Some horses just make everybody, their owners, trainer, driver as well as the racing fans, go through the full spectrum of emotions. Few horses have done this more so than the French tank, Rapide Lebel. The gelding would occasionally trot away like his opponents weren’t there and was simply unstoppable at his best. However, on occasion the trotting public got to see the nutty side of the star.
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He is one of the most influential and best stallions of all times, and has been a breed changer for American trotting. It could easily have been very different, because Valley Victory was nearly lost to US breeders twice before he even started his illustrious stallion career. Sweden’s loss was North America’s gain as the super stallion proved to be a real breed changer despite poor fertility.
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He was the talent that didn’t quite live up to his pedigree and the expectations. Sold to Europe, Brother Hanover produced tremendously well at stud in both the Netherlands and Germany and was an active stallion until his 30s.
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He turned out to be one of the most important stallions in standardbred history, but it could have been very different. The colt was a challenge for his trainer and only made two starts in his first two seasons. In the end he only lasted five more races before a disappointed owner sold him to a buyer whose partner really didn’t want the horse at all. But Peter the Great persevered and became a true legend and foundation stallion of the standardbreds.
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She had a questionable pedigree, was difficult to handle, didn’t trot well and didn’t even start a single race. However suspect and hopeless the mare and her background appeared, Santos produced two of the best horses of her day and was a remarkable broodmare.
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He was an incredibly talented but with a challenging temper and extremely unlucky with injuries. Hailing from an exceptionally strong family, the gelding Västerbo Prestige turned out to be an exceptional stallion who unfortunately had a very limited number of foals.
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The colt had talent, but had inherited his sire’s poor feet and was rushed too early to the races and as a result barely raced because of his lameness. Showing exceptional speed, his new owner decided to gamble on the six-year-old colt at stud. Virtually everybody thought it was a ridiculous folly of judgment. However, John Shults had the last laugh as Axworthy turned out to be one of the foundation sires of the standardbreds.
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He was one of Norway and Scandinavia’s best trotters for years and hailed from an exceptional group of siblings that included several elite trotters. Though described as “the most intelligent trotter I have ever dealt with”, Scott Protector could be grouchy and a handful at times. Regardless, he was an excellent trotter – and when that wasn’t enough, his trainer employed team tactics against the opposition.
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They bought the injured colt and brought him to Europe for stallion duty. But when Pershing healed he looked so good it was decided to race him, a decision that necessitates his owner to have to buy him again. But shelling out again for the excellent trotter who set three world records was an easy decision for his Swedish owner.
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It wasn’t just a win, it was humilating demonstration of supremacy. It was unthinkable really, that an – in North America – unknown French mare could not only defeat, but humiliate the trotter that according to the US fans was undoubtedly the best trotter in the world. However, Une de Mai at her best was nothing short of spectacular. The French queen could be fickle, however, and also lacked luck at times. This caused her to be the only French queen without a crown.
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