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'Ruffian' aka 'Sophie'

Listen to a song about 'Ruffian' by Gerry Luckacik

'Remember Ruffian' Memorabilia

Ruffian
The Destruction of a Masterpiece

 
Her barn name was 'Sophie' however, we knew her as 'Ruffian.' She was magnificent in every way. Everyone who saw the match race between 'Ruffian' and 'Foolish Pleasure' agreed that she would have won the race had she not splintered her sesamoid bones. She kept running on her dangling hoof as her jockey, Jacinto Vasquez, struggled to pull her to a stop. The tragic end of her life occurred after 12 hours of surgery; when she awoke from the anesthetic she was disoriented and panicked and thrashed her cast off, and in process broke her other leg. Ruffian was revived twice during surgery and her surgeons knew she would not survive further attempts to repair both broken legs. Ruffian was euthanized and is buried in the infield at Belmont Park with her nose pointed towards the finish line.

Jack Whitaker, the host of the live CBS broadcast of the race in 1975, offered this view: "Nothing can take away the horror of seeing a horse break down. It's like seeing a masterpiece destroyed." Many people who are unfamiliar with Thoroughbreds are not aware as to why the young fillies and colts carry so little weight. Jockeys are light and short and this is necessary as the plates in the young horses' legs are not yet fully fused. Galloping at speeds up to 45 mph on immature bones, which during the gallop, causes each leg individually to absorb the concussion from the ground as well as the full body weight of the horse until it becomes airborne. This often results in broken legs and euthanasia. Many of these cases the public does not hear about as often the horses break down while training at the track. Their owners and trainers had hope for their careers, but these horses remain forever unknown. The lucky ones are put back together and go maybe to new non-racing owners or rescue organizations in search of adopters. There is a separate area of the track where the dead go to be disposed. Is the horse's breeding a determining factor in his or her tendency to break down?

Track horses are a challenge to transition to other equestrian arts. They are fabulous athletes and excel at Hunting, Jumping, Steeplechasing, and Dressage to name but a few. What is not generally known - unless you are a careful breeder of Thoroughbreds - is how the 'Reines-de-Course' is a determining factor in the overall success a Thoroughbred will attain both on and off the track.

'La Reines-de-Course'
(The Queens of the Turf)

The Reines-de-Course ("Queens of the Turf") series was created by Ellen Parker in 1991 as a guide to influential female Thoroughbred mares and their families that could be utilized to improve the breed. Parker's extensive pedigree research has confirmed her theory that the mare has more influence on the success of a horse at the track, and overall in life. Despite the fact that Ruffian's dam (Shenanigans) was a 'Reine' descended from a long line of 'Reines,' Parker believes that Ruffian is a striking example of choosing bloodlines that, despite her moments of greatness, did nothing more than produce an accident waiting to happen. 

Parker writes in her 'Pedlines' series about Ruffian:

"Was there ever anyone who saw the streak of black lightning known as Ruffian who did not love her? We think not. Nature seemed to know that there should never be another; her dam was barren to Reviewer when bred back to him.

Along with Ruffian’s greatness came great tragedy, of course. Some of it was man-made. She really did not need to run in a match race to prove her mettle. The race destroyed what should have been a promising stud career for Foolish Pleasure, as well, for there was an (idiotic) prejudice against him for ’winning’ the race after Ruffian broke down.

Twenty-twenty hindsight is a great thing, but there was most definitely some hint of what was to come when one considers that her sire Reviewer broke down three different times, and that her grandsire Native Dancer ran only 22 times at a time when horses routinely raced 40 and 50 times. We know now that it is Native Dancer whose bloodline is largely responsible for the fix we find ourselves in with the fragile modern Thoroughbred.

Reviewer’s entire female family, the Flitabout clan, has consistently thrown soft horses. Nothing was ever as bad as Reviewer, but Seeking the Gold, however gifted he may be as a progenitor, is just plain brittle. The family is trouble and it gets much of that trouble from Challenger II who appeared to throw a recessive soundness problem inherited from his paternal grandsire John O’Gaunt, and the mare Traverse. Traverse may be a purveyor of the so-called large heart gene, but if the legs cannot hold up the heart, it ends badly. Traverse could last only four starts and won not a one of them. Challenger II won his only two starts in Europe but failed to find the winner’s circle in eight U. S. efforts.

History tells us that Swynford’s sire line, even via a sire as well bred as Challenger II, was never very tough. Blandford, which was often used as an example of horrid forelegs, fared better in large part due to the Aga Khan’s use of him via *Blenheim II who in turn got *Mahmoud. Though *Mahmoud’s sire line is pretty well run out, any number of good horses, especially Halo sons, are likely to be inbred to him as he is a source of sound speed.

Ruffian’s bottom line also gives us more clues as to her eventual downfall. Traverse appears again and Ruffian is inbred to her via full siblings Traffic/Transmute on a 5 x 4 cross. The two unsound elements of Challenger II and Native Dancer also have something in common. Challenger II and Sickle’s dam Selene are very closely related. They are sired by half brothers Swynford and Chaucer and Challenger II’s broodmare sire Great Sport is a half brother to Selene’s dam Serenissima. This combination makes for a four-way cross of Pilgrimage (Canterbury Pilgrim x2/Loved One x2).

These explosive inbreeding combinations were both good and bad. And the bottom line of what Ruffian teaches us is the very basic truth that while inbreeding to great families (in her case Traverse and Pilgrimage) may strengthen a pedigree, attention must be paid to the individuals one is using for inbreeding. And that is where the ball was dropped.

Reviewer, let’s face it, should never have gone to stud. He was an accident waiting to happen. Shenanigans was a decent runner and from a good family, but you don’t cross Native Dancer on a horse like Reviewer. That is putting a match to the fire.

Sadly, it is Ruffian who paid the price. And as we know, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Nature has taken care of Reviewer for us; his bloodline is almost gone.

But in Seeking the Gold we have a horse who mixes the Bird Flower family with Native Dancer. No Reviewer blood is present, but three quarters of the formula is still there. And it’s still flammable. One of his stakes winners is a horse called Secret Savings whose second dam is by Reviewer! This ticking time bomb went to Australia to race thank heavens; we have enough soft bone in the U. S. already.

Keep in mind that Seeking the Gold has been bred to the very best mares in the world - they have a CI of 3.98! Mares who produce his foals will have the luxury of having their youngsters go to the very best trainers. If one of these individuals shows a minor problem, the fillies may be retired unraced since their catalogue pages will read well. If they are colts, they generally do best in Europe (Dubai Millennium, Lujain) where the going is softer and protects their fragile underpinnings. The only good thing about him at this point is that most of his best runners are fillies. His ’best’ son, Dubai Millennium, died young. With a little luck, not too many of his sons will go to stud and we will only have to worry about breeding around his daughters.

We all loved Ruffian and if there is any way to preserve her memory (other than banning match races), it is to consider what her pedigree teaches us. By all means, inbreed to great families. This is a priceless tool and one of the main reasons we publish Pedlines. But don’t inbreed mindlessly. You are creating a living thing.

Wouldn’t you rather have an inbred like Seattle Slew than Ruffian? Both had intriguing pedigrees, but the individuals used in Slew’s pedigree had the right kind of toughness needed to support the final result. So think before you sign that stallion contract or accept that mare into your stallion’s book. We’d love to see another Seattle Slew, but it would break our hearts to see another Ruffian."

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Ms. Parker's lesson here is that much research into pedigrees must be done before deciding to breed a thoroughbred. 'Ruffian' was stellar in life, and through Ms. Parker, her legacy is not just the tragic loss of her life -- it is what she had to show us about breeding.

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'Ruffian'

Born: April 17, 1972 at Claiborne Farm, Paris KY
Died: July 7, 1975 (age 3) at a veterinary hospital adjacent to Belmont Park, buried near the flagpole at Belmont.

Pedigree:

(Female Family # 8c)


Racing Record:

 

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