1968 Animal Births - 1968 Racehorse Births, Canonero II, Mill Reef, Jim French, Hoist the Flag, Brigadier Gerard, His Majesty, Lauries Dancer (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: 1968 Racehorse Births, Canonero Ii, Mill Reef, Jim French, Hoist the Flag, Brigadier Gerard, His Majesty, Lauries Dancer, Run the Gantlet, Kennedy Road, Triple Bend, Droll Role, Athens Wood, Albatross, Kashin, Forward Gal, Bold Reason, Bold Reasoning. Excerpt: Mill Reef (1968-1986) was a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United Kingdom. Mill Reef was owned and bred in the United States of America at the Rokeby Stables in Virginia of his owner and breeder the philanthropist Paul Mellon. He was a son of Never Bend out of the mare Milan Mill by Princequillo. As a yearling it was thought that his action better suited him to a career on the turf courses in Europe rather than the dirt tracks in America and so he was sent to England in December 1969 to be trained by Paul Mellon's young English trainer Ian Balding at Kingsclere. He was ridden by Geoff Lewis in all his fourteen races. Mellon named the horse after the Mill Reef Club, which is situated on the island of Antigua in the West Indies. The Mellon family has maintained a home at Mill Reef since its founding in 1947. As a yearling Mill Reef showed himself to be an exceptional talent. Once, whilst visiting the stables and watching the yearlings being put through their paces on the Kingsclere gallops, the noted former amateur jockey and journalist Lord Oaksey asked, "Who's that?" to which Balding replied, "That is Mill Reef " and he went on to prove himself to be an outstanding two year old in 1970. Mill Reef made his debut in May in the Salisbury Stakes at Salisbury, where he beat the previous winner, and 2-9 favourite, the Lester Piggott ridden Fireside Chat, by four lengths. He then went to Royal Ascot winning the Coventry Stakes by six lengths and the decision was taken go to France for... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=979231