The wedding gift

He was designated as a wedding gift to circumvent export restrictions after WWII, then caused despair when he refused to train. In stepped Count Orsi Mangelli to restore Mighty Ned’s career, starting a fantastic turnaround that lead to two Prix d’Amerique-wins and a reputation as one of the best American imports in Europe ever.

Bred by the famed Walnut Hall Farm in Kentucky, Mighty Ned was sold at the farm’s yearling auction in early October 1943 when he was bought by trainer Tom Berry, on behalf of Joseph F Burke of Plainfield, NJ, for $4,600. 12 months later Burke sold all but one of his horses because of his declining health, choosing to keep only Mighty Ned. After two unsuccessful starts at 2, the big, burly colt was turned out. Migthy Ned came back much improved the following year, though. On Jul 31, 1945, he finished 5-3 in the National Trot at Goshen, Titan Hanover, winning both heats with ease. However, Mighty Ned’s performances were better than the placings suggest: in the first heat the colt got in a traffic jam and broke stride in the first turn but recovered nicely. In the second Mighty Ned “came from seventh position going down the back stretch and finished with plenty of speed in third position.”

10 days later the horse finished fourth in the Hambletonian after a 3-3 finish, Titan Hanover again sweeping both heats. Burke thus earned $3,000, recuperating over half of the purchase price. Berry would later state that the reason Mighty Ned did not fare better was “that the races at Old Orchard [in July] were called off and he was not tight for the Hambletonian.”

Opting for an easier race next, Berry then took the Volomite son to the 2:15 trot at the Great Darke Country Fair in Greenville, OH, two weeks later. Mighty Ned was third courtesy of a 4-3-2 finishing, the Willglow-son Flash winning all three heats for “Doc” Parshall. Though he didn’t win, the race clearly did the colt good. On Sep 6, he finished second to Dr Spencer in the Review Futurity after a 3-2-2 finish. A week later he won he Reading Fair Futurity, held at the Trenton Fair because of the army’s use of the Reading Fair grounds, after finishing 2-1-1 in the three heats, the latter won in 2:06 (1.18,3).

Mighty Ned made it two wins in a row when he won the Lafayette Hotel Stake against older trotters at the opening day at the Lexington meeting, Bob Plaxico filling in for an injured Tom Berry. Mighty Ned finished strongly in each heat to win in 2:05 1/4 and 2:04 3/4 (1.17,8 and 1.17,5), respectively. He wouldn’t make it three in three, though, after a 4-4 finish in the American Stake at Lexington on Oct 2 caused him to finish out of the money. Two wins and a 2:04 3/4 (1.17,5) record was thus the result of Mighty Ned’s three-year-old season.

A surprise sale

Ahead of the following season, Berry had high hopes for the big colt on the big mile tracks – Mighty Ned’s physique lived up to his name: the colt was 166 cms (almost 16,2 hands) and gave a very powerful impression. He was not, however, all that suited for smaller tracks with sharp curves. The colt was staked in at least $50,000 worth of events, but in early June it was published in all major newspapers that the horse was going abroad. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader on Jun 11, 1946, Mighty Ned “has been sold for export to Italy, it was announced today by W.J. Rosemire, who handled the sale. A special shipping arrangement was made by which the horse will be transported to Algiers, thence to his purchaser, Franco Tondini, at Milan, Italy. Mighty Ned is the first horse sold for export by Mr Rosemire since the outbreak of the war, which caused overseas livestock shipment to be suspended.”

However, it was more complicated than it appears on paper. Because of export restrictions, Mighty Ned couldn’t be sold to Italy, but owner Tondini found a highly creative solution. About to marry his sweetheart, Tondini designated the colt as a wedding gift to his American-born wife. The L’hippique algérinne et tunisienne reported on July 16, 1946 that Mighty Ned had made it to Algiers after a 20 day sea journey and would rest in the African capital city before he was put on a boat for Genoa on July 20. Mighty Ned made his destination, the barn of trainer Orlando Zamboni at the San Siro trotting track in Milan, 29 days after leaving New York.

The facts surrounding Mighty Ned’s journey have, over time, been exaggerated. According to the legend, Tondini made several unsuccessful attempts to get on a ship in New York, but was rejected six times. Also, according to the legend, the horse was quarantined in Africa, requiring extensive diplomacy – furthermore, the horse was supposedly prevented from leaving by a racing passionate harbour master who demanded to see Mighty Ned in an exhibition first. All of this is ludicrous: the article in the Lexington Herald-Leader above shows the route was planned and booked well in advance. The Algerian article also stated that the horse would stay for a short while to recover from the sea journey. There was no mention any quarantine, exhibition race – or any of the other alleged events – neither in the L’hippique algérinne et tunisienne, nor in any Italian newspapers in the coming years. An article in Italian daily La Stampa on Sept 22, 1950, tells the story of Mighty Ned being a wedding gift and goes on to describe initial challenges in his first year in Italy, but none of the above claims about Mighty Ned’s journey is made. It is safe to say, therefore, that they are likely the result of imaginative Italian writers who wanted to make the horse even more legendary than he was.

A difficult start

There was nothing legendary about Mighty Ned’s first time in Italy, though, as Zamboni struggled and couldn’t get the colt to extend himself in training. Tondini tried Mighty Ned with two different trainers without any other results. According the article in La Stampa, things went from bad to worse as Mighty Ned didn’t eat well and quit trying altogether in training. Tondini despaired as he was getting nothing but headache out of the once great trotter. When Paolo Orsi Mangelli offered to take over half the horse in exchange for training and standing him at the famous Budrie stud, Tondini accepted. At Budrie, Paolo’s son Orsino Orsi Mangelli made it his mission to restore the horse to his former greatness. According to the article, “Mighty Ned improved visibly and regained the excellent character that Mother Nature had given him. After adequate rest he was put back in training and entrusted to the driver and trainer of the great stable, Vincenzo Antonellini, in whose hands the horse immediately started to show signs of adapting.”

The recovery took some time, though. In fact, Mighty Ned didn’t make his European debut until Oct 26, 1947. In the Gran Premio Mirafiori, on the Vinovo-track in Turin, the imported trotter immediately underlined his credentials with a strong win. Also making his debut was another US import, Austin Hanover. Both had a 40 meters (44 yards) handicap. Mighty Ned soon caught up to the frontrunners, and down the backstretch Antonellini sent the horse to the lead. Austin Hanover had a strong finish “but his efforts to get closer to Mighty Ned were useless as the leader won by a big margin.” Mighty Ned started in four more races in 1947 and won them all, making it abundantly clear that there was a new sheriff in the Italian aged elite.

Outclassing his opponents

Realizing the American import was truly special, Antonellini and Orsi Mangelli decided to go for the biggest European race of them, the Prix d’Amerique, in January 1948. The Volomite-son was made the betting favorite, but it looked bleak early. Previous year’s winner Mistero had a 25 meters (27 yards) handicap but quickly caught up to the field. He was, however, gone after 300 meters when he collided with Tamisot’s sulky and broke stride. Vincenzo Antonellini played it safe and deliberately took it very slow with Mighty Ned in the downhill. He was so careful that the US-born trotter was far behind the leaders at the bottom of the uphill, some reports estimating that Mighty Ned was 20 lengths off the lead. It didn’t matter, though, as Mighty Ned proceeded to put on a trotting clinic the rest of the race. According to one report “he swiftly passed each opponent and ran into the straight well ahead of Qui Qui IV and Lord Maire. He had no more trouble and passed the post in fine style ahead of Qui Qui IV, Lord Maire, Train Bloc, Sammy and Reine Pedauque II.” According to Paris-Turf, the winner simply “outclassed his opponents.”

In mid-February the six-year-old was back in Rome for the Prix Viminale. Despite a 100 meter handicap to Vignolo, and 80 meter handicap to Giaur da Brivio, Mighty Ned recorded a highly impressive win in 1.21,2 (2:10.3) over 2520 meters (1 9/16 mile). In August 1948 he won the Prix d’Europe at Enghien ahead of surprise Urgons and Train Bloc. All in all, Mighty Ned had a a stellar season in 1948, winning 11 of 15 starts.

The superstar followed up his great 1948-season with 7 wins in 14 starts the following year, though it was heartbreak in Paris as he narrowly lost the Prix d’Amerique to Venutar. That year he won his first of two straight wins in the Campionato Europeo. Mighty Ned also ventured to Germany for the Preis der Besten, but failed to win as French trotter Sammy, together with Charlie Mills, won in a track record 1.21,1 (2:10.2) over 2660 meters (1 11/16 mile).

Stallion service and hampered him to only 4 starts in 1950, the colt winning two of these. One was of course the Campionato Europeo, which he won in two straight heats. The colt was moved to Alexander Finn later in the fall. The Russian-born magician brought the colt back to Vincennes in January 1951 for another crack at the Prix d’Amerique.

Bravery at nine, going out in style

The race turned into a duel between Mighty Ned and Chambon. While Antonellini had taken it easy in the start and downhill of the 1948 edition, Finn drove much more offensively. Going to the lead, Chambon and Charley Mills quickly moved up outside to put pressure on the American-Italian trotter. It stayed like that up the hill and into the final turn. The home crowd were hopeful that the strong Chambon would break down Mighty Ned in the final turn and down the stretch. However, the then-9-year-old Mighty Ned showed class as he bravely fought off the French challenger. Mills and Chambon finished third after Scotch Thistle overtook them down the final stretch. Behind the front three, Banco III, Beranger and Acrobate II came next, but never stood any chance to finish in the top-three. Mighty Ned’s winning time of 1.22,7 (2:13) was also a new race record and stood for three years.

At 9, his career was rapidly coming to an end. Mighty Ned only raced six times that season, winning two before being permanently retired to stud.

He had also covered some mares the preceding season and got off to a good start as his first crop contained the talented Fra Diavolo. It got even better with his 1952-crop, led by multiple group 1-winner Checco Pra. In 1953 he produced his best foal, the tremendous chestnut Crevalcore, one of the best Italian trotters in the 20th century. In 1960 and 1961 Mighty Ned produced back-to-back Italian Derby winners in Gualdo and Irunda. Overall, the son of Volomite produced really well in Italy and proved a very good stallion.

When considering his results both on the track and at stud, Mighty Ned is by trotting historians considered one of the most successful US imports to Europe. Not too shabby for a wedding gift who, at first, looked like a complete failure…

Mighty Ned died on December 6, 1971.

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