USA

The hopeless mare

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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The lame foundation sire

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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The horse who had to be bought twice

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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The first Californian Hambo-win

In 1938, Good Time Stable owner William Cane sold McLin, shortly after renamed McLin Hanover, just one week prior to the Hambletonian. In 1946 he repeated that by selling Chestertown to Walter E Smith of Los Angeles, president of the Western Harness Racing Association, just three days prior to the biggest race. Both horses, of course, went on to win the Hambletonian.

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The race of the century

He won one of the most prestigious races of all time, then retired to become an elite stallion. His performances in Europe in 1988 are still occasionally talked about by Scandinavian trotting fans who all agree on one thing: there was something really special about Sugarcane Hanover.

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The fragile star

It’s a good thing horses don’t know what humans expect of them, otherwise chances are high that Victory Song would have crumbled under pressure. The blue-blooded colt struggled with unsoundness throughout his career and was seen as lacking mental toughness. When it clicked, though, the horse was a phenomenal trotting machine who some people even thought could challenge Greyhound’s legendary record.

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The forgotten foundation

Even though Hambletonian is universally regarded as the founding sire of the standardbred there have been others that looked to be great sires but now are largely forgotten. The most important of these is probably the Indiana bred Blue Bull, a pacer whose get were primarily trotters. Outperforming the legendary father of trotters, Hambletonian, back in the day, Blue Bull is almost completely forgotten and has now slipped into obscurity.

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The first Hambo winner

Being first usually carries prestige and being the first Hambletonian winner carries a certain immortality to it. The massive $73,451.32 purse – more than five times the 1926 Kentucky Futurity purse ($14,000) – attracted 14 hopefuls to the mile track in Syracuse. While Hazleton was the pre-season favorite, Guy McKinney was not considered to have much of a chance. A new trainer turned the colt around, however and Guy McKinney went on to have a great three-year-old season.

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The big fella bred to the queen

To many he appears to be an average American trotter bred to the first French trotting queen. However, the story of Great McKinney is that of a good horse who just needed a bit of time and then flourished in the US before he was sold to France. Together with French trotting queen Uranie he produced two talented trotters who turned out to be excellent stallions with a big legacy.

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The horse who was sunk

J Malcolm Forbes was one of the biggest owners and breeders of standardbreds from 1890 until his death in 1904. Forbes shelled out massive amounts for several horses including Nancy Hanks and Arion. The millionaire believed the best of all the horses he owned, though, was a lesser known horse called Vice Commodore. A horse who left a lasting legacy through two daughters, but whose death wasn’t even noticed when it happened.

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