Big Game (horse)
Big Game | |
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2000 Guineas (1942) (1942)Champion Stakes |
Big Game (1939–1963) was a British
Background
Big Game was a powerfully built dark bay horse standing 16.1
Big Game's entire career took place during World War II during which horse racing in Britain was subject to many restrictions. Several major racecourses, including Epsom, Ascot and Doncaster, were closed for the duration of the conflict, either for safety reasons, or because they were being used by the military. Many important races were rescheduled to new dates and venues, often at short notice, and all five of the Classics were run at Newmarket.[1]
Racing career
1941: two-year-old season
Big Game made his first public appearance in the five
In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the season's best British two-year-olds, he was the highest-rated colt on a mark of 132 pounds, placing him second overall behind his stable companion, the filly Sun Chariot (133).[8]
1942: three-year-old season
On his three-year-old debut, Big Game was tried over seven furlongs in a race at Salisbury and won impressively in a course record time. He was then moved up to one mile for the 2000 Guineas which was run that year on Newmarket's July course rather than the adjoining Rowley Mile. Travel restrictions, which meant that spectators had to walk several miles to reach the course, did not prevent a large attendance. Ridden by Richards, Big Game was made
A month later, he returned to the July Course for the "New Derby", a wartime substitute for
Big Game was provided with an opportunity to showcase his abilities over middle distances during the autumn season. He participated in the ten-furlong Champion Stakes, which took place on 11 September, a month earlier than its usual schedule. Taking the lead half, a mile before the finish line, he displayed a dominant performance and secured a decisive victory. The filly Afterthought and the colt Ujiji, who had previously finished ahead of him in the Derby, trailed behind him in this race. Following this triumph, Big Game was retired from racing and commenced his stud career at the Aislabie Stud. His stud fee was set at £250, marking the beginning of a new phase in his life. [13]
Assessment
In their book A Century of Champions, Tony Morris and John Randall rated Big Game the fortieth best British racehorse of the 20th Century and the hundredth best in their global ranking.[14]
Stud career
Big Game was based at the National Stud and proved to be a successful sire of winners, but not an outstanding one. His most important winners were the Classic-winning fillies
Pedigree
Sire Bahram (GB) 1932 |
Blandford 1919 |
Swynford | John o'Gaunt |
---|---|---|---|
Canterbury Pilgrim | |||
Blanche | White Eagle* | ||
Black Cherry | |||
Friar's Daughter 1921 |
Friar Marcus | Cicero | |
Prim Nun | |||
Garron Lass | Roseland | ||
Concertina | |||
Dam Myrobella (GB) 1930 |
Tetratema 1917 |
The Tetrarch | Roi Herode |
Vahren | |||
Scotch Gift | Symington | ||
Maund | |||
Dolabella 1911 |
White Eagle* | Gallinule | |
Merry Gal | |||
Gondolette | Loved One | ||
Dongola (Family:6-e)[3] |
- Big Game was inbred 3x4 to White Eagle, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and the fourth generations of his pedigree.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
- ISBN 0-85112-902-1.
- ^ a b "Fenella - Family 6-e". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Frederick Darling". Horseracing History Online. Archived from the original on 2004-03-18. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Harry Wragg". Horseracing History Online. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Ascot Opens Minus Frills". Leader-Post. 2 July 1941. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "KING'S HORSES. Outstanding Derby Chance". Western Mail (Perth). 26 March 1942. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "ENGLISH SPORTING LETTER". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 12 Mar 1942. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "Br. King wins 2,000 Guineas race". Indian Express. 13 May 1942. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "The King's Horse First in Classic". Montreal Gazette. 13 May 1942. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ Amanda Murray (2006). "All the King's Horses". Robson Books. p. 234. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ "THE DERBY. WATLING STREET WINS". The West Australian (Perth). 15 Jun 1942. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "King's Horses Have Finished Racing". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 30 Sep 1942. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ISBN 1-90157015-0.
- ^ "Leading Broodmare Sires of Great Britain and Ireland". Tbheritage.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Big Game to be Put Down". Glasgow Herald. 4 July 1963. Retrieved 2012-03-12.