A Legend returns!
Marion Marauder returns to the place where he achieved the greatest triumph of a North American trotter – to Lexington, Kentucky.
It was October 9th, 2016, a legendary day on the Red Mile. Not only did Pacer Always B Miki run the fastest mile in the history of the American Standardbred, but Marion Marauder crowned his career with a razor-thin victory in the Kentucky Futurity, becoming the ninth trotter in history to win the Triple Crown of North American sport.
Please read our report from 2016 under that link.
I visited the Kentucky Horsepark a few days before and met Jenny Leslie, a dedicated groom. She recently posted on her Facebook site that Marion Marauder has now moved in as a new star at the museum and sent me some photos. Thanks a lot for this!
And in her own words: "He is a sweet horse and I think he will fit in here well. I really like him.“
From a breeding point of view, Marion Marauder was of course just as interesting as his closest racetrack rivals, Southwind Frank and Bar Hopping, both also descended from Muscle Hill. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that Marauder was not fertile. As a gelding, he continued his racing career with great success, ultimately winning $3,392,609 with a personal best of 1:50.2 (1:08.6 in Europe), run in his final season of 2020 as a seven year old.
As said, it's a pity that his father's most winning son Muscle Hill (the even little more winning Propulsion had most of his profits in Europe taken away because of an operation carried out before export) could not pass on his genes.
No doubt he would have had the opportunity to do so. His colleagues from the racetrack, Bar Hopping and Southwind Frank, whose first crops were born in 2018, have - how could it be otherwise - been very successful in breeding so far.
A quick comparison of the dam lines of the three horses would show that Marion Marauder's infertility means an absolute loss in breeding:
Bar hopping
Mambrino Beauty (U3)
Marion Marauder
Sally Sovereign (U5)
Southwind Frank
Molly J (U18)
See our article about the world's most successful dam lines. (If it doesn’t work please change to https://classicfamilies.azurewebsites.net/)
Statistics never lie. (Of course, this applies mainly to the dam lines, but there are always surprises with the stallions, which we will examine in one of our next articles.)
Marion Marauder was one of the most extraordinary racehorses in this sport and will enjoy the rest of his life at the Kentucky Horse Park,
hopefully with Jenny Leslie!
All pictures by Jenny Leslie.
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