Muriel Lennox's Blog, page 5

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 17

(one of the most amusing, and often humbling, aspects to studying the history of Thoroughbred horses is how many times we humans get it wrong.  The saga of Diomed is a perfect case in point. )

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Rivers of Gold

… Diomed’s final victory was a King’s Plate in 4-mile heats, carrying a gargantuan 168 pounds.  While it is unlikely too many humans could have hauled 168 pounds across the track, much less over 4 miles, consensus among the British horse racing community was that Diomed had somehow failed them.

The following year his owner, Charles Bunbury, stood Diomed at stud for 5 guineas ($25).  But there was scant interest.  Bunbury continued to lower the fee until it had plummeted to 2 guineas, but to no avail.  For the following 10 years Diomed roamed his paddock on his own while the British continued to snub him.

Still, the colt had proven himself to be the best in the Kingdom and had given Bunbury the honour of the first Derby, which incidentally, but for the loss of a coin toss might have been named the Epsom Bunbury.

The previous summer the 12th Earl of Derby was hosting a party near Epsom to celebrate his filly, Bridget, winning the inaugural Oaks.  The race was restricted to 3 year old fillies and so Derby and friends decided there should be a separate race for colts and fillies.  When it came to naming the proposed event there was a coin toss between Derby and Bunbury.  While Bunbury lost the toss, his horse, Diomed, won the race…

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Diomed

(to be continued… Britain’s loss, a boon for North America..)

 

Rivers of gold – excerpts: part 16

THE REVENGE OF DIOMED

(When I was asked by Thoroughbred Times to write about Canada’s contribution to the gene pool all those years ago, my research took me back several generations.  The article, serialized over 4 issues, was the inspiration for Rivers of Gold.  It also altered my perspective on the Canadian Thoroughbred.   For starters, I had become more curious.  Was it really possible that here in Canada we had quietly been building a better racehorse?  To find answers I travelled even further back in time: indeed, to the 1700’s and the winner of the first English Derby.  Here I stumbled upon the most extraordinary story: one that would impact horses to this day.)

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Diomed

“… In the early years in North America not too many people were interested in Thoroughbred breeding and bloodlines.  Samuel Ogle, governor of Maryland, was an exception.  In the mid-1700s he brought the stallion Sparke and the mare, Queen Mab from England and began breeding horses for speed.  Then in 1798 Colonel John Hoomes of Bowling Green, Virginia imported Diomed, winner of the inaugural English Derby at Epsom in 1780.

Diomed was, appropriately, named for the Ancient Greek hero, Diomedes.  A formidable warrior, Diomedes was among those inside the belly of the giant wooden horse the Greeks presented to the Trojans in the guise of a gift to the goddess.  Diomed, the horse, also proved that things are not always as they appear to be, and in the process showed his detractors that it’s inside that counts.

Initially Diomed, a lanky glistening chestnut, was considered by many to be the best colt the British had seen since Eclipse.  No small praise since Eclipse won 18 races, including 11 King’s Plates, all the while proving himself to be far superior to all competition.  In fact Eclipse was so superior he was retired from racing because no one would bet against him.

When Diomed won the English Derby it marked his 10th consecutive victory.  Following the big race Diomed’s owner, Sir Charles Bunbury, opted to give the horse a well-deserved rest.  When Diomed returned to racing the expectations riding on his narrow withers were enormous.  The British were anticipating that he would be the next Eclipse.  He wasn’t.  Sometimes he won.  Sometimes he didn’t.  Still Diomed was only once out of the top three finishers.  Was there something wrong?  Noone knew, but clearly he had either physically or mentally lost the fire to win at all cost…”  to be continued

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Rivers of Gold

 

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 15

(Today we hit one of the most astonishing discoveries in this, the evolution of Canada’s dominant Thoroughbred bloodlines – one that no one would likely have considered in a month of Sundays:  An Underground Railroad for horses)

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

“…Canada’s fledgling Thoroughbred population received an indirect boost from the American Civil War (1861-1865).  Armies from both sides- the Northern States (Union) and Southern States (Confederacy) – not only conscripted soldiers, they commandeered horses.  By the end of the conflict in excess of 1,000,000 horses and donkeys had been slaughtered in battle.  US horse owners, anxious to spare their animals from conscription, hence imminent demise, shipped them north across the border.

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Rivers of Gold

Kentuckian, Robert Alexander, sent herds of horses to Canada for safety.  At the time his Woodburn Stud was the most prominent horse (and cattle) breeding establishment in the US.  Alexander also stood Lexington, the most important US sire of the second half of the 1800’s, on his famous farm.  Among the most significant Woodburn horses shipped to Canada was the stallion Thunder, a son of Lexington.

While breeding and bloodline records were destroyed during the fighting, it is safe to assume the early layers of bedrock at the base of Canada’s Rivers of Gold can be attributed to some of the finest US bloodlines.

Quite possibley the most significant contributor was Diomed, winner of the first English Derby.  Decades later, Australia, winner of the 2014 English Derby would find Diomed in his family tree.  This would not have happened, however, if the British horse breeders had not refused to breed their mares to Diomed….”  to be continued…

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Lexington, by Edward Troye

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 14

(..there’s a saying that you can’t know where you are going, if you don’t know where you’ve been.  While I had written books about E.P. Taylor, Northern Dancer, and Nearctic, I knew little, if anything, about the early history of Thoroughbreds in Canada.  So off I went, off to the headwaters of these Rivers of Gold. I would make some quite remarkable discoveries.)

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Rivers of Gold

… Prior to the 1840’s in Canada, the definition of a good horse, was a useful horse- an animal that worked for its living.  Horses provided the sole means of transportation for everyone from the local clergy to the constabulary.

The first Thoroughbreds arrived in Canada with British soldiers dispatched to the settlements.  Their mounts were often well-bred, retired racehorses.  Before long the soldiers were hosting horse races in the garrison towns that dotted the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes.  In the early days these events were simply part of raucous social occasions- parties that often went on until dawn.

In the mid-1850’s Canadian farmers recognized that crossing Thoroughbreds with their sturdy carriage horses created some mighty fast roadsters.  To that end the farmers began looking to the US as a source of good breeding stock.  They were soon joined by the British soldiers.  As horse racing became more popular they too began travelling to Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky to invest in sturdy US Thoroughbreds.  Traces of some of these animals, no doubt, will have found their way into the headwaters of Canada’s Rivers of Gold. 

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Northern Dancer: legend and legacy: Muriel Lennox

… to be continued… next, Right Place, Right Time.

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 13

(writing Rivers of Gold was a bit like chasing a Unicorn through a mystical forest – I simply had no idea where it would lead me.  Unlike writing Northern Dancer, or Dark Horse, or any of my other books, there was no roadmap.  The experience was simultaneously exasperating and enlightening)

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Rivers of Gold

“…During the exploration into the elements leading to Rivers of Gold, I thought I’d take a look at the 2014 Cartier Awards, European racing’s equivalent of the Oscars.  Initiated in 1991, voting is an interesting mix of mathematics (40% from points earned in pattern races), opinions of journalists (30%), and fans (30%).

Inspired by Treve and The Fuge, I had begun posting some of the outstanding Northern Dancer/Nearctic descendants on my Northern Dancer: legend and legacy facebook page.

As I pondered each Cartier Award category, I began to realize that choosing winners in 2014 would have been particularly daunting as voters were faced with a spectacular group of horses.

Contenders for Horse of the Year included Treve, sensational in her consecutive Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victories, and Australia, with both English and Irish Derbies under his girth.  Ultimately the crown went to Kingman and his dynamic season of 7 victories in 8 starts over English, Irish and French courses…

Champion Sprinter, Sole Power, raced 42 times in 5 countries over a span of 6 years.  On the subject of Sole Power’s bravery and speed, jockey Richard Hughes, enthused, “when I was 14 or 15, I dreamed of riding a horse like this!”

When Champion Three Year Old Filly, Taghrooda, won the 10 furlong Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket, the Racing Post described her performance as “breathtaking.”  The adjective also sums Taghrooda’s physical appearance.  Stunningly beautiful, she was also rated as the top filly in the world in 1914.

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Treve & trainer Criquette Head-Maarek

Taghrooda and Kingman and Sole Power and all the other exceptional champions share much in common.  To a horse they are brimming with courage, beauty, stamina, character and acceleration.  For purposes of this tale, however, every one of them will find their ancestors in Canada’s Rivers of Gold…”       to be continued

 

 

 

 

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 12

(When we moved the riding horses from Windfields Toronto estate to the Oshawa farm, they were housed in a loafing shed just across the lane from the mares.  Indeed, long-time farm manager, Peter Poole, made every effort to ensure the riding horses, and their care-taker/rider, were well-cared for.  The riding horses dozed in the shelter in straw almost up to their bellies; hay racks overflowed; a heating gizmo kept the water fountain flowing; they were fed twice a day; and could wander in and out at will.)

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Rivers of Gold

“… In the early years, Windfields foals and yearlings were turned out during the day and returned to their comfortable stalls at night.  Based on how well the mares and older horses fared essentially living outdoors during the winter, management decided to see how it would affect the youngsters.

Like the mares and riding horses, the foals appeared to prefer being outdoors plowing through snow up to their bellies.  I often saw them slipping and sliding as they merrily chased one another about their ice and snow-covered fields.

Federico Tesio proffered that Thoroughbreds run on lungs and heart.  There can be little doubt that the experience of living out of doors, constantly on the move, would have a positive effect on the lung and heart capacity of Windfields youngsters.

Thoroughbred racehorses are faced with a range of challenges and stresses: from pollution to air travel.  As elite athletes, they need to be physically omnipotent to prevail at optimum efficiency.  While there is no scientific data to confirm my suspicion that our Canadian climate has factored in the creation of a new strain of Thoroughbred hybrid – more resilient, certainly tougher – it is certainly fodder for thought.

Nor is it a stretch to consider that horses descending from these Canadian genetic streams have something extra in their makeup – especially considering the superior quality of these animals.”

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Harry Green and Northern Dancer. Windfields 1967 (toronto Star photo)

…to be continued

 

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 11

(This chapter is titled “CANADA, HOME OF THE HARDIER HYBRID”  And, for me, this is when things really started to get interesting.  The pieces were falling into place.  Much to my absolute delight I began to understand how Canada and our horses have had such an extraordinary impact on the Thoroughbred breed.)

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Rivers of Gold

“… Gregor Mendel’s scientific findings established that the convergence of genetic streams creates a hardier hybrid.  I have always wondered if Canada’s northern, and often harsh, climate was also a component in the creation of a more vigorous strain of Thoroughbred?  My grandfather, an Irish horseman to the bone, would suggest the answer is Yes.  He would remind me of the importance of how and where horses are raised, which would include the terrain, quality of their grazing lands, and the climate.

When Eddie Taylor set out to breed champion Thoroughbreds in Canada his Kentucky friends, to a man, advised him not to even bother trying.  Too much ice and snow they warned.  Yet at Windfields many of the horses spent bitterly cold winters in loafing sheds.  This was not because there were insufficient stalls to accommodate the 500-or-so equine residents.

The rationale was that it was healthier, especially for the mares.  Horses are, after all, designed to be constantly on the move.  The spacious Windfields structures were enclosed on 3 side with the open end facing south and allowing the mares to wander in and out at will.  Hay racks lined the north walls and the entire area was bedded in knee-deep straw.  Herds of mares thrived in this environment as did our riding horses.  By spring the coats of the older horses were so thick they looked like wooly mammoths.[image error]

…

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 10

(Not dissimilar to the actual writing of a book, this blog appears to be setting its own course:  part excerpts, and part diary of long-distance writing.  For me its like watching a home movie as I recall various turning points along the trail.  For the most part, at each juncture, there is a horse beckoning me off in a new direction.  In this instance, it was Nearco, sire of Nearctic, grandsire of Northern Dancer.  The importance of Nearco in the story of the Thoroughbred is colossal.  Hence I found myself reading everything written by, and about, his owner/breeder, Federico Tesio.)

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Rivers of Gold

“… Mendel’s work would become integral to Tesio’s life-long passion and commitment to the creation of champion Thoroughbreds.  In his book, “Breeding the Thoroughbred racehorse,” Tesio writes:

“Mendel had had experimented with two varieties of peas, a tall and a dwarf variety. Crossng the tall peas with the dwarfs he had obtained hybrids.  These hybrids were not medium-sized, as one might have expected, but tall.  These tall hybrids, in turn, when crossed with each other, had produced tall plants and dwarfs in proportion of three tall ones to one dwarf.  In other words, nature had a tendency to return their breeds to their original pure state.

“Mendel gave a clear explanation of this interesting fact. To me is was a revelation.  I had finally understood why two thoroughbred horses, although born of the same sire and dam, in other words, full brothers, may turn out to be the one a chestnut and a great runner, the other a bay and a mediocre performer, although both are equally well built and without apparent faults.

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Nearco

“The reason is that the horse, which in Italy we call “purosangue,” is actually anything but “pureblooded.”  He is, in fact, a hybrid and as a hybrid he must follow the law of Mendel.”

…to be continued

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 9

(My interest in genetics was born, in no small part, of necessity.  The thing, of course, that distinguishes the Thoroughbred from other horse breeds is nervous energy.  Many years ago my friend, Judy Mappin, and I found ourselves with a horse who’s nervous energy was beyond the boiling point.

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Rivers of Gold

At the time, Judy (first born of EP and Winifred Taylor) was at the helm of Windfields, so was one of the reasons we opted to stable this horse, Val d’Argent, there.  The other reason was Allan Kerr, stallion manager at the famed horse farm.  I knew of no better horseman, and hoped that if anyone could help us understand and cope with Val d’Argent, it was Kerr.  Simultaneously, I was researching into the the life of Val’s great-great-granfather, Nearctic, for my book, Dark Horse: unraveling the mystery of Nearctic.

Genetics, I discovered, was at the forefront of this saga.  All of which led me to read everything ever written about Federico Tesio, likely the most important horse breeder in history.)

“…A man of limited financial means. Tesio’s wealth was in his genius.  Animals that emanated from his modest broodmare band continue to have a profound impact on the breed, world-wide.  None more so that the mighty Nearco, sire of Nearctic, grandsire of Northern Dancer.

Tesio’s “AHA” moment occured in 1906 on a train traveling from Pisa to Rome.  The man sitting opposite him appeared engrossed in a small book.  When the fellow stepped out of the compartment he left the book on his seat.  Tesio’s curiosity compelled him to pick it up.

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Val d’Argent

Entitled “Mendelism,” it was a translation from German into English of Mendel’s theory on crossing pure breeds and the resulting hybrids.  Tesio was instantly captivated.  When his traveling companion returned he found Tesio totally absorbed and suggested that he finish reading.  Before they reached Rome Tesio had devoured and memorized the material…” to be continued

Rivers of Gold – excerpts: part 8

(researching and writing Rivers of Gold I was dragged further and further back in time…eventually, all the way back to the very origins of the Thoroughbred.  Back to Charles II who was determined to improve the quality of his running horses.)

“…Thoroughbred sport, as we know it today, began with the ascension of Charles II.  The expression ‘sport of kings’ orignially was ‘the sport of the king.’  The king, of course, Charles II.  An enthusiastic patron of race meets at Newmarket, the British monarch could often be spotted surveying the gallops from his pavillion at the top of the hill, or touring the grounds on Old Rowley, his trusted riding horse.

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Rivers of Gold

An accomplished horseman, CharlesII was reputed to be physically fit and brimming with energy.  By day he frequently rode his own horses in races-no mean feat as they were generally conducted over three grueling heats.  In the evenings his stamina would be further tested as he and his court were known to party until dawn…

“…Prior to the mid-17th Century the most popular native breed of running horse was the now extinct Scottish Galloway.  These sturdy, swift ponies were surefooted, spirited and seldom grew aller than 14 hands.  The Galloway pulled carriages, carried riders and were often found careening across racecourse throughout Southern and Yorkshire…

In order to produce a faster, more streamlined horse, the favoured breed introduced into the sturdy native strains was the Arabian…

Thus the Thoroughbred hybrid is quite extraordinary.  It combines desert horses, animals able to endure extreme heat, designed to carry its rider across endless desolate stretches of sand, with the Galloway, a horse able to endure the damp and cold weather of Scotland, plow through bogs and gallop over hill and dale…” to be continued

(next, “the hybrid horse and Federico Tesio’s “AHA” moment)