a son of Tartan Farms’ Great Above, and the mare, Sharon Brown. Great Above was a useful stallion with a 71.2% strike rate from a total crop of 617 named foals. The stallion’s best progeny was Holy Bull; he was also the BM sire of the great Housebuster. Great Above’s dam, Ta Wee, was a two-time champion American sprinter and arguably one of the greatest distaffers of all time:

It was from his dam, Sharon Brown, that Holy Bull got his grey coat. The mare’s sire, Al Hattab, was a homozygous grey. Al Hattab was campaigned by Rachel Carpenter, Holy Bull’s first owner, and he won the Hutcheson and the Fountain of Youth in 1969. A direct descendant of The Tetrarch, Al Hattab (pictured below) carried Mumtaz Mahal 4X4 in his pedigree and held a distinct resemblance to Mahmoud.

The first time I saw Holy Bull race — in the Florida Derby — was enough to make him my (Kentucky) Derby favourite. It was a moving race to watch and that courageous heart seemed to jump out at you, even when it was mediated by a television screen.

Here he is winning the Florida Derby (#5), under a hand ride by Mike Smith. Dave Johnson calls the race:

“The Bull,” as he was affectionately dubbed, just rose above every other colt that season on the Derby Trail. And he didn’t appear to have a track preference — the Bull won short or long, on tracks from fast to sloppy. And, unlike many famous American thoroughbreds, his reputation had little to do with his performance in the prestigious Kentucky Derby:

Much to the perplexity of Hall of Fame trainer, Warren A. “Jimmy” Croll and Smith, their brilliant colt was a complete flop on the most important day of his young life. For those watching, Holy Bull’s loss was the kind of upset that the mind refuses to process.

Post-race, both Croll and Smith indicated that The Bull seemed not quite himself: he was sluggish and never really fired. According to multiple-award winning journalist, Steve Haskin, Croll would say until the day he died that someone had “gotten” to his colt, i.e. tampered with him in some way, likely with drugs.

Although this was never proven, the remainder of The Bull’s 1994 campaign was nothing if not brilliant. He took eight of ten Grade 1 races that year, to be awarded Eclipses for Champion Three Year-Old (Colt) and Horse of the Year. The legendary Daily Racing Form blazed the headline “Bullmania Sweeps The Nation” as Holy Bull’s 3 year-old campaign came to a close.

The Bull’s owner and trainer had inherited the colt from one of his longtime clients, Rachel Carpenter. Upon her death, the 73 year-old Croll became Holy Bull’s new owner.  Jimmy Croll had an eye for promising thoroughbreds: twenty years before The Bull came into his life, he had picked out two bay colts, Royal and Regal, a colt he took to the Kentucky Derby the year that Secretariat ran — and Mr. Prospector. As North American readers will know, Mr. Prospector turned out to be arguably the most important stallion in the history of American breeding.¹

Below, Jimmy Croll holding his two three year-olds, Royal And Regal and, in the foreground, Mr. Prospector.

ROYAL AND REGAL, Jimmy Croll, and in the foreground, MR. PROSPECTOR. In THE VAULT’S private collection. Photo and copyright: Associated Press/AP

In the 1994 Donn Handicap where he was pitted against another champion, Cigar, Holy Bull was pulled up suddenly by jockey Mike Smith. Here is how Kathleen Jones, writing in “Thoroughbred Champions: For the Fans of the Horse in Racing” described the scene:

“…Like man walking on the moon, we remember precisely where we were and what we were doing at the time. I recall the lump in my throat watching the iron horse coasting to a halt on the backstretch. The audible collective gasp of those packing the grandstand, the terror in the jockey’s eyes, the trembling voice of his trainer, and the tears of his groom are part of most people’s last image of this noble athlete. Agonizing hours passed as we waited for positive news and finally it came. Holy Bull would survive.”²

The positive news was that The Bull had strained ligaments and a bowed tendon, but even though ligaments and tendons heal, Croll made the painful decision to retire him. Mike Smith cancelled his other riding commitments, calling the moment “devastating” and adding, “I feel the life has come out of me.” And then his eyes filled with tears. Jimmy Croll was no less affected: “It’s over, it’s over. I said the day he retired would be the saddest day in my life. It happened a lot sooner than I expected.”³–¹

“It’s over, it’s over…” HOLY BULL and his owner, HOF trainer Jimmy Croll. Photo and copyright: NYT

Days later, leading his bandaged colt out of his stall on the backstretch for the last time, Croll added, “If he wasn’t Holy Bull, I’d bring him back to the races next year…I’m sorry we couldn’t finish the year with him. He would have gone out in a blaze of glory. He has courage and class. I’m going to miss him. Everybody’s going to miss him.”³–²

Retired to Jonabell Farm in Kentucky (later to become Darley) where he lived until the age of twenty-six, Holy Bull was never forgotten by his connections and his legions of fans, who proudly posted photos of him from their visits to Darley right up until this year, when the beloved HOF Champion died. The sire of BC winner, Macho Uno, and Giacomo, the winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby, as well as Flashy Bull, the winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap, it is to his daughters that The Bull has passed his legacy. Grade/Group One winners Judy The Beauty (out of Holy Blitz), Caravaggio (out of Mekko Hokte), Munnings (out of La Comete), Cairo Prince (out of Holy Bubbette) and most recently Holy Helena (out of Holy Grace), are so far the best. As of this writing, Holy Bull’s BM count stands at 50 winners and rising.

On his death on June 7, 2017, tributes sprung up all over social media. Here’s one that highlights Holy Bull’s greatest moments and features people who knew and loved him best, including Jimmy Croll, Mike Smith and legendary race commentator, Tom Durkin:

CARAVAGGIO

CARAVAGGIO’S dam, MEKKO HOKTE (Holy Bull), with her 2017 American Pharoah colt foal. The mare also had a filly, a full sibling to CARAVAGGIO, in 2016.

The flat racing season is in full bloom in the UK and part of what makes it an exciting year is the Aidan O’Brien-trained Caravaggio. Like his BM sire at the same age, the handsome grey is charismatic, courageous and has earned himself no shortage of admirers.

Here is the two year-old Caravaggio winning the G1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes:

From the 2014 crop of the late Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), Caravaggio was a superstar in 2016 and has continued to develop into a powerful and talented sprinter in his three year-old campaign. Ballydoyle’s champion three year-old may indeed be his father’s son in some ways, but in others he is without question the work of his champion BM sire. For starters, the overall resemblance in the conformation of Caravaggio and Holy Bull is striking:

HOLY BULL, the BM sire of CARAVAGGIO.

CARAVAGGIO pictured winning the G1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes in 2016.

There is no question that Caravaggio’s pedigree is a gift to the Coolmore broodmares, providing a potential outcross to the Danehill/Sadler’s Wells sire line. But with 3 X 5 to Mr. Prospector and a generous dose of both Intentionally and The Axe in his female family in the fifth generation, there are also other tantalizing influences in his bloodline. Intentionally, aka the “Black Bullet,” sired Ta Wee and In Reality, both important names in American thoroughbred history. The former was one of the greatest American sprinters of all time, herself a daughter of Aspidistra, one of Florida’s most influential broodmares, who is also the dam of the incomparable Dr. Fager. Too, the European champions Known Fact and son, Warning, descend from Intentionality’s sire line.

In Reality was an excellent sire who would have rated as an above-average runner had he been born in another year: Damascus and Dr., Fager, his contemporaries, rather bumped him off centre stage. Through In Reality, the sire line of the legendary Man O’ War continues through his progeny and their descendants. Sons Relaunch, With Anticipation and the only horse to have ever won the Breeders’ Cup Classic twice in a row, Tiznow, are the best progeny of In Reality.

The handsome IN REALITY carried on the sire line of MAN O’ WAR. He appears in CARAVAGGIO’S female family in the 4th generation. Of note is the conformation, especially the head, passed on to HOLY BULL and to CARAVAGGIO.

Through his female family, CARAVAGGIO carries some distinctive features of IN REALITY. Photo and copyright, David Betts. Used with the permission of David Betts.

Not a stretch to see why the decision was made to campaign Caravaggio as a sprinter, market preferences apart. His pedigree abounds with them, top and bottom. But Holy Bull won dominantly at distances over a mile, making it exciting to see whether or not Caravaggio carries this trait and expresses it to at least some of his offspring once he retires.

In the meantime, Caravaggio launched his three year-old season in May at Naas, after a layoff of ten months to heal an injured muscle in his ribcage. Colts coming off such a lengthly break often need a race just to get themselves back into the game:

Aidan O’Brien was well pleased with Caravaggio’s win, letting it be known that the colt would train on as a sprinter,“He’s showed nothing to say he wouldn’t get a mile. We worked him seven furlongs and the petrol gauge never shifted, but I was afraid that he was so quick that it would be the wrong thing to do. We could train him for a mile and go back, but we didn’t want to lose the brilliance.” (QIPCO British Champions Series website)

Appearing at Royal Ascot in June in the Commonwealth Cup, Caravaggio reared up in the stalls just before the start, making his win from mid-pack even more remarkable. It made for a thrilling race, what with Ryan Moore’s tactics as he brilliantly managed Caravaggio and Harry Angel vying for the lead:

But in the Darley July Cup, Caravaggio appeared not to really fire, breaking decidedly flat-footed from the stalls after again rearing up. For a sprinter, a clean break is all and without it, Caravaggio’s chances were compromised right from the start. The colt made an effort to catch the eventual winner Harry Angel near the line, but it was too little too late.

It was his first defeat of his career.

CARAVAGGIO at work at Ballydoyle in 2017. NAAS Racecourse photo.

Prior to the July Cup, the plan was to ship Caravaggio to Australia for the the 10 million (AUS) Everest at Randwick in October, the world’s richest turf race. The Maurice de Gheest on August 6 at Deauville — in which Caravaggio has been entered with a string of other Ballydoyle colts — may be a real possibility, but at this writing has yet to be confirmed. Depending on how the colt fares in the Maurice de Gheest, a decision will be made about shipping him to Australia and, possibly, to California for the BC Mile.

It only adds to the drama of the sport that Caravaggio lost the July Cup. For trainer O’Brien and Coolmore, losing is as much a part of racing as winning; it’s the mental strength and ability of their champion colts and fillies that count most.

“It was one of those days, they are only flesh and blood and we’ll look forward to him the next day,” O’Brien reflected, following Caravaggio’s loss.

CARAVAGGIO being cooled down after the Darley July Cup.

There is nothing to indicate that Caravaggio hasn’t trained on into his three year-old season: if anything, he’s a stronger and more confident colt. The acting up in the stalls will be addressed at Ballydoyle and once that’s corrected, he should be back to his best form in a sport that abounds with talented sprinters worldwide. To take the crown, Caravaggio will need to be the best of them and, as his connections know, that is no small feat.

If Caravaggio has indeed been kissed by an American legend, he won’t disappoint. In fact, he should fly over any turf under any conditions, powered by a grandsire whose heart never quit:

BONUS FEATURES

“Here he is … the immortal Holy Bull” Retired from stallion duties, Holy Bull parades at Darley in July 2012 for his many fans:

Darley’s stallion promo for Holy Bull:

SOURCES

¹ Haskin, Steve. The Blood Horse (online): Farewell To A Friend: RIP Holy Bull. June 8, 2017.

² Jones, Kathleen. “At Home With Holy Bull” in Thoroughbred Champions: For the Fans of the Horse in Racing, March 1996, Vol.3, No.2

³–¹ Durst, Joseph. Horse Racing: “Holy Bull Is Retired After Injury To Leg.” The New York Times, February 12, 1995.

³–² Durso, Joseph. Thoroughbred Racing: “Well Wishes For A Retiree In Barn 3.” The New York Times, February 13, 1995.

Aidan O’Brien Fan Site: http://www.aidanobrienfansite.com

Betts, David. Photography: https://www.facebook.com/davidbettsphotos/?fref=ts

Hunter, Avalyn. American Classic Pedigrees. http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com

A special thank you to Tom Durkin, for giving me a title for this article; to David Betts, for permission to feature a few of his fabulous photos; to Paul Rhodes of the Aidan O’Brien Fan Site for his support. 

*************************************************************************************NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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Penny Chenery, the owner of The Meadow and of thoroughbred champions, Riva Ridge and Secretariat, died on September 16, 2017 at the age of 95. And for many, Penny’s death was like losing a part of their own personal history.

Penny gives Ronnie a hug in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle, as Lucien, Eddie and Secretariat look on. Their big red horse had just won the Kentucky Derby.

When I lived my personal Secretariat story, live television was an extension of what was really happening in the “now.” We watched intently — whether The Beatles on Ed Sullivan or the Triple Crown races — and committed each and every detail to memory. Because, as in life, the only way to re-visit those moments was through significant images, sounds and words stored in the mind. It was in this world that Penny Chenery Tweedy opened her arms to welcome a nation of sports people and racing fans into the life and times of her Triple Crown winner, Secretariat, and the Meadow Stable Team.

Without the social media platforms we can access today, helping strangers to feel close to a champion who happened to be a horse was quite an accomplishment. But Penny did it by overcoming the distance, in both literal and figurative terms — talking with fans as she signed autographs, composing descriptions that jumped off a page, opening up before the cameras that followed her everywhere she went, and reaching out with a repertoire of expressions and gestures that signaled personal contact.

Every fan of Secretariat and of Penny’s beloved Riva Ridge has their own personal narrative of how and when and why they found their way into Penny’s embrace. This is mine.

Penny with RIVA RIDGE and her team following RIVA’s Belmont Stakes win. She would later say, “Secretariat belonged to the world, but Riva belonged to me.” Photo and copyright, Tony Leonard.

Like so many, Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes was so powerful as to become a life memory for me. Even without the replays I can access today, I could close my eyes and see my family and I in front of the television screen, hear Chick Anderson’s call, see again the tears my mother and I shed as the big red colt in the checkered blinkers came down the final stretch. If you were a Canadian, it was doubly powerful. Because the tiny figure astride Secretariat was Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte, and somewhere up there in the stands was Canadian trainer, Lucien Laurin. During a lull in the post-race coverage, my mother fiercely declared what all five of us were thinking, “Well, that’ll show everyone what Canadians can do!”

Every Canadian horse racing fan knew Ronnie Turcotte. Born in Drummond, New Brunswick, Turcotte was a French-Canadian who grew up in a family where the spoken language was French. There is a large francophone community in New Brunswick, some of whom have their roots in Quebec, as does Ronnie, who was born there. In the pre-social media world, Turcotte first came to prominence via his association with Northern Dancer, whom he had ridden in his maiden win and again at Woodbine when The Dancer was retired. In fact, it was with E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm that the 18 year-old was first taken on as a stable boy and hot walker. Turcotte rose to apprentice jockey and eventually started working for fellow Canadian trainer, Lucien Laurin, at his stable in Maryland.

Ronnie on NORTHERN DANCER following the colt’s maiden win. At this time, Ronnie was an apprentice jockey. When The Dancer was retired, it was Ronnie who rode him out for the final time.

Laurin’s career in horse racing began in 1929, as a jockey at Blue Bonnets in Montreal. After riding 161 race winners and battling with constant weight problems, Laurin began working as a trainer in New England in 1962, a job that would span 45 years and take him to the pinnacle of horse racing success. While working for two different stables, Laurin enjoyed a long and successful association with owner Reginald K. Webster, for whom he trained many good horses, including Quill, the 1958 American Champion 2 Year-Old Filly, and Amberoid, winner of the 1966 Wood Memorial and Belmont Stakes. However, for the majority of Canadians, Lucien Laurin’s name will always be associated with memories of Riva Ridge and Secretariat.

Penny and trainer, Lucien Laurin.

Penny and her Triple Crown colt were a distinctly Canadian affair for many of us who lived north of the forty-ninth parallel, and the pride this engendered was almost as huge as Secretariat’s fame. (Canadians are always proud when they garner attention from the USA, chiefly because, despite its geographical size, Canada has a much smaller population. In 1973, there were about twenty-two and a half million of us, in comparison to a little more than two hundred and eleven million in the USA.) So it was that when it was announced that Secretariat would run his last race in Canada, I was overwhelmed at Penny Chenery’s generosity. It was a great honour for Canadian racing fans and for Lucien Laurin and Ron Turcotte, Penny’s decision would never be forgotten.

Sports commentators were quick to remind the Canadian public that Man O’ War had also run his last race in Canada in 1920, when he took on (American) Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, to win The Kenilworth Park Gold Cup. The comparison was not lost on me. I often imagined that the big red horse of 1973 was a reincarnation of Man O’ War, to whom he seemed to bear an unmistakable resemblance. These imaginings were prompted by an awareness that, in witnessing the Secretariat narrative, I was in fact participating in a living history as great as those who saw Man O’ War run.

Ronnie’s last ride on SECRETARIAT came in an early morning workout over the Woodbine turf course. Photo and copyright, Ken Burns.

In October, when the Canadian International is run at Woodbine in Toronto, Canada,  I was training to be a teacher at McGill University. But this didn’t stop me ripping into newspapers from Toronto, Montreal and elsewhere, looking to see if there was any new “Secretariat coverage.” By today’s standards, the press was less than scanty: very few photos, some short reports. It was a cold, bleak month in Eastern Canada and it suddenly became even darker when I learned that Ronnie Turcotte would not get to ride Secretariat in his final race. In my eyes, Secretariat and Ronnie were one. It was finally my chance to celebrate Ronnie and the great Secretariat right here, on Canadian soil, and some dude in New York City had taken that opportunity away from me. And from Ronnie.

It was a cruel, heartless decision.

Penny and Lucien had to work fast to replace Ronnie and their choice, a personal friend of Penny’s, was the accomplished Eddie Maple. In 2009, when he was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame, Eddie was asked which race made him the most proud. He answered, “Secretariat, in the Canadian International.” But at the time, Maple was overwhelmed by the responsibility of pilotting a thoroughbred legend in his final race and the expectations of Secretariat’s team, his fans and everyone else who counted themselves citizens of Secretariat Nation that he would, of course, win. In the days following his suspension, Ronnie and Maple formed a bond, with the former teaching the latter everything he needed to know about Secretariat.

In the meantime, Woodbine was getting ready for a moment in thoroughbred history. Programs were being printed and, breaking with tradition, special tickets were printed featuring “Big red” on their face:

October 28, 1973 was circled in bright blue on my student agenda. Cameras, crew and sports journalists were crowding into Woodbine and the bistros and hotels of Toronto. The atmosphere crackled, even among the usually laid-back residents at the track.

Secretariat and Eddie Maple had their work cut out for them, as some very good colts were running against them, chief among them Kennedy Road, a five year-old son of Victoria Park who had won the Hollywood Gold Cup and was trained by the brilliant HOF Charlie Whittingham. Whittingham had not accompanied the horse to Woodbine; instead, it was trainer Jim Bentley who handled the colt when he came home to Canada. Kennedy Road had won the Queen’s Plate in 1971 and, although irrascible in temperament, he was a champion and a champion would ride him in the International: Avelino Gomez. The legendary Sandy Hawley was pilotting Presidial, another very solid runner. Big Spruce (out of grass sire, Herbager) who had won the Marlboro Cup and Fabe Count, winner of the Jockey Club Cup, were two other horses given a chance against Secretariat. Robyn Smith, then a rising star among female jockeys and much later, the wife of Fred Astaire, was a fan favourite and booked to partner Triangular, a grandson of Princequillo who was not considered a threat.

Jockey Robyn Smith rode TRIANGULAR in the International. She would later become the wife of Fred Astaire, whom she met when riding for Alfred Vanderbilt. The two were inseparable until Astaire’s death.

The weather continued to be an issue, particularly the rain, and it was not a certainty that Secretariat would start at all, although that information got lost in the build-up to October 28th. The International wasn’t Secretariat’s first run over turf; he had won the Man O’ War at Belmont impressively — and beaten Big Spruce and Triangular, as well as a very gutsy Tentam:

“Some people may not believe me,” jockey Ron Turcotte reflected, a few years after Secretariat’s retirement,”but I always thought he was an even better horse on grass than dirt.” Lucien Laurin was of the same opinion and was confident the colt would manage a wet surface. The decision was made to run.

On race day, it was cold and damp. Dark clouds formed ominously over Woodbine, turning its lush landscape into something that evoked gloom rather than glory. It might not have been the toughest test of her champion’s abilities, but as Penny would point out, “The easiest race on paper is the one I find we lose…so I have to worry.”

As Secretariat appeared in the tunnel and stepped onto the track, I held my breath and tried to staunch the pain of saying goodbye. In 1973, when a thoroughbred retired, he or she seemed to disappear: this was an ending, not just a final race in a brilliant campaign. (Of course, thanks to social media, I didn’t entirely lose the connection. But in 1973, there was no way to predict the internet.)

“There he goes! There he GOES!” stands in my memory alongside “he is moving like a tremendous machine…” Three little words — the tears that flowed when I heard them the first time — and the way my heart pounded when a Canadian flag of carnations was draped over Secretariat’s withers, just as though the whole of Canada enveloped him.

Secretariat is my big red colt and it was Penny who made it possible for me to feel this way.

“THERE HE GOES! THERE HE GOES!” Secretariat winning the Canadian International, October 28, 1973.

Out of the gloom on that grey day he came, rolling like a bright red thundercloud.

Wearing our flag: Eddie Sweat leads his champion into the winner’s circle and hearts burst open from Halifax to the Northwest Territories to Victoria. Photo and copyright: Michael Burns

Margaret Mead’s daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson, has observed that a life is a creation composed of the fabric of our daily selves and the improvisation necessary to keep on going, no matter what. In an early book, Composing A Life, Bateson studied the lives of five different women and summed up her findings in the following way: “…Today, the materials and skills from which a life is composed are no longer clear. It is no longer possible to follow the paths of previous generations…We see achievement as purposeful and monolithic, like the sculpting of a massive tree trunk that has first to be brought from the forest and then shaped by long labor to assert the artist’s vision, rather than something crafted from odds and ends, like a patchwork quilt, and lovingly used to warm different nights and bodies.”

The quilt Penny Chenery wove was a masterpiece.

Thank you, Penny, for reaching out to me and taking me on the ride of your life.

Penny and her big red colt.

BONUS FEATURES

Tom Durkin interviews Penny (2014):

Penny on the 40th Anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown:

Penny, Ronnie & Lucien talk SECRETARIAT:

Q&A with EDDIE MAPLE:

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Big Red’s Last Race,” produced by the Ontario Jockey Club. (It’s my favourite portrait of Secretariat, Penny, Ronnie, Lucien, Eddie, Charlie {misnamed in the preceding clip as “George Davis”} and pony, Billy Silver. It’s real and filled with warmth and appreciation, a faithful Canadian rendition of the meaning Secretariat’s last race held for me. AA)

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame: Kennedy Road, Eddie Maple

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NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.

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