From humble beginnings she rose to be one of the best broodmares in history. An ordinary racehorse, as a broodmare Amour Angus defied all expectations and is now considered one of the best in history.
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American
The rum addict
It’s a story full improbable twists, cruel treatment and bizarre facts. What ended up as Hambletonian’s possibly...
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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 horse who wasn’t allowed to time trial
Having won the Hambletonian twice, in 1930 with Hanover’s Bertha and 1937 with Shirley Hanover, the Hanover Shoe...
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The first three-year-old to beat 2:00
His whole life is spectacular. He was the best trotter in his generation, even though his trainer was skeptical and at 2 felt the...
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The Old Grey Mare of Long Island
Known as the “The Queen of the Turf”, she was the first to break the magic 2:30 barrier. A victim of bad and harsh...
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The Buckeye bullet
An exceptional racehorse at 2, BF Coaltown was then set back by virus infection a month ahead of hte Hambletonian which he...
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Struggling to stay sound, he made just a few starts in his career but impressed mightly both by his capacity and his physique. Guy Axworthy then went on to get revenge at stud by becoming one of the first superstar stallions.
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An exceptionally fast trotter with soundness problems and chronic mental issues, Arndon sometimes posed a huge challenge to his legendary trainer. But when he did what he was supposed to he was a terrifyingly good trotter – and the first three-year-old to trot in 1:54.
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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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He was the tiny American with a heart of gold who became a star in the Soviet Union. The pioneering trio of Apex Hanover, Bill Fleming and Rowland Wade took on the Soviet stars at their home in Moscow in the 60s. After overcoming unfair tactics by the Soviet drivers, the US trio won the hearts and minds of the home crowd. Although little Apex Hanover (150 cms/14,3 hands) won the Arden Downs and George Wilkes Stakes as a 2-year-old in 1961, there was very little to indicate that this $18,000 yearling purchase would later enter the world stage.
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While Hambletonian is forever immortalized in the history of trotting, what could possibly have turned out been his best son at stud is largely forgotten. One of Hambletonian’s very first foals, Alexander’s Abdallah was a spectacular sire whose life tragically ended way too early during the Civil War.
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He was the world’s first 1:56 trotter and a prized possession of Lawrence Sheppard’s fledging Hanover Shoe Farms. Peter Manning was a natural talent who improved quickly with little work. In fact, the legendary gelding was so good it required a horse of Greyhound’s caliber to beat his world record.
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A supremely fast trotter, he is most famous for stumbling shortly ahead of the wire in the Hambletonian with victory within reach. Sold to Europe not long after equaling a world record at 4, Brown Berry later likely became a clandestine stallion in France.
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She was an aloof and difficult mare, preferring to be left alone even when she went blind. Medio is also one of the most important matrons in history.
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When Googoo Gaagaa burst onto the Maryland scene many didn’t know what to think. A world record for 2-year-olds on a half mile track was impressive, but could he really be that good? As it turned out, at his best he was even better. Persistent injury problems caused an early retirement, but the hybrid-bred trotter then went from impressing on the track to impressing at stud.
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