Wednesday, November 10, 2010

This is awesome!

I started to research Steady Smiler's pedigree and I didn't have to search very far before I found some amazing information.  I personally don't know a great deal in the history of horse racing.  I have been around it my whole life.  My Dad's dream was to breed a Kentucky Derby winner.  Unfortunately that never worked out for him after years of breeding but that is the way the business works.  Not only did he breed but he also has a bit of an addiction to the track.  So I was at the track from a very young age.  I really think that is why as an adult I absolutely LOVE the thoroughbred breed.  I mean I love horses in general but in my mind there is not a breed more beautiful and stalwart then the thoroughbred. 

So this is what I found.
                                                           -Alydar
                                 -Relpetion          
                                                          -Full Tigress
     Steady Smiler-         
                          
                                                         -Steady Growth
                            -Song and a Smile
                                                         -Starstruck Jenny
                        

Look at the top at his sire's sire in layman terms Grandpa.  Do you recognize that name?  Alydar!!!  All I had to do was text my Dad the name and he immediatly rattled off Alydar's story.  There are horses that change the history of racing.  You may be more familiar with one that is a bit more recent.  You know a little filly named Zenyetta??  She is one of those.  Well Alydar is too.  His story is one of the greatest out there and you can read it here .  I will not recap because the biography elxpains it all.  All except for on piece information that was left out that my Dad informed me of.  At the end you read how he died prematurely in a terrible accident.  What they didn't say is that the barn manager at the time was sent to prison for breaking Alydar's leg for insurance money.  It is a sad ending to such an amazing story but amazing it is!!

Not to take away from Secretariat but the next race horse block buster needs to be the story of Alydar and Affiirmed!!!

3 comments:

  1. That is very cool! I love finding those types of stories in your own horse's pedigree. I do remember the story of poor Alydar, awful!
    I love Thoroughbreds as well. Miss B keeps on encouraging me to breed Cass to a nice big Thoroughbred so I can have something taller.

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  2. And Alydar is liver chestnut like Steady. Look up Steady's dam on pedigreequery.com. In fact look up a bunch of his fore fathers and mothers.

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  3. Oh my goodness! I hope that guy rotted in prison for doing that to a horse. How awful!

    That's really cool at Steady is related to Alydar. I had a Thoroughbred who was related to Native Dancer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Dancer which I thought was pretty cool. :)

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