I love Seabiscuit + his story so interesting. Was a bit sad he was made to run about 38 times, at a young age, in races. Especially having an enlarged heart. 🐴💖
No one can ever known if Man O' War had it or not, as he was buried whole. But from how he performed on the track I will always believe he had the same condition Secretariat did.
Agreed, Man O War probably did, and i think Seabiscuit also had this trait, oversized heart as he was MOW's grandson. IMO, he was the greatest sire not for the champions he produced, rather the famous horses his line produced that are known to the common man. MOW was probably the greatest, however on the day of June 9th 1973, not even he could have beaten Secretariat. That was simply a freakish performance.
One of my fav films.... I am in the middle of reading the fantastic book.. and now stumbled upson this great documentary... many thanks for making this available... real inspirational stuff
Running water made me want to go to the bathroom lol but my grandma has met Seabiscuit, she used to watch him practice every morning in SF. Her mother my great grandmother was a cowgirl I didn't know that till she told me and gave me her silver Spurs because I ride and own horses so she passed the Spurs on to me and said I reminded of her. ❤️
On the other hand, Man O' War was a freak horse, and Slew wasn't. Man O' War had (they think--it was never confirmed) the oversized heart like Secretariat.(War Admiral had it so they think his sire did too). Pretty hard to (ever) compare a freak horse to other horses. It's what makes them special. I think Man O' War would have been a monster had they just given him his head. But they never did. I think it's thanks to greats like Man O' War that we have the horses we have today. Like Slew.
Back then, horses still ran wild out west and there were people like Smith that knew horses by simple instinct. They were a breed all thier own. Sadly, there are no horses or horsemen like that today. Man O War was the greatest Stud of all time, his line includes War Admiral and Seabiscuit.
Its amazing Seabiscuit ran as well as he did,having such bad conformationRest in peace "Biscuit" with Secratariet ,Sham,Bold Ruler,Bull Lea,and way too many to list.Micheline Kribs
Good to know. However Red's own daughter is interviewed in this program. If it was a huge deal to her that they misrepresented her father's early life history, I would think she would have taken advantage of the opportunity to set the record straight. She did not. So I don't think you need to get so worked up about it. They will Hollywood-ize anything to sensationalize it more. Like War Admiral standing at 18 hands rather than his (very) ordinary height of 15.3.
Actually while I do think Man O' War was the greatest racer of modern times, I disagree about him as a stud. He produced a line of very difficult to manage hot heads. Hard Tack was one good example of this. Man O' War's wildness he passed on. While I agree he produced the most champions--it was hit and miss and a lot of them were impossible to handle. Seattle Slew on the other hand, produced champions too, and did not pass on undesirable qualities like Big Red did.
DeityFree Dee I love Laura Hillenbrands description of these horses in her book. Fair Play and Man O War etc. all came from a horse called Hastings. Laura said that his progeny were "beautiful maneaters". Apparently Hastings was so disagreeable that his people wouldn't even go in to feed him without a big stick.
You have a link to the genome sequensing? Some mutations are passed only father to offspring and others mother to offspring, some even skip generatons. DNA hasnt fully been understood, they can check for a gene, but still arent sure how its activated or linked to other genes. The more i looked at this, it seems Fair Play might be the one with it, as he is in the pedigree of almost every great horse. It wasnt only heart size, but lung size and slow twitch muscle fiber stamina as well.
Not sure about that, and we will never know. Man O'War was never given his head. He was never pushed like Secretariat was. He didn't (I don't think) have a Sham nipping at HIS heels. Though I do have to wonder what he would have done against Exterminator at a distance. But again, we'll never know. You're right on about MOW's record of siring champions. And for Seabiscuit to run as he did considering his leg problems and poor conformation--wouldn't surprise me at all if he had the big heart.
+Vintage Vera He was simply the best horse of his time, though I think he would be "the best horse" or among the best horses, in any other time too. I wish it would have been possible to see the two big reds race-- Man O' War and Secretariat. I'm a huge Man O' War fan, but he was half wild and never given his head. He never truly could show what he could do. I think Secretariat shared what Seabiscuit had--a love for running. Did Man O' War love to run? I think a race between these two greats would be more on which horse had the greatest heart and love for running, not the fastest feet or the longest stride. It is a question we will never have the answer to.
