A rugged black colt, Hoot Mon became known as the Hambletonian winner who sired four winners of the same race, earning him nickname the nickname of “the Hambletonian sire.”
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The buyer who was tricked
He was the unlikeliest of Hambletonian heroes. His breeder felt forced to buy his dam despite not wanting her, and also felt...
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The Dutch fairytale
At 7 he was still a highly average trotter, clearly below the best in France. However, a Dutch trainer thought he saw something...
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The bargain basement superstar
A $2,000 yearling at the Tattersalls Select Yearling Sale in September 2001, the price tag gave no indications of what was to...
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The first great Franco-American
The Franco-American cross is more popular than ever, and many in the US have also recognized the benefits of such a breeding...
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The beautiful experiment
The number of US-born stallions exported to Europe is staggering high, with very few horses going the other way for stallion duty...
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The 30 straight wins
Ask somebody to name a horse with 30 straight wins and they will probably be able to do so: pacing fans will probably answer Bret...
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The third horse to win the trotting’s Triple Crown, Ayres, was always an great talent, but at 2 there were question marks surrounding the future of his immense ability. Could, and would, it be harnessed properly – or would he go into history as another could-have-been? Despite setting a rather extreme world record at two, Ayres had a mind of his own and had serious issues with authority. A trainer who laid down the law turned the unruly kid around an into a real superstar and Triple Crown-winner.
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The first world champion bred in California, Occident came out nowhere in the early 1870s and tied Goldsmith Maid’s absolute world record in 1873. It was very different to a few years earlier when he was living a life of abuse and ill-treatment. Later he would play a key role in the development of both picture technology but also our understanding of horse gaits.
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He had a fantastic pedigree and came off a two-year-old season in which he set a world record. That did not prompt the owner to keep him: given that Calumet Farm was converting to a thoroughbred operation, the colt was put up for auction at the end of that season. Not surprisingly, Calumet Chuck became the most expensive sale at the auction. However, his three-year-old season was winless and full of frustration – but he got some revenge at stud.
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When Greyhound, by many regarded as the best trotter of all times, retired, his owner, EJ Baker, was looking for other interesting prospects. In 1943 he found The Grey Ghost’s successor when he bought the horse almost everybody thought would break all trotting records. However, less than a year later that horse had passed away. The untimely death of Volo Song has been called one of the greatest tragedies to befall trotting.
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When Åke Svanstedt recorded a fantastic win in the 2004 Elitlopp, he did it with a horse that two years earlier had been retired. But after 18 months away from the track, Gidde Palema returned in style and when the excellent trotter could race barefoot he was an almost impossible proposition for his competitors.
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He is often thought of as a backwater stallion who fluked one great son despite being a lame horse not good enough to race. However, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Pilot Medium, who was one of the best American sires toward the end of the 19th century.
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His whole life is spectacular. He was the best trotter in his generation, even though his trainer was skeptical and at 2 felt the horse should be gelded and turned out. His stallion performance was equally fantastic and the events surrounding his death has become the stuff of legends.
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Throughout history, several early favorites have missed out on the Hambletonian. In virtually all cases, though, it’s been a matter of illness or accident. That was not, however, the case with the super-talented Fireglow. Close to 100 years later the circumstances of his death are still shrouded in mystery. The question is, did somebody kill the “the greatest talent ever” just a few weeks prior to the Hambletonian?
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He was one of the best trotters the world has seen and went on to become an even better stallion before he died too soon. The story of Ready Cash is a fascinating tale of coincidences, but most of all the story of one of the most legendary trotters ever.
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