{"id":21415,"date":"2020-04-04T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=21415"},"modified":"2020-04-03T06:13:16","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T11:13:16","slug":"grey-racehorses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/grey-racehorses\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Deal with Grey Horses? Why Only 3 Have Won a Grand National"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is something remarkably striking about grey horses \u2013 a\ngenetic accident of skin pigmentation means they stand out in paddocks when\nparading and are easy to spot on racetracks in the thick of the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just about three percent of all thoroughbred racehorses are grey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like their more common bay and chestnut counterparts, they are born with darker skin but their coats soon become dappled, then grey and eventually white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Grey Horses Are Thought To Have\nCome From<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Equine bloodstock and genetic historians believe that the\ngene that makes grey horses was introduced into the western world when Arabian\nstallions were brought to Europe for thoroughbred breeding purposes in the\nearly eighteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One sire in particular, Alcock\u2019s Arabian, has been traced as\ntheir origin from about 1720. Genetics also tell us that at least one parent in\na racehorse\u2019s pedigree must be grey in order to pass the trait on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grey Horses Have Higher Risk Of\nDeveloping Illness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is also a cautionary tale about breeding greys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the age of 10 onwards they are genetically more likely\nto develop tumours on their skin, called melanomas, due to a biochemical link\nbetween coat colour and this illness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led some influential people in the bloodstock world to believe that grey horses are diseased \u2013 a prevailing attitude which only began to change when famous racehorses<\/a> of this colour emerged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research continues into drugs that block malignant melanomas,\nthough many tumours are thankfully benign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lamb \u2013 a Grand National Pioneer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It follows that if so few of the thoroughbred population\nare grey horses, then it is little wonder only three have won the world\u2019s most\nfamous steeplechase race \u2013 the Grand National at Aintree.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From their introduction into the equine gene pool in the\nearly Georgian period, we jump ahead about 150 years to the end of 1860s and\nthe Victorian era. William Henry Poulett, 6th Earl Poulett, loved his\nracehorses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He owned a curiously-named horse called The Lamb<\/strong>, who won the Grand National twice and four seasons apart in 1868 and 1871. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What seems strange looking back on that now is Poulett\u2019s horse was fancied on both occasions despite no grey horses having won the race previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lamb [Image: tbheritage.com]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When The Lamb first landed Grand National glory aged six (he would not be eligible to run in it at that point his career today), only six finished and 21 ran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His second success saw twice as many finishers from a 25-runner field and he was sent off about half the starting price of that previous victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicolaus Silver and Neptune Collonges Also on Honour Roll<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leaping forward almost another century and we come to Nicolaus Silver<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nicolaus Silver [Image: Horse & Hound]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An Irish import into the yard of powerful trainer Fred\nRimmell after his original handler Dan Kirwan died in 1960, he honoured the\nmemory of present and previous connections by winning the Grand National the\nfollowing year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sent off at 28\/1, Nicolaus Silver raced carrying a\nrelatively light weight of just 10st 1lb and scored by five lengths. This ended\na 90-year wait for grey horses in the Grand National and it wouldn\u2019t be quite\nso long before it happened again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neptune Collonges<\/strong> was unfortunate in that he shared\nthe same era as modern British National Hunt icons Kauto Star and Denman. He\nhailed from the same stables too, trained by Paul Nicholls during a golden\nperiod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bred in and brought from France by owner John Hales who is\nno stranger to having grey horses, Neptune Collonges was the third in a 1-2-3\nfor Nicholls in the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He would have his moment in the\nsun in the 2012 Grand National, however, and go out on a high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 51 years after Nicolaus Silver, 33\/1 shot Neptune\nCollonges got up on the line to score by a nose and just overhaul Sunnyhillboy\n\u2013 a horse he was giving 15lb in weight to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native Dancer \u2013 Legacy of the \u201cGray\nGhost\u201d of 1950s America <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Given just three grey racehorses have won the Grand National in its illustrious history, first officially dating back to 1839, the world-famous horse race<\/a> hasn\u2019t contributed much at all to their public popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer to their enduring appeal can be found in thoroughbreds on either side of the Atlantic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No equine athlete has done more to change perceptions of grey horses both on the track and at stud than Native Dancer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Native Dancer [Image: Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He was a real force stateside in the early 1950s and twice\nvoted American Horse of the Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native Dancer suffered just one defeat in 22 career races,\nfinishing a head runner-up in the Kentucky Derby but went on to win the other\ntwo US Triple Crown legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greatest Of Grey Horses At Stud<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nicknamed the \u201cGray Ghost\u201d in line with the American spelling of grey, he went on to be hugely influential on breeding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the grandsire of Northern Dancer, Native Dancer\u2019s progeny from subsequent generations includes English Triple Crown hero Nijinsky, Sadler\u2019s Wells and Galileo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these horses have been overarching influence as sires\nof many top British and Irish Flat thoroughbreds. A plethora of racehorses over\nthe last 60 years can trace their lineage back to Native Dancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They include the American Horse of the Year for 1986, Lady\u2019s Secret<\/strong> who had him on the distaff side of her pedigree and was by the mighty Secretariat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This grey filly was absolutely bred in the purple and, although small in size and light in stature, she was a prolific winner of valuable handicaps on the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native Dancer\u2019s exploits coincided with the first televised coverage of horse racing in America which admittedly was in black and white. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the era of Spectacular Bid and Lady\u2019s Secret, grey horses were easily identifiable as broadcast pictures came into people\u2019s homes in glorious technicolour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desert Orchid \u2013 Popularity Personified<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No grey racehorses anywhere in the world can hold a candle to Desert Orchid<\/strong> in terms of popularity, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foaled in rural Leicestershire in England and trained by David Elsworth for much of the 1980s, \u201cDessie\u201d became public property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Desert Orchid [Image: Telegraph Multimedia Archive]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He wasn\u2019t even at his best on racetracks configured\nanticlockwise, but still managed a heroic Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph on\nbottomless ground in 1989 despite being headed by Yahoo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was at right-handed courses, notably Kempton Park, where\nDesert Orchid shone the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His four victories in the King George VI Chase there on\nBoxing Day across five seasons was a record until a certain Kauto Star came\nalong and won the Christmastime feature five times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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