Page 30 - November 2020

SPEEDLINES
The family tree of QUARTER RACING
and The Thoroughbred Inflfluence, Part 2 See August 2020 for Part 1 • by Larry Thornton
Inan earlier installment of Speedlines, we looked at how the Thoroughbred
and the American Quarter Horse have
come down through the years to become two distinct breeds. We saw their begin- nings in England and Colonial America and the common ancestors they shared. This time, we will continue our look at how the Thoroughbred has served as an integral part of the development of the American Quarter Horse. We will highlight some key indi- viduals that helped us get to where we are today. First, we will expand our look at Ben Brush, a key player in the development of the American Quarter Horse. Then we will look at the unique contribution of a stallion named Spy Song.
BEN BRUSH
How many times have you heard or used the old saying, “You can’t have one without the other?” This is a phrase or saying that applies to many of our nicks in the breed- ing of horses. Sometimes we find bloodlines that just seem to go through history together – so, you can’t have one without the other. This brings us to one of the great nicks of the past that has been a major contribution to the Quarter Horse with combining the blood of the great Thoroughbreds Domino and Ben Brush. They fit the saying, “You can’t have one without the other.”
Previously, we looked at the history of Domino, so let’s look at a little history of Ben Brush and how he came to meet up with Domino. Ben Brush was a bay colt foaled in 1893. He was officially listed as bred by Catesby Woodford and Ezekiel
F. Clay, owners of the Runnymede Stud. The Thoroughbred pedigree researcher Anne Peters in her biography of Ben Brush on tbheritage.com tells us that this colt’s dam was bought by Clay and Woodford before she foaled, and that Eugene Leigh was the person that planned this mating. Leigh was the owner of Bramble, the sire of Ben Brush.
Anne Peter’s biography tells us that Ben
Brush got his name from a man named Ben Brush who was track superintendent at the Sheepsheads Bay track on Long Island.
Ben Brush changed hands a couple of times during the early years. He was first purchased as a yearling by a partnership
of Eugene Leigh and a trainer named Ed Brown. He was then purchased by Michael P. Dwyer, who kept Ben Brush until he retired from the racetrack.
Ben Brush made 40 starts on the racetrack, with 16 of those races as a 2 year old when he won 10 stakes races, including the Champaign Stakes, Nursery Handicap and Cadet Stakes. All of these 2-year-old stakes races were from 4.5 furlongs to seven furlongs. He reportedly won an overnight stakes at six furlongs over older horses as
a 2 year old. All of Ben Brush’s races at three and four were at distances of eight furlongs or longer. His overall record shows that he won 24 races with five seconds and five thirds. His other stakes wins include the Kentucky Derby, the Suburban and
the Citizen Stakes. He earned $65,208 on the track and is listed as the Champion 2 Year Old in 1895 and Champion Handicap Horse in 1897.
When Ben Brush retired, he was sold
to James R. Keene and his Castleton Stud, the home of Domino. Keene bought him as a replacement for Domino, who had died prematurely after siring only two foal crops. Thus, the circumstances were set to form the nick that became famous between Ben Brush and Domino.
Ben Brush lived up to the task as a sire
to replace Domino. Ben Brush was the leading sire in 1909 with offspring that included Belmont Stakes winner Delhi TB; 1914 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Pebbles TB; and 1909 Champion 2 Year Old and 1910 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Sweep TB. Pebbles and Sweep are by Ben Brush and out of daughters of Domino.
Broomstick TB, by Ben Brush, was foaled in 1901 and is a key player in the
28 SPEEDHORSE November 2020