On September 12, the horse racing world commemorated the 55th anniversary of the last racehorse to accomplish the feat of capturing the British Triple Crown, comprising the 2000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, and the St. Leger. This achievement set the ultimate benchmark for a thoroughbred racehorse, with no horse in the last 55 years managing to repeat this historic triumph. It meant winning classics across distances of a mile, a mile and a half, and a mile and three-quarters.
In 1970, Nijinsky transcended all parameters in horse racing by winning the Triple Crown, the Irish Derby, and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. He came within a whisker of adding the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but a bout of ringworm infection denied him that elusive crown. Had he won, many believe he would have been rated the greatest racehorse of all time. Few, if any, European racehorses have made the kind of impact Nijinsky did on the turf. His meteoric rise in 1970 gave the effect of a new dawn in racing, a journey that truly touched eternity.
It is difficult to find an adjective adequate to describe Nijinsky’s overwhelming popularity in 1970. He was idolised like an emperor or revered as a prophet of the sport. Though temperamental and sometimes slow to settle, once in full stride he could quicken instantly—like a racing car after pressing the accelerator, or lightning striking the ground. Arguably, no horse has ever matched Nijinsky’s aura of invincibility, as he mercilessly dwarfed his rivals and shattered all illusions of competition. Out in front, the colt surged majestically with a ground-covering stride that gave the impression of a creature from another planet. When cruising home, no horse in the British Isles ever looked more emphatic or convincing.
Nijinsky was bred in 1967 at Edward P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm in Ontario by Northern Dancer out of Flaming Page. Unlike most of Northern Dancer’s medium-sized, lean progeny, Nijinsky stood an imposing 16.3 hands. He was sent to Ireland to be trained by Vincent O’Brien at the legendary Ballydoyle stables.
Nijinsky was one of the most difficult horses to train, often reminding observers of a child refusing to go to school. It was the painstaking and meticulous handling of Vincent O’Brien that shaped him into a champion. Formally, Nijinsky was not bred to stay long distances—his sire Northern Dancer excelled at a mile and a quarter, and his dam Flaming Page also at similar distances.
It was the capable work riders Johnny Brabston and Danny O’Sullivan who tamed the big, headstrong colt. Too impatient and wilful for public training grounds like Newmarket or the Curragh, Nijinsky was usually worked alone. Brabston, bareheaded and without protection, tapped into Nijinsky’s flamboyant power and grace. Without their perseverance and O’Brien’s intuition, Nijinsky might never have fulfilled his destiny.
As a two-year-old, Nijinsky romped home in the Dewhurst Stakes with Lester Piggott astride for the first time, winning by four lengths after earlier successes in the Railway, Anglesey, and Beresford Stakes.
In the 1970 2000 Guineas, he won convincingly against Yellow God and Amber Rama, although he idled once in front. Doubts lingered over his ability to stay the Derby distance of a mile and a half, but Nijinsky silenced critics. When Gyr, son of the great Sea-Bird, hit the front, it briefly seemed that the doubters were right. But when Piggott asked, Nijinsky accelerated electrifyingly, sweeping past rivals through a narrow gap with disdain. He missed the all-time course record by a whisker, the fastest Derby since Mahmoud in 1936.
In the Irish Derby, Nijinsky defeated Meadowville by three lengths. His performance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was one for the ages—he cruised into the lead and toyed with a top-class international field, winning with regal ease. Rarely in sport has superiority been displayed so emphatically, reminiscent of an emperor at a victory parade. His victims included Derby winner Blakeney, Coronation Cup winner Caliban, Italian Derby winner Hogarth, and Washington International winner Karabas.
After this, Nijinsky fell victim to ringworm, losing condition and training time before the St. Leger. Despite setbacks, he prevailed by a length over Meadowville, becoming the first colt since Bahram in 1935 to win the Triple Crown. However, he was visibly tired, the illness having taken its toll.
He then went to Paris as favourite for the Arc. Preserved at the back of the field, he made his bid late, surged ahead with brilliance, only to drift and be caught on the line by Sassafras. It was his first defeat, coming after illness and a punishing campaign. Critics blamed Piggott’s tactics, but Nijinsky was simply not his old self. It was like Napoleon at Waterloo—glorious but defeated.
In his final race, the Champion Stakes, he was beaten again, looking a shadow of his earlier self. The curtain had fallen on a career of dazzling brilliance.
Retired to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, Nijinsky became a highly influential sire. His progeny included Golden Fleece (1982 Derby winner), Shahrastani (1986 Derby and Irish Derby), Ile de Bourbon (1978 King George), Ferdinand (1986 Kentucky Derby), and Lammtarra (1995 Derby, King George, and Arc). Though often temperamental, his offspring possessed brilliance, with Golden Fleece closest to Nijinsky in raw ability and Lammtarra the most charismatic.
Timeform rated Nijinsky at 138, below horses like Dancing Brave and Mill Reef, though Racing Post ranked him at 140 and considered him among the top five European champions of all time. Lester Piggott always maintained that Sir Ivor had better temperament and finishing speed, yet admitted that Nijinsky, at his best, was the most powerful horse he ever rode. Vincent O’Brien himself was torn, calling Sir Ivor tougher, but never denying Nijinsky’s unique greatness.
Even if not formally rated the greatest, Nijinsky was, in the eyes of the British public, the supreme flat racehorse. No colt better defined the thoroughbred as an equine athlete. He remains the only horse in modern times to unite the Guineas, Derby, St. Leger, and King George, while coming agonisingly close to the Arc. Later champions—Mill Reef, Dancing Brave, Shergar, and Sea the Stars—may have matched his brilliance, but none equalled his aura or achieved his exact combination of triumphs. As commentator Julian Wilson once said, if forced to name the greatest horse he had ever seen, the title would lie only between Sea-Bird, Mill Reef, and Nijinsky.
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*Freelance journalist
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