Secretariat, horse: the story of a horse, a triple victory at the races and a movie based on real events

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Horse Secretariat is a famous British stallion born in 1970. He won the Triple Crown three times, he holds several world records, some of which are still unsurpassed. The popularity of this horse was so great that a feature film was even dedicated to it.

Early career

Initially, few people believed in the success of the horse Secretariat at the races. Even despite her excellent pedigree. But experts believed that the stallion did not have enough endurance. They were right only that the path of the steed to success will not be easy.

In his first race, Secretariat's horse only finished in 4th place after hesitating at the start and colliding with another horse. But already the second race helped her to get out of the category of beginners. Secretariat beat the race favorite by three lengths.

Already in 1972 he was recognized as the best horse of the year. In nine races at various distances, he managed to win seven victories,bringing their owners more than 450 thousand dollars.

The Secretariat was born on March 30, 1970. He was born in Virginia. The name was chosen for him immediately, although after numerous victories they wanted to rename him the Red Giant.

His father was a famous horse at the time, nicknamed Bold Ruler, one of the main champions of tracks and racetracks in the United States. Specialists have always named him among the best producers of new offspring.

Secretariat's mother was a mare named Samfinroyal, who had already given away one world champion. The foal, to which this article is devoted, was distinguished among its peers by self-reliance and independence even in childhood. He initially did not cling to his mother, trying to learn about the world around him.

First Coach

The first trainer of the horse Secretariat was Lucine Lorin, the stallion specially moved to Florida with him.

The first successes were followed by new victories. At the races, he managed to get around the main contender for the championship, Linda Schiff, overtaking her by three lengths. It was in this race that the horse Secretariat, whose biography is described in detail in this article, showed the audience her signature move: a quick throw at the finish line.

A change of power took place on a kind of equestrian Olympus. At almost every race, a horse named Secretariat showed a championship move. He was quickly recognized as the new star of the racetracks.

Triple Crown

In 1973, the Secretariatbegan to prepare for the legendary Triple Crown races. Its owner, Penny Tweedy, despite certain financial difficulties, was still able to syndicate a lot of money on the horse - more than six million dollars. However, in reality there was no real cause for concern, the Secretariat confirmed this by opening the new racing season with another series of convincing victories.

His owners had to worry when the horse came only third to the finish line at the Wood Memorial Stakes. This gave rise to doubts about his superiority and rumors that another stallion from the friendly stable of the owners of the Secretariat could actually win the Triple Crown. All this completely confused the bookmakers and potential players at the races.

Kentucky Race

Traditionally, competitions in Kentucky started on May weekend. 134 thousand people gathered to watch the best horses in America. From the very beginning of the race, many were amazed: the favorite Secretariat was among the outsiders, taking only 11th place out of 13 possible at the start.

But already after the first turn, the jockey managed to bring the horse to the fifth position, gaining more agility and speed with every second, in order to demonstrate a signature acceleration at the finish line. Shortly before the end of the distance, Secretariat not only made it to third place, but also overtook his longtime rival Sham, the two leaders took the lead, keeping pace for a long time. At the finish, Secretariat pulled ahead by two and a half lengths. Sham, who finished third, lost to the winner by as much as 8.5cases.

Specialists appreciated the amazing statistics: it turned out that for every quarter mile, the champion horse Secretariat increased its running speed until it reached its maximum. It was the first step towards the coveted "Triple Crown", it was necessary to win two more races - in Preakness and Belmont.

Prekness Horse Racing

It's worth noting that America's three most prestigious races in a row have only been won by a handful of horses in history. Already at the next races in Preakness, which the spectators followed with fascination, the Secretariat was again kept in the background from the very beginning. But this time he managed to take the lead in the first half mile.

Many then thought that this was a risky and reckless step, because just before the finish line the horses often got tired, losing the victory to competitors. But not at this time. Secretariat won the second prestigious race in a row. Sham came second this time, losing 2.5 corps.

In addition, a new record was set for this race track - 1 minute 53 seconds. No one has demonstrated such high results yet.

Belmont

The decisive race for the Triple Crown was held in Belmont. Only four competitors decided to fight against the red-haired favorite, the rest recognized his superiority and did not even go to the start. From the first minutes, many spectators had the hope that Sham would finally be able to take revenge by coming to the finish line first. Initially, these horses became leaders, the situation did not change until the very end.

After the first turnThe secretariat begins to gain momentum and breaks forward with incredible agility. The historic duel in the finish line did not work, the winner surpassed the pursuer by as much as 31 corps. In addition, another clay world record was set.

After these three triumphal victories, Secretariat photos graced the front pages of fashion magazines, and its owner was recognized as the first lady of horse racing in all of America.

Retirement

Hound's career is short, so Secretariat soon had to put an end to it, but before that he won six more races. The most intense race was in Saratoga. The hippodrome in this city bears the unofficial status of the "Cemetery of Champions". He got this name because of the extremely poor statistics. The champions who came here to compete lost the race over and over again.

Unfortunately, this tradition has also been confirmed for the Secretariat. He gave way to the mare Whitney. But already in the next race he won a convincing victory, delighting his admirers.

At the farewell competition, he again broke all the boundaries of what was permitted, setting a new world record at a distance of one and a half miles. The final performance of the horse took place in the Canadian Woodbine. With unprecedented ease, he defeated his opponents, beating the nearest pursuer by six and a half corps. A few days later, the Secretariat took to the track for the last time to say goodbye to the spectators and their fans with dignity. Thousands of people chanted after him: "Goodbye, Secretariat!"

History of the Horse Secretariatturned out to be so inspiring that several decades later they decided to dedicate a film to him.

Fate outside the racetrack

When Secretariat finished his sporting career, he was moved to Claiborne Farm. It is noteworthy that although he was not expected to have champion offspring, the hero of our article became the father of several outstanding stallions.

In 1986, his son became horse of the year, and his daughter became champion Lady's Secret. Two more daughters of the Secretariat showed outstanding results, receiving worldwide recognition. In total, after the official end of his sports career, he gave birth to about six hundred foals.

Secretariat died in 1989 after suffering from inflammation and rheumatitis of the hoof. Complicated laminitis was the official cause of death, according to veterinarians. After his death, an autopsy was performed, which shocked everyone without exception. It turned out that his heart was two and a half times larger than the heart of an ordinary horse. Moreover, this size was not the result of any pathology. It was natural, just very big. Modern researchers believe that this fact contributed to such a stunning success of the horse.

The owners of the horse decided to bury it with all possible honors. He rests next to his father and two maternal and paternal grandfathers. The grave of the idol of a million fans is regularly replenished with fresh flowers.

The film about the Secretariat

Filmabout the horse Secretariat, it was decided to shoot at the legendary W alt Disney Studios in 2010. It tells in detail about his bright victories, the difficulties that he had to face on his way. A lot of attention is paid to the love of fans and fans, many of whom literally idolized Secretariat.

The tape was directed by Randall Wallace, who previously wrote scripts for the films "Braveheart", "Dark Angel", "Pearl Harbor", and also wrote and directed the films "The Man in the Iron Mask" and "We were soldiers."

For the picture "Champion" he hired screenwriters Mike Rich and William Nack. The operator on the set was Dean Semler, who worked in the films "Farewell to the King", "Dances with Wolves", "Bruce Almighty", "Apocalypse". The music for the film was composed by Nick Glennie-Smith.

Cast

In the movie about the horse Secretariat, there are quite well-known and even star actors. The horse's owner, Penny Tweed, is played by Diane Lane, and John Malkovich appears onscreen as trainer Lucien Lauren.

Dylan Walsh plays Penny Jack's husband, Margo Martindale as Penny's father's secretary Miss Elizabeth Ham, Nelsan Ellis as Eddie Sweetgroom, Otto Torvat as Ron Turcott, Fred D alton Thompson as Arthur Hancock, and James Cromwell as Ogden Phipps.

Plot of the picture

Horse movie Secretariat begins with Penny Chenery agreeing to take care ofstable of his father, who is terminally ill. She herself was so far from racing at that moment that she could not even imagine what success it would turn into in the future.

Penny had to wade through all the wisdom of horse breeding to become better at this business. In this, the trainer and veterinarian Lucien Laurent provided her with significant assistance. Thanks to them, Secretariat became the only horse in the world that was virtually undefeated until his death.

Starting everything was not easy. The film about Secretariat's racehorse tells that initially Penny Tweedy found out that the land, house and stable, which belong to her parents, could be sold due to large debts. She decides to do everything to save the family business. She leaves her four children in the care of her husband, and she herself takes over the management of the household, which her mother has been doing in recent years. She had to take on these responsibilities because Penny's father was so ill in recent years that he could not perceive reality.

First decisions

Horse movie Secretariat details what Penny did to save her father's farm. First, she fired a fraudulent trainer who was looking to sell some valuable horses to another breeder for whom he worked in parallel.

Instead, she hires Canadian Lucien Lauren, who is recommended to her by her father's old friend, Bull Hancock. Lauren has been in this business for many years, was about to retire, but at the last moment decided to postpone saying goodbye to what she loved.

Soon the mare Penny gives birth to a foal, which is immediately named Big Ginger. The newborn immediately strikes everyone around him, standing on his feet, everyone thought it was a good omen.

Secretariat wins

When the time comes for Ryzhik to take part in the races, the Equestrian Federation requires that a unique nickname be entered into the protocol. Many of the options offered by Penny and her assistants are rejected by the members of the federation. Then Miss Ham comes up with the idea of naming the stallion Secretariat. This nickname turns out to be lucky.

It is under her that the horse enters history, becoming an American equestrian legend. Wins three of the most prestigious competitions in 1973, receiving an honorary prize known as the "Triple Crown". A few decades later, not a single horse manages to repeat this achievement. Secretariat deservedly remains one of the most famous and great racehorses.