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SPEEDLINES
Airflame, who set a New World Record on Thoroughbred tracks for 3 furlongs and a New Track Record for five furlongs in the Mayflower Stakes going the distance in a time of :59.40. This is the only time the race was run at five furlongs. It is the speed of Ariel that brought J. Rukin Jelks to the Keeneland Sale in 1943, where he bought a son of Ariel that he named Piggin String.
Jelks is a founding member of the American Quarter Racing Association in the 1940’s. Here is what he said about the colt he bought in the article “Ariel” that appeared in The Quarter Horse, the official publication of the National Quarter Horse Association, in October 1949. Jelks explained it this way, “I have felt for some time Ariel, if given the opportunity, could do more to improve the Quarter Horses than almost any horse alive.
“With that in mind, I went to the (1943) Keeneland Sales in Lexington to select one
of his sons that would possibly fill my needs. After carefully inspecting some 400 yearlings that were to be auctioned, the bay colt (Piggin String) out of Wiggle by Pennant is exactly what I was looking for. He was by far the heaviest muscled colt in the entire sale and was rather a curiosity to the eastern buyers looking for racing prospects. Invariably there was a chuckle when he was shown alongside the long-legged types that are popular as racing prospects.”
Jelks bought the colt for $1,750 and he brought him to Arizona to become a well- known runner that was named the AQRA’s Champion Quarter Running Stallion in 1944 and 1945. In 1945 he set a New Track Record for the fastest quarter mile for stallions in a time of :22.7. He also set the fastest time for the 550 in a time of :28.8 for that year. He was second to Lady Lee when she equaled the world record for 330 yards in a time of :17.5 in that same year.
The pedigree of Piggin String shows that Ariel is by Eternal by Sweep by Ben Brush. The dam of Sweep is Pink Domino by Domino. The dam of Ariel is Adana by Adam. Adana is out of Mannie Himyar by Himyar and Mannie Himyar is out of Mannie Gray by Enquirer. Mannie Himyar is a full sister to Domino. Wiggle, the dam of Piggin String,
is by Pennant by Peter Pan by Commando by Domino. This gives Piggin String a breeding pattern of 5x3x5 to the full brother and sister Domino and Mannie Himyar.
Piggin String became the sire of seven stakes winners with 42 ROM runners and winnings of $167,946. His leading money earner is 1952 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, 1953 Champion 3 Year Old and Champion Stallion Rukin String. He had 30 starts with 15 wins, four seconds and three thirds earning
OKLAHOMA STAR P-6 (pictured), by remount stallion Dennis Reed, is the broodmare sire of World Champion Miss Meyers.
$21,894. You can tell by his earnings that they didn’t race for the money. He won eight stakes races, including the Central Bar And Grill Futurity, the World’s Championship, and the Arizona Derby. The dam of Rukin String is multiple World Champion Queenie by Flying Bob by Chicaro, who is out of Wendy by Peter Pan. This gives Rukin String a breeding pattern of 4x5 to Peter Pan.
Black Easter, another runner sired by Piggin String, won the 1952 State Fair Stallion Stakes. He is out of Arizona Girl
by Chicaro Bill by Chicaro, giving Black Easter a breeding pattern of 4x5 to Peter Pan. The dam of Chicaro Bill is Verna Grace by Little Joe by Traveler. The dam of Little Joe is Jenny by Sykes Rondo by McCoy Billy by Old Billy. The dam of Sykes Rondo is Grasshopper by Martin’s Cold Deck by Old Billy. Martin’s Cold Deck is the great grandsire of Peter McCue. The dam of Grasshopper is Alice by Harry Bluff and Alice is out of Munch Meg. That makes Alice a sister to June Bug, the second dam of Dan Tucker, the sire of Peter McCue.
Following are more stakes winners sired by Piggin String with some interesting pedigrees on the female side of their pedigree.
Running Iron, winner of the 1951 Northern Quarter Horse Breeders Association Futurity, is out of Wampus Kitty by Red Man, a
son of Joe Hancock by John Wilkens by Peter McCue. Silhouette and Sahuro are
full siblings out of Cholla Blossom by Ben Hur. Silhouette is a multiple stakes winner, including the 1950 Arizona Derby. Sahuro
is a multiple stakes winner, including the 1952 Rillito Stallion Stakes. Their dam Cholla Blossom is by Ben Hur, by Rainy
Day by Lone Star by Gold Enamel, an
Army Remount stallion. Gold Enamel is by Maddison and out of Enamel by Enquirer, who is out of Lida by Lexington. Enamel is out of Lucie C by Luke Blackburn, who is out of Nevada, a daughter of Lexington. The dam of Lucie C is Hettie B, who is out of Kathleen by Lexington. This gives Enamel a breeding pattern of 3x4x4 to Lexington. The dam of Ben Hur is Nettie Jacket by Yellow Jacket, who is by Little Rondo by Lock’s Rondo
by Whalebone. The dam of Yellow Jacket is Barbee Dun by Lock’s Rondo by Whalebone who is by Old Billy. The dam of Nettie Jacket is Nettie Harrison, who is by Sykes Rondo and out of May Mangum, making her a full sister to Jenny the dam of Little Joe.
34 SPEEDHORSE August 2020