Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Bee — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:10:14 GMT

I watch horseracing alot and I'm always surprised that m.o.w. is rarely mentioned. There are other horses from that era nowhere near as famous whose names come up all the time. I'd love to see a movie made about the life of m.o.w. that really depicts the feel of that era but keep it real somthing that will appeal to horseracing fans as well as the general public.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Debbie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:48:26 GMT

I have a mare that has Man O'Wars and War Admiral blood lines and she is red with a black mane and tale and a white on one foot and a snip and stripe and she stands 16.2 hands.And what a beautyful head and soft eyes and very loving mare and build for speed when she wants to. She is my first thoroughbred I owned,she raced only 3 times and her racing name is Mielka.and she is only 12 years old and she has brought so much joy in to our lives,I am disabled and riding horse has help my back and grooming helps my hands and fingers and I would never give her up.she is to stay with me.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

oldgraymare — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:37:05 GMT

Ditto downhomesunset...First 'Black Beauty' then the Farley books. I must give thanks to my 6th grade teachers cousin who was a trainer in NY and she recycled his 'Blood Horse' and 'Thoroughbred Record' magazines to me. In the '50s a subscription was 7$ a year!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

downhomesunset — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:23:28 GMT

Ragsy-I AGREE. Artificial insemenation is available to racehorses-if you are a quarter horse or a Standardbred. TBs are sooo behind on breeding it stinks. It's safer and less stressful for animals and people, higher pregnancy rates, no disease transfer, no shipping problems, the list could go on..... The naysayers are the rich that want to keep rich. Harness and quarter racing even allows embryo transfer. These breeds have come up against and solved most problems already. There is no excuse not to.

"King of the Wind" has a 4-5 page opening gambit about MOW final race which brings the reader into the Godolphin Arabian's story. Both authors are fantastic reads-I suggest adults who have time reconnect with these beautiful stories. If you do not have the time or inclination-PLEASE-for the love of the sport, give them as gifts to youngsters, libraries,gift baskets,anything. My love of the sport started with a Walter Farley book in a 3 pack in a school book order. I have been a fan and bettor ever since!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Brenda — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:57:37 GMT

I remember my step mom telling me how she got to see Man o' War when she was little girl, her dad had to put her up on his shoulders so she could see. There was a large crowd waiting to see him. He was being unloaded from a box car train. I have always thought how lucky she was to see him.

He IS and Always will be My Favorite Race Horse of all Times!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

longtimeracingfan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:29:43 GMT

Man o'War was the best of his time, but I suspect if he were around in later decades he still would have been among the very best if not the very best then too. The truly great ones tend to be timeless.

BTW, "King of the Wind" was written by Marguerite Henry [not Walter Farley; he did his own excellent later book on Man o'War] and illustrated by Wesley Dennis, as were all her books--- she is best remembered for her "Misty of Chincoteague." I never got to meet Walter Farley, who had Arabians at the same time I did, on the other side of the country; but I did meet Ms. Henry and she was delightful.

Writers like these two shaped the lives of more kids than most people realize... giving them the key to the gate of the horse world ... "King of the Wind" was of course a fictional biography of the Godolphin Arabian, and even now, over 5 decades after reading it for the first time I still love it. A life with horses of several breeds has wised me up, but the passion for the species still stands.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

jlvssec — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:26:30 GMT

I've always loved that quote by Samuel Riddle - it seems to sum up the fickle nature of the horse racing gods.

As for the price being $5,000 = not exactly cheap in today's dollars, the point is that Man O' War had the breeding and the conformation and everything that would normally command a sales topping price except he was under the weather. Seattle Slew was undeniably an even bigger bargain, but he completely outraced his pedigree so its not as surprising that he was sold at that price.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Sagebrush — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:24:32 GMT

Thank you BloodHorse for continuing to remember the great ManO'War. As a horse-crazy child in the early 1950s, I read Cooper/Treat's book. I wrote the publisher thanking them for the fabulous story. Shortly thereafter I received an autographed copy of the book from Roger Treat! (Page Cooper had passed on.) I still have that book today--nearly 60 years later. A few years later, my family & I traveled to Kentucky & visited Faraway Farm. War Admiral & War Relic were still there. I was able to both pet & feed the 'Admiral'. (I have photos!) He was a kind old gentleman by then. War Relic was a firey red & unapproachable. (But what a great stallion he has been also.) I breed & raise thoroughbreds today on a very small scale--always trying to include the blood of Big Red if at all possible. I have been blessed with some wonderful runners. Think the thought that if Man O'War was reincarnated today & run under the far far better conditions--unbelievable! In the years since, we have had some fantastic, amazing horses come on the scene; but my heart will forever be with Man O'War! Oh, only for a trip back in time.....Sagebrush

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

larthemisarthemis — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:40:28 GMT

$5,000 in today's money is more than $71,421.52; much more if you adjust not for general inflation but for the inflation in the prices of yearlings (recent deflation notwithstanding).

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Abbie Knowles — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:31:02 GMT

SEATTLE SLEW RULES OK!

PROVE IT BOY!!!!! Through your dynasty anyway!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

lobieb — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:44:17 GMT

I have a painting of Man O War on my wall by Patrick L. Henry and would never part with it. What a gorgeous animal and in my eyes one if not the best thoroughbred ever.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

da3hoss — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:58:19 GMT

Tiznow has multiple crosses back to Man O'War, In Reality, Cee's Tizzy's grandsire is inbred to MO'W, as well as Seattle Song on dam and Seattle Slew, who is inbred to MOW.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Old Mexican groom — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:29:24 GMT

$72k by todays inflated dollars...a bargain really when you compare to others who were as much as 10 X's that amount. "not exactly a cheap horse"? Tell that to the people who signed for The Green Monkey! At least this one got the job done...Man O War is/was more than a great thoroughbred...he is an icon of Americana...rightly said..LONG LIVE THE KING!!!! QUE VIVA EL REY!!!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

smartysgal — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:12:38 GMT

You can also find the Man O' War book by Cooper/Treat on eBay. I checked a few days ago, and there are bidding wars for it. Good luck!

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Lindsey S — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:45:01 GMT

No doubt the greatest horse ever. Reading the books "Big Red" and "Man o' War" as a little girl started my love of this great sport. Why haven't they ever made a movie about him? If they can make movies about Phar Lap, Seabiscuit, and now Secretariat, why not a movie for the greatest ever? I always tell people if I could go back in time to see anything, it would be to see Man o' War race. A movie would bring that sense of history to a main stream audience, and he's certainly a horse everyone should know about! It really is too bad he came before the age of color photography and video.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Abbie Knowles — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:28:37 GMT

Tiznow is a great grandson of SEATTLE SLEW through SEATTLE SONG who was ridden by the greatest Asmussen and the straightest. No medication infractions for Cash! Cash could train better too!!!!!!!!!! He is the superior horseman you see and i am so pleased that he is my friend! And Cheryl, Catherine, Christine and Carolyn too of course! The Five CEES! CEES TIZZY is TIZNOW's sire!

Ooops digressions again!

i love Walter Farley's Black Stallion books; my favourites as a teenager. Still have all those I could get hold of in the UK! Walter Farley was a brilliant writer!

Man O War is a true great but no one will ever convince me that Seattle Slew is not THE GREATEST! He is to me anyway!

God Bless

Best wishes

Abbie

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

mz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:03:10 GMT

In one of those Twilight Zone moments (or X Files, if you want to modernize the reference), Vic Zast brings up the steeplechaser/hurdler who won his first flat race in Saratoga in his blog and Lee refers to MOW's other offspring in this blog and I (naturally, with the way my mind works) remember BATTLESHIP, who won the Grand National. A little (meaning small, but still mighty) son of MOW.

Lucky that Tiznow looks like he's going to keep the line going.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

LDP — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:09:53 GMT

Horseguy,

It isn't cheap in any time, but Golden Broom sold for like 15 or 16 thousand dollars. So for what MOW went on to do, especially when compared to how much ppl payed for others in his crop, 5 thousand is a really good deal.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Vita — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:03:30 GMT

Reading about Man O War is what peaked my interest in horse racing. I was 8 then, I'm 53 now and devoted my entire adult life to the thoroughbred racing/breeding business. Thank you Man O War for giving me the best life ever.

Long live BIG RED.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Whatever — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:16:05 GMT

There won't be any Man O' Wars in this sale or Seattle Slews for that matter. Triple crown winners and greatness are NOT being bred anymore these days, only pretenders manufactured by the television, program directors and wealthy people in the industry.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Julie L. — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:05:52 GMT

The one and only "Big Red". I have loved this horse all of my life though I am too young to have known him but it is he by which I have set the standard for all Thoroughbreds. He was never given his head in a race so never showed us all that he could have done. His records stood for years and if his book would have been more open to outside mares he would have produced even far better than he did and yet with Mr. Riddle limmiting his book he still was a great sire. Thank God his line is still alive today.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Ragsy — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:16:29 GMT

I JUST WISH ARTIFICIAL INSEMNATION WAS ACCEPTABLE....IN RACE HORSES....

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

da3hoss — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:53:43 GMT

The absolute King.

Named in honor of August Belmont, by his wife, because he was in France, WW1.

You can see bits of him in Tiznow.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Robin Barrack — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:42:30 GMT

Man o'War will always be known as the greatest horse ever. I, too, was too young to have known him, but I still worship the ground he walked on. He is truly The King of Thoroughbreds.

re: Fasig-Tipton and the Great Man o' War

Lee — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:11:49 GMT

Man O'War by Cooper and Treat was reprinted recently and is available on Amazon and there is also a newer book about him by Dorothy Ours. I read the Cooper and Treat book at my gradeschool way back in the early 70's and looked for a copy for many years. Sadly the reprinted version does not have the same cover.

The quote from Riddle saying that ten were blanks and the eleventh was Man O'War brought tears to my eyes. There will never be another Man O'War and he'll always be number one for me.

Slew is my number two. He had a much better stud career than Secretariat.

Many have forgotten how great at stud Man O'War was. They only remember War Admiral but he sired many Champions and several Horses of the Year and never got the best mares in the country like stallions do now.