Congratulations to Rachel Alexandra on her courageous winning performance in the Preakness. It's a testament to her class that, despite struggling with the Pimlico surface, she persevered to become the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness. And also, kudos to Mine That Bird, who proved the Derby was no fluke, again rallying from last place in another zip code with a scintillating stretch run that came up just a length short. But this diary is the story of another filly from another time and another place whose claim to fame is that she was the greatest filly, and for many the greatest racehorse, to ever look through a bridle. Her record puts to shame the records of Secretariat and Man o' War. It's another horse story that would not be believed if it were not true. It's as much fairy tale as reality, part Cinderella, part Ugly Duckling, and part Secretariat. It's the story of a horse that was the toast of five nations. If you haven't heard of her and you're wondering why, it's possibly because, as Zoltan Karpathy said in My Fair Lady, she's Hungarian.
If you asked me to give you the name of another Hungarian racehorse, I couldn't do it. I wouldn't even know where to look, but I know the name Kincsem as well as I know the name Man o' War. And Kincsem's story is quite amazing. But what made her so great was quite simple, her unparalleled race record. Between the ages of two and five, she crisscrossed the continent facing the finest horses of her generation. She went to the post 54 times and she never lost!
It's almost inconceivable we will ever again see a race record approaching hers. By comparison, the last great American horse to finish a career undefeated was the filly Personal Ensign and she raced thirteen times. And before Personal Ensign, the last undefeated American champion was Colin, who raced eighty years earlier and was 15 for 15. Now, it's not unusual to see a good horse retired before he goes ten races. In the racehorse game, where handicaps and bad racing luck are unavoidable, if you stick around long enough, sooner or later, you will be beaten.
Kincsem was foaled in 1874 at the Hungarian National Stud. The name she was given means "My Treasure" in Hungarian. Her owner breeder was a young man named Ernest de Blascovich. And as would be the case, if you were making up her story, the liver chestnut filly was so plain, Mr Blascovich was unable to sell her. In fact Blascovich had made a package deal to sell a group of his yearlings, and the buyer refused to take Kincsem in the deal because he thought so little of her. So Blascovich was stuck with her. And as they say the rest is history.
There is a famous legend about Kincsem when she was a yearling, the truth of which is somewhat less than certain. A group of gypsies was said to have kidnapped her as a yearling. When she was recovered, they asked the head of the group of gypsies, why of all the horses, did you take the plain filly. He answered, despite her looks, she was the best horse of them all, and she would become a great champion. She was said to be a potbellied animal who seemed to have trouble keeping her head up, almost as out of place among a group of racehorses as a goat. And in the post parades before races she took on the appearance of a somnambulist. But as so often is the case, appearances can be deceiving, and once the race began there was never a fiercer competitor.
Kincsem won most of her races in dominating fashion. She was almost never extended. But on a few occasions, more because of her exhausting schedule than the competition, she was put to the test. The most famous of these was in The Grosser Preis von Baden as a four year old, her third race in three countries in five weeks, where she dead heated for first place with Prince Giles the First, in a two mile race giving the colt a handicap of fifteen pounds. She then proceded to easily defeat the colt in a runoff.
Her fans were legion. Among the most loyal was the Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, who attempted to see her race whenever he could. She was the pride of a nation and the toast of the continent. After her campaign as a five year old, she was retired from the racetrack. She then had a very successful career as a broodmare. Unfortunately, on her thirteenth birthday, after a severe attack of colic, she passed away. A nation mourned, flags were flown at half mast, and newspapers were printed with a black border, such was the regard in which she was held. To this day, her skeleton is on display at the Hungarian Agricultural Museum in Budapest.
There are apparently some books devoted to Kincsem, but they are written in Hungarian. Here are a couple of links to her story I have found on the web (1,2). As an additional aside, while looking up some information on Kincsem, I discovered that there is a pretty good Hungarian colt currently racing, who is once again inspiring a nation. Ironically, some of his races have taken place at at Kincsem Park. Never underestimate the powers of a horse.