Monthly Archives: January 2020

Over the past few weeks I have been pondering Dr. Emmeline Hill’s recent findings that 97% of Thoroughbreds descend from Canada’s Northern Dancer.  Which led me to his Canadian son, The Minstrel.  Years ago I was rider-in-residence at Windfields estate, which meant … Continue reading →

I’ve been pondering Dr. Hill’s statistics that of the 10,000 Thoroughbreds in her recent study, 97% trace to Canada’s Northern Dancer.  I really should not be surprised.  The entire ‘back story’ is told in my book The horse and the tiger. The … Continue reading →

Despite the fact that I have been following the Northern Dancer bloodlines since my book,  Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy was published in 1995, I was stunned by the statistics resulting from Dr. Emmiline Hill’s recent study of 10,000 Thoroughbreds which … Continue reading →

When I finished writing The horse and the tiger, I was totally exhausted.  Not only from the endless hours in front of my computer, but the massive amount of research it required.  First there was the Irish history.  Despite descending … Continue reading →

The Horse and the tiger was initially inspired by the dust-up between a Scot: Sir Alex Ferguson, famed manager of Manchester United;  and famed Irish horseman John Magnier, of the Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary.  The battle was over the … Continue reading →

In 1970, when Nijinsky won the English Derby, attention was focused briefly on Northern Dancer- but only briefly, since Nijinsky did not resemble his sire.  The perception at the time in Great Britain and Europe was that North American horses … Continue reading →

A recent survey on the US-based Paulick Report asked readers if, as we enter 2020, if they were optimistic or pessimistic over the future health of the Thoroughbred industry.  70% checked the pessimistic box. Things appear to be more optimistic over at … Continue reading →

Writing about Northern Dancer’s magnificent son, Viceregal, reminded me of several things, not the least of which was the size of foal crops these days.  In his first year at stud Northern Dancer was bred to 21 mares.  One of … Continue reading →

Viceregal, Northern Dancer’s first offspring, was not only spectacularly beautiful, he was a courageous champion.  Undefeated at two, in 8 starts, 7 of them stakes races.    Indeed I clearly was such a fan, my boss at Woodbine, Trent Frayne, talked me … Continue reading →