The Early Years

Early in the 20th century, Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr. was in the process of taking over managing Ellerslie Farm in Virginia from his ailing father, Civil War veteran Richard Hancock. At about the same time, Arthur Hancock's wife, the former Nancy Clay, inherited land in Paris, Ky. For some years, the Hancocks operated both farms while maintaining their residence in Virginia, but Hancock concluded his well established Virginia staff could run Ellerslie, so the owners moved to the Kentucky division, which was named Claiborne. Eventually, Claiborne overshadowed Ellerslie, which was later sold by the family.

Under Hancock and succeeding generations, Claiborne Farm has been in the forefront of the world's Thoroughbred breeding, racing, and sales. The raising of top-class horses through many generations, and the sage acquisition of outside stallions to stand at Claiborne, have been hallmarks of the careers of Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr., his son A. B. (Bull) Hancock Jr., and the latter's younger son, Seth Hancock, who runs the farm today.

Leading Sires During Arthur Hancock Sr.'s Tenure

In 1921, Arthur Hancock Sr. stood the leading sire of the year, Celt, at Ellerslie. (The phrase leading sire traditionally means the stallion whose offspring accumulated the greatest earnings at the races in a given year.) The first stallion standing at Claiborne to lead the sire list was Sir Gallahad III, which Hancock purchased in France in 1926 for $125,000 in partnership with Marshall Field, William Woodward Sr., and R. A. Fairbairn. Sir Gallahad III sired 1930 Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox; which was foaled at Claiborne and returned to stud there, in turn siring the 1935 Triple Crown winner, Omaha. Sir Gallahad III led the sire lists four times in 1930, 1933, 1934, and 1940.

The elder Arthur Hancock died in 1957 and was succeeded by son Bull Hancock, who had been instrumental in running the farm since his father suffered a stroke a decade earlier. At that time, the blood of the Italian champion Nearco had become prominent in Europe, and an early representative imported to this country, Noor, made a name for himself by defeating the great Citation four times in succession.

Bull Hancock set his sights on importing a Nearco stallion, and he honed in on the Aga Khan's willful but brilliant Nasrullah. From an initial offer of $50,000 that came too late, Hancock and his associates, Woodward and Capt. Harry F. Guggenheim, had to up the ante to $340,000 to secure Nasrullah. The horse was imported to Claiborne and syndicated into 32 shares, following the custom of the time.

By 1951, he was standing on Claiborne soil but had risen to the top of the sire list in England. His prestige soared higher, until his death in 1959. Nasrullah sired nine horses that were recognized by official voting as champions of their divisions. These included Horses of the Year Nashua and Bold Ruler. Nasrullah led the sire list five times, in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, and 1962.

He alternated at the top with another Claiborne stallion, Princequillo. Also bred in Europe, Princequillo had a background contrasting to the proud early history of Nasrullah. At one time a $2,500 claimer, Princequillo had emerged as an outstanding competitor at the long distances associated with Cup races. Still, when he initially entered stud at Ellerslie, his fee was but $250. Then, with the emergence of young champions Prince Simon abroad and Hill Prince in America he soon joined Nasrullah at the height of status, and fashion. He led the sire lists in 1957 and 1958, interrupting Nasrullah's reign. Yet another Claiborne import, Ambiorix, also got in one year as the leading sire, in 1961.

Leading Sires During Bull Hancock's Tenure

In 1954, the Nasrullah colt Bold Ruler and the Princequillo colt Round Table had been foaled at Claiborne on the same night. Bold Ruler was bred by Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, whose mares had been boarded at Claiborne for nearly three decades and whose son, Ogden Phipps, and grandchildren, Ogden Mills Phipps and Cynthia Phipps, continue that association today. Both Bold Ruler and Round Table were part of the storied three-year-old crop of 1957, and they swapped Horse of the Year titles, Bold Ruler preeminent in 1957 and Round Table the top star of 1958.

Round Table had been bred by Claiborne and initially raced in its historic, golden orange colors, but a majority interest of him was sold to Travis Kerr, in part to assist in paying estate taxes after Arthur Sr.'s death. Both Bold Ruler and Round Table stood their entire stallion careers at Claiborne, and they followed in their sires' footsteps as leaders.

Bold Ruler was the more phenomenal of the two. He led the sire list seven times in succession, from 1963 through 1969. Two years after his death, he ascended to leadership again, largely off the prowess of his most astounding son, the 1973 Triple Crown winner, Secretariat.

Thus, beginning with Nasrullah's first year as leading sire, in 1955, the sire list was led by a Claiborne Farm stallion for 15 years in succession. Bold Ruler's seven-year streak and eventual total of eight times as the leader surpassed the record of any other American stallion since Lexington in the previous century.

In 1972, Round Table emerged for his year atop the sire list, and he was succeeded, as stated above, by Bold Ruler in 1973.

Bull Hancock passed away suddenly in 1972, and Seth Hancock, then in his early twenties, soon headed the Claiborne team. The momentum of acquiring great stallion prospects had continued unabated, with such American champions as Buckpasser and Damascus and European champions Sir Ivor and Nijinsky II having been brought to the farm in the final half-dozen years of Bull Hancock's life. Young Seth quickly put his own stamp on the stallion process with the $6-million-plus syndication of the sensational Secretariat to secure him to enter stud at Claiborne in 1974.

Leading Sires During Seth Hancock's Tenure

Later stallion acquisitions by Seth Hancock included the next pair who would emulate such Claiborne duos of the past as Sir Gallahad III and Blenheim II, Nasrullah and Princequillo, and Bold Ruler and Round Table. These were Mr. Prospector and Danzig. Mr. Prospector led the sire list in 1987 and 1988, and Danzig took the top spot in 1991, 1992 and 1993. They raised the farm's total for number of times having stood the leading sire to 27, far more than any other farm in the modern era.

Mr. Prospector, sire of 180 stakes winners to date, held the industry record as all-time leading sire of stakes winners at the time of his death in 1999. The former record had been set at 154 by another Claiborne stallion, Nijinsky II. Blenheim II, Tulyar, Sir Ivor, and Nijinsky II were all winners of England's historic Epsom Derby who achieved significant results as Claiborne stallions.  Other prominent stallions that have already added their own chapters to Claiborne history include Mr. Prospector's sons Seeking the Gold and Conquistador Cielo. Another son of Mr. Prospector, the homebred champion Forty Niner, left several important crops before being exported to Japan. Meanwhile, a pair of young Kentucky Derby winners, Unbridled and Go for Gin, also were obtained by Seth Hancock to stand at Claiborne. They were joined several years later by yet another Kentucky Derby winner, Monarchos.

Leading Breeders

Matching an enduring pattern of stallion power with carefully nurtured female families, three generations of Hancocks have bred a distinguished list of major race horses. At the same time, they have raised for their clients a total of 61 champions and hundreds, if not thousands, of other stakes winners. (The word champion is not loosely used; generally, in Thoroughbred racing the term is applied only to a horse voted a championship via recognized balloting in this country, selected by a similar process in certain other countries, or assigned the highest weight on an official handicap in other nations.)

Arthur Boyd Hancock Sr. bred 138 stakes winners, including Kentucky Derby winners Johnstown and Jet Pilot, and he was America's leading breeder in monies won on five occasions, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, and 1943.

During Bull Hancock's tenure, Claiborne bred many, many stakes winners, including Horse of the Year Moccasin, and led the breeders' standings four more times, in 1958, 1959, 1968, and 1969.

While quality has been a Claiborne constant, one element which has shifted with the times has been its posture relative to the yearling market. Arthur Sr. was a dynamic salesman and sold Claiborne-breds annually at yearling sales. Bull Hancock preferred breeding to race. With a unique partnership with the late William Haggin Perry, he achieved a splendid formula for generating revenue while still retaining an interest in the Claiborne-bred foals. He sold a half interest annually in all of them to Perry, and the two partners divided the horses insofar as which ones raced in whose colors.

Cognizant of economic realities, Bull Hancock specified in his will that Claiborne would return to the market place, at least for the short term. Young Seth Hancock entered the sales picture in dramatic fashion, selling the record-priced future champion Wajima ($600,000) and the future Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Ivanjica the first year after his father's death. Later Claiborne-breds, which were sold at auction, included Nureyev, who has taken his place among the world's great stallions and achieved the 100-plus stakes winner mark. This element of Claiborne's international influence was underlined in 1997 with Nureyev's spectacular son Peintre Celebre winning the French Derby, Grand Prix de Paris, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe while his daughter Reams of Verse captured the Epsom Oaks.

Moreover, others of the world's top sires with major Claiborne influences include the farm-bred Caerleon and the splendid brothers Sadler's Wells and Fairy King, both out of Claiborne-bred Fairy Bridge.

True to his father's impulses, Seth Hancock reverted to breeding to race as soon as it was feasible, although Claiborne-breds also come onto the yearling market from time to time. In 1984, the Hancock family achieved the long cherished goal of winning the Kentucky Derby when the homebred Swale carried the traditional Claiborne silks to victory in the Churchill Downs classic. Swale added victory in the Belmont Stakes and was named champion three-year-old that season. Moreover, Claiborne again repeated as the leading breeder that year, raising the three-generation Hancock total to 10 terms as the leader in that category. Soon afterward, one of the farm's most revered clients, Mr. Ogden Phipps, led the breeders list in 1988 and again in 1989.

Among the major Claiborne-breds of recent years, in addition to Swale, were Forty Niner, champion at two in 1987 and winner of the Travers Stakes and other major events in 1988, and the world-class miler Lure, which won back to back runnings of the Breeders' Cup Mile, in 1992 and 1993.

Early Champions

Since record keeping from 1954, a total of 61 bona fide champions of major divisions in major racing countries have been produced from the foaling stalls and/or raised on the rolling fields of Claiborne Farm.

In 1954, two of Claiborne's time-honored clients were represented by champions. The Belair Stud stable operation had been passed from its founder, the late William Woodward Sr., to William Jr. Among the most highly prized foals in the final crops of the elder Woodward's life was the Nasrullah-Segula colt foaled in 1952.

Woodward had long harbored the ambition to win England's historic Epsom Derby, and he had the Nasrullah colt designated to be sent abroad. When his death in 1953 put the operation in the hands of his less experienced son, William Jr. decided the home team was enough for him to cope with, so he closed the English division. Thus, the Nasrullah colt, to be named Nashua, was sent to Belair's American trainer, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, who had won Triple Crowns with Gallant Fox and Omaha in the 1930's for the stable.

Nashua emerged as the champion two-year-old colt of 1954. Champion two-year-old filly was another Claiborne product, High Voltage, which the farm had raised on behalf of Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps' Wheatley Stable. High Voltage also was trained by Fitzsimmons.

The following year, Nashua became one of the most famous Thoroughbreds in history. His bid for the Triple Crown was scuttled by Swaps in the Kentucky Derby, but Nashua gained revenge that summer in a Chicago match race which was covered in midweek on national television.

Late in 1955, owner Woodward was shot fatally by his wife in what was judged an accidental death. The most famous horse of the day thus was committed to sealed bid auction, and Nashua became the first horse sold for more than $1 million. The next year, he followed Citation as the second horse to earn as much as $1 million.

While High Voltage at three won the Coaching Club American Oaks in 1955, she did not repeat as champion filly of her age group. That honor was taken by yet another Claiborne foal, Misty Morn, also bred and owned by Mrs. Phipps and trained by Fitzsimmons.

Claiborne's own homebred Doubledogdare emerged to become the champion two-year-old filly of 1955. The daughter of the top-class Claiborne stallion Double Jay won four stakes, including Keeneland's Alcibiades Stakes and New York's Matron. At three, she took the inaugural running of Keeneland's Spinster Stakes, which from its inception has stood as one of the fondest targets of breeders and owners, especially Kentuckians.

Class of 1957

In 1957, a remarkable quintet of Claiborne foals all earned championship honors. Mrs. Phipps' Bold Ruler (trained by Fitzsimmons) had seemed the best two-year-old contender of 1956, until he was shuffled back by traffic in the richest race in the world, the Garden State Stakes, and lost out in championship voting. At three, he ratified the earlier opinion, as he won the classic Preakness Stakes and a series of other spectacular victories, culminating with a score over Gallant Man and Round Table in the Trenton Handicap. Not only were Bold Ruler and Round Table Claiborne graduates, but the older Dedicate, which defeated Bold Ruler and Gallant Man in the Woodward, was also a farm-bred.

At year's end (1957), all three won honors: Bold Ruler and Dedicate each was named Horse of the Year on one of the major polls operating at that time; Bold Ruler was also named champion three-year-old, Dedicate was voted champion older male, and Round Table was voted the outstanding runner on grass.

Moreover, two homebreds carrying the Claiborne colors were also champions of 1957. Nadir, a big, rakish son of the farm stallion Nantallah, trained by Moody Jolley, developed late and turned in a powerful stretch drive to win the Garden State Stakes late in the year. Bayou, a homebred by Princequillo's young son Hill Prince, won the Acorn Stakes, Delaware Oaks, and two other stakes in the Claiborne colors and was voted champion three-year-old filly. Bayou was out of Bourtai, a remarkable mare that also produced the major winners Banta, Delta, and Levee. Delta in turn became a Broodmare of the Year.

The Early Sixties

The only horse in history to be named Horse of the Year more than three times was Mrs. Richard C. du Pont's Kelso, a gelding foaled at Claiborne Farm in 1957. The year 1960 marked the first of Kelso's five consecutive Horse of the Year titles, as he emerged late in the year to dominate not only other three-year-olds but older horses as well. Another unprecedented aspect of his career was his five wins in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, a streak also begun in 1960. Kelso at four won the vaunted old New York Handicap Triple Crown, which had been won by only two other horses, Whisk Broom II in 1913 and Tom Fool in 1953.

The series consists of the Metropolitan Handicap, Suburban Handicap, and Brooklyn Handicap, and Kelso carried 136 pounds in winning the climactic event of the trio. By 1964, Kelso was an American sports icon, and he punctuated his fifth Horse of the Year title with a record-setting win on grass, in the 1 1/2-mile Washington, D. C., International at Laurel. He retired as the world leading money earner to that time, with a career record of $1,977,896.

The year of Kelso's emergence, 1960, also coincided with the handicap male championship earned by Claiborne-foaled Bald Eagle. Bred and raced by the late Capt. Harry Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable, Bald Eagle was a willful Nasrullah colt which was raced abroad at two and three before being returned to America to be trained by Woody Stephens. Bald Eagle won two runnings of the Washington, D. C., International, as well as the Metropolitan Handicap and Widener Handicap, etc.

The 1961 season brought out the spectacular Ridan, a Claiborne-born colt which raced for a partnership of John Greer, Earnest Woods, and Mrs. Moody Jolley. He was the first major stakes winner credited to future Hall of Fame trainer LeRoy Jolley. Because he was a big, strapping Nantallah colt which reminded his owners of Nadir, Ridan was given that name spelled backward. He was certainly not backward in his development, although high strung and willful. He was undefeated at two and was voted the juvenile championship in the Turf and Sport Digest poll. At three, Ridan added the Florida Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, and other races and was second in two of the most memorable photo finishes in racing memory: to Greek Money in the Preakness and to Nasrullah's son Jaipur in the Travers Stakes.

Capt. Guggenheim's Nasrullah colt Never Bend, also foaled at Claiborne, streaked through the two-year-old division in 1962, winning the Champagne Stakes and other major events, to be named champion that year. He was a major winner again at three and became an internationally influential stallion. His best son, Mill Reef, won the English Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for Paul Mellon and himself sired classic winners abroad.

The 1963 season saw the first of the champions raced in the Claiborne-William Haggin Perry partnerships. This was the elegant chestnut filly Lamb Chop, from the first crop of Bold Ruler-- a crop that sounded the warning of the young stallion's rise to dominance. Lamb Chop's victories included triumphs in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Spinster Stakes as she fought off Spicy Living and others in a strong crop. She was voted champion three-year-old filly.

Also in 1963, Wheatley Stable's Castle Forbes, a daughter of Claiborne stallion Tulyar, won the Sorority Stakes and the Gardenia and was voted champion two-year-old filly by the TRA.

In 1964, Claiborne, Bold Ruler, and Wheatley dominated the juvenile ranks. Two farm foals bred and raced by Wheatley Stable, Bold Lad and Queen Empress, were named champion colt and filly, respectively, among juveniles. Both were sired by Bold Ruler. This remarkable double would repeat itself three years later when two more Bold Ruler foals, Vitriolic and Queen of the Stage, would win juvenile championships for Mrs. Phipps' son, Ogden Phipps. Bold Lad was the pro-tem Kentucky Derby choice for the following spring, but he was injured in the race and was out for some time. He came back at four to win the Metropolitan Handicap. He was a son of the former Wheatley distaff champion Misty Morn.

The Late Sixties

The only two-year-old filly ever voted Horse of the Year on any poll was Moccasin, Ridan's full sister (Nantallah-- Rough Shod II) which was both bred and raced in the Claiborne name. Trained by Harry Trotsek, Moccasin was undefeated in eight races from August through November in 1965. Racing oldtimers tend to say what sets the best apart from merely good horses "is not what they do, but the way they do it." Moccasin did it with compelling authority: The Spinaway Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths, the Matron by six, the Alcibiades by 15, the Selima by five, the Gardenia by 2 1/2. She later became the dam of seven stakes winners.

The same year, 1965, Ogden Phipps' Claiborne-foaled Buckpasser was almost as dominant as champion of the two year-old colt division. His campaign presaged a great career. At three in 1966, he launched a winning streak that would eventually reach 15 races and he was named Horse of the Year as well as champion three-year-old. Retired to Claiborne, Buckpasser became a distinguished sire and a broodmare sire of lasting influence.

Buckpasser was one of five Claiborne-foaled champions of 1966. That same year, Wheatley Stable's Successor followed in the path of his full brother, Bold Lad (Bold Ruler--Misty Morn) in earning the juvenile colt title. Bold Bidder, a late developing Bold Ruler colt, emerged at four as the handicap male champion, Impressive was the top sprinter, and Mako the champion steeplechaser. Bold Bidder had been another Wheatley bred, which later was purchased by John R. Gaines, John W. Hanes, and John M. Olin.

The 1967 season brought out the aforementioned Vitriolic and Queen of the Stage, Ogden Phipps' pair of Claiborne-foaled Bold Ruler juveniles which won the colt and filly championships of their age group. Also in 1967, Gamely, a Bold Ruler filly from the Claiborne-Perry partnership, was voted the champion three-year-old filly on the TRA poll. The following year, in 1968, this sterling filly won six major stakes, including the Santa Margarita, Vanity, and Beldame. Often, her main competition came from another Claiborne foal, Perry's Princessnesian. Gamely ventured out of her own division to edge a strong field of males in the Inglewood Handicap. At five, she added four more major victories and was voted older distaff champion of 1969 by the TRA, her third year as a champion.

The Very Early Seventies

The 1970 season was distinguished by Hoist the Flag, a Claiborne foal bred by John Schiff and raced by Mrs. Stephen Clark. The son of Claiborne stallion Tom Rolfe was first across the line in each of his four races, although he was disqualified for interference in the Champagne Stakes. The following spring, he was spectacular in two outings before a severe leg fracture ended his career and threatened his life. He was saved by veterinary medicine and served a distinguished career at stud at Claiborne. Also, in 1970, Mrs. Ogden Phipps' Top Bid, foaled at Claiborne, won the first running of the Colonial Cup Steeplechase and was voted the champion jumper of the year.

In 1971, both two-year-old champions and both three-year-old champions were all Claiborne foals. The first crop of the great Buckpasser included the flying filly Numbered Account. Ogden Phipps' homebred was so spectacular that by year's end she was emboldened to challenge colts in the Garden State Stakes. Even Numbered Account could not cope with the winner of that race, who was the Claiborne-foaled Riva Ridge. Also winner of the Hopeful, Futurity, and Champagne Stakes, Riva Ridge was bred and raced by the Chenery family's Meadow Stud, which had campaigned Claiborne stallions Hill Prince and Sir Gaylord in the past. Riva Ridge reigned as the champion two-year-old, and Numbered Account was the champion two-year-old filly in the first season when the former polls were consolidated into the Eclipse Award program.

The champion three-year-old of 1971 was another Claiborne product and represented one of the most improbable stories of Turf history. Canonero II was bred by E. B. Benjamin and had such a malformed foreleg that he brought only $1,200 when sold as a yearling. He was purchased by obscure owners from Venezuela, where he raced at two. Reappearing in the United States in the spring of 1971, as a three-year-old, Canonero II rallied from far behind to win the Kentucky Derby in one of the most startling upsets in the great race's history. He then set a track record in adding the Preakness Stakes to prove his Derby win was not a fluke. He later was purchased by King Ranch and was a major winner again at four.

The three-year-old filly champion of 1971 was Turkish Trousers, which was raised at Claiborne for another of the Hancocks' longtime clients, Howard B. Keck, and raced on the West Coast in Mrs. Keck's name.

In 1972, another brilliant daughter of Buckpasser appeared in the form of Jean-Louis Levesque's La Prevoyante, a Canadian-foaled filly which was raised at Claiborne. La Prevoyante sent historians delving back into record books to Colin in 1907 to find a two-year-old to match her record of being unbeaten in 12 starts. She was not only Horse of the Year in Canada, but was the Eclipse Award winning juvenile filly in all of North America. Also in 1972, Autobiography emerged as the champion older male with a campaign climaxed by his win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Autobiography was bred by Wheatley Stable and later sold to Sigmund Sommer.

The Glorious Mid-Seventies

In 1972, Riva Ridge came back to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Despite his own brilliance at two, three, and four, he was soon cast in the supporting role in his own stable, as Meadow Stable's superb Secretariat swept the juvenile championship of 1972 and the Triple Crown of 1973. The Virginia-bred Secretariat was the first major stallion acquired for Claiborne Farm by young Seth Hancock after the death of Bull Hancock in 1972.

Ironically, Secretariat's vaunted foil, Sham, was a Claiborne-bred which had been sold at the dispersal of Bull Hancock's racing stock.

What Secretariat represented to the world, Ruffian represented for fillies. Bred by Ogden Phipps' brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Janney Jr., Ruffian was foaled at Claiborne and was sired by the farm's young Bold Ruler stallion, Reviewer. Ruffian was so dominant among two-year-old fillies in 1974 that it was widely believed she might have taken on the best colts successfully. She was even more overpowering at three, sweeping the New York Filly Triple Crown to run her record to 10 wins in 10 starts. Matched against Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, she was injured early in the race, and, sadly, the feistiness that helped make her a great race filly made her a poor patient, so heroic veterinary efforts were unable to save her. She was so beloved that she was buried in the infield at Belmont Park.

Also in 1974, Mrs. Martha Gerry's Claiborne-foaled Forego emerged for the first of three seasons as Horse of the Year. A son of the Argentine stallion Forli, which Bull Hancock had imported to stand at Claiborne, Forego was so large and leggy that he was late to mature. By the time he was four in 1974, he was equipped to summon comparisons to another great gelding, Kelso. Forego was so versatile that he was named champion sprinter as well as champion older horse and Horse of the Year at four. He repeated as Horse of the Year in 1975 and 1976, perhaps his signature victory coming in the 1976 Marlboro Cup when he carried 137 pounds and stormed down the middle of the track to catch Honest Pleasure in a heart-stopping rally. For years in retirement, he was a popular attraction to the public at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he died at 27 in 1997.

Another foal in the remarkable foal crop of 1970 was Nelson Bunker Hunt's Dahlia, which was foaled at Claiborne. Dahlia was sent abroad, where her spectacular efforts included back to back victories over top males in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Late in 1974, she came back to North America, where she won the Canadian International and Man o' War Stakes to earn the Eclipse Award as champion grass specialist of either sex. She was the first filly or mare to earn as much as $1 million at the races.

The Late Seventies

The 1975 season saw the coronation of Wajima. While in football or basketball, blue chip prospects frequently pan out as stars, this pattern is more chancy in the yearling market. Wajima, however, represented the best yearling prospect becoming one of the best horses. He was sold for $600,000, then a record, when Claiborne offered him at Keeneland in the summer of 1973. Racing for East West Stable, he emerged two years later as the champion three-year-old. Wajima was the last of the champion sons of Bold Ruler. When the grand stallion had developed a cancer within his head, he was sent for a time to Auburn University.

Treatment was successful enough that he was returned for one more season at stud, 1971, before his death. Wajima was a member of that final crop.

In 1976, two farm products earned championships. The family of James Cox Brady had been a client of Claiborne for some years, and the Brady children's stable won an Eclipse Award that year with Sensational, named the champion two-year-old filly. The quartet of owners included Nicholas Brady, who was chairman of The Jockey Club and later served as a United States Senator and then as Secretary of the Treasury under President George Bush.

Also in 1976, William Haggin Perry's Reviewer filly Revidere came along to win the CCA Oaks and other major races, bringing memories of Lamb Chop as well as another three-year-old championship.

The history of American breeding earlier in the century had been enhanced by the importation of key stock from Europe. By the latter decades of the century, American-breds had become so successful both here and abroad that their prestige was equal to the products of any other country. With Claiborne briefly in the yearling market after the death of Bull Hancock, the blood of its top mares would inevitably be spread across national boundaries.

In 1978, the highest-priced yearling sold at Keeneland was a colt by Northern Dancer out of the Claiborne mare Special, she from the family of Moccasin and Ridan. The Windfields Farm stallion Northern Dancer by then had become one of the most influential stallions in the world and was also the sire of the 1970 English Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky II, which sired more than 150 stakes winners while standing his entire career at Claiborne.

The Northern Dancer--Special colt was purchased for $1.3 million by Stavros Niarchos, named Nureyev, and sent to Europe. He was unbeaten in three races, including one of England's classics, the Two Thousand Guineas, but he was disqualified in a wrenching decision from his victory in that event. Nonetheless, he was regarded as the champion three-year-old of France for 1980 at his distance. Nureyev later would sire more than 100 stakes winners, including the 1997 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, Peintre Celebre, as he also became one of the most influential stallions in the world.

The Early Eighties

The champion older female of 1981 was yet another Buckpasser filly, bred and owned by Ogden Phipps. This was Relaxing, whose victories included a brace of the traditional fixtures of the East such as the Phippses have been winning since the 1930s. She won the Ruffian Handicap, Delaware, Firenze, and defeated colts in the John B. Campbell Handicap and Gallant Fox Handicap. Relaxing soon made her mark as a broodmare, her graded stakes winning foals including another in the line of Phipps champions, Easy Goer. Both generations were raised at Claiborne.

In 1982, another member of the Phipps family campaigned the three-year-old filly champion in Christmas Past. This Claiborne foal was bred and raced by Ogden Phipps' daughter Cynthia Phipps, who like her brother, Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps, had established a separate stable. Cynthia uses the purple and gold colors which her grandmother, the late Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps used for Wheatley Stable. Ogden Phipps' and Dinny Phipps' are similar, both cherry and black.

Two champions of 1983 were Claiborne foals. One, Slew o' Gold, out of Alluvial, a daughter of the 1950s Claiborne champion Bayou. Slew o' Gold was bred on a foal sharing arrangement and was by the 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. He raced for a stable whose ownership included the same team which had raced Slew, Dr. and Mrs. Jim Hill and Karen and Mickey Taylor. Slew o' Gold won two runnings of the Jockey Gold Cup, and he was champion three-year-old of 1983 and champion older male of 1984. Also in 1983, Mrs. Jacqueline Getty Phillips' and Michael Riordan's Bates Motel, a Claiborne-foaled son of Sir Ivor, emerged as the champion older male.

As would be expected in a family associated with Kentucky for as long as the Hancocks have been, the Kentucky Derby is a special, revered target. A. B. Hancock Sr. had been breeder or co-breeder of Derby winners Johnstown and Jet Pilot, while in more recent years Arthur B. Hancock III had been a co-breeder of Gato del Sol and Fusaichi Pegasus and co-owner of Sunday Silence as part of his own Stone Farm operation. In 1984, a long ambition was realized when Swale, both bred and raced in the Claiborne Farm name, dominated the Derby from start to finish. He was a son of Seattle Slew and was out of Tuerta, a one-eyed filly which had been held out of the Bull Hancock dispersal in part because she had been the last stakes winner the late master of Claiborne had seen race.

Swale, trained by Woody Stephens, had also been an outstanding two-year-old. Following his Kentucky Derby, he added another distinction for Claiborne, carrying the silks to another dominating triumph, in the classic Belmont Stakes. Tragically, he died suddenly of an inexplicable syndrome only eight days later, but his achievements were more than sufficient to guarantee him the Eclipse Award as three-year-old champion of 1984.

The Mid-Eighties

The champion juvenile of 1984 was another Claiborne foal, Chief's Crown, in the first crop of the farm's young stallion Danzig (raced by one of the farm's newer clients, Henryk de Kwiatkowski). Chief's Crown was bred and raced by the family of the late Carl Rosen. He helped usher in the era of the Breeders' Cup by winning the first race ever in that championship event which Seth Hancock supported from the beginning with fees from breeding seasons to all the farm stallions. Chief's Crown won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Hollywood Park, adding to his series of other important victories.

In 1985, Vanlandingham won the Eclipse Award for older males for another of the farm's modern clients, Mr. and Mrs. John Ed Anthony's Loblolly Stable. Loblolly's first important horse, Cox's Ridge, had entered stud at Claiborne in the late 1970s, and Vanlandingham was among his many distinguished sons and daughters. Vanlandingham was also the first champion trained by young Shug McGaughey, who later was hired to train the stables of Ogden Phipps and Ogden Mills Phipps.

In 1987, homebred Forty Niner carried the Claiborne silks to victories in the Champagne Stakes, Breeders' Futurity, etc., and was the champion two-year-old colt. That same year, the Horse of the Year and champion older colt was Mrs. Keck's Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner which was foaled and raised at Claiborne. Ferdinand, the first Derby winner for famed trainer Charlie Whittingham, was sired by Claiborne stallion Nijinsky II, which was also the sire of Epsom Derby winners Shahrastani, Golden Fleece, and Lammtarra as well as French Derby winner Caerleon.

In 1988, Forty Niner cemented his place as one of the favorites of Seth Hancock, his mother, Mrs. A. B. Hancock Jr., the rest of the Claiborne family, and trainer Woody Stephens. He narrowly missed winning a second Kentucky Derby and later added victories in the Haskell and Travers in two courageous performances. Ironically, in both of those races, he held off Seeking the Gold, another Claiborne foal and future stallion. Forty Niner gave Claiborne its first ever victory in the Travers, which has been raced at Saratoga since the 1860s.

Forty Niner and the Phipps stable's Seeking the Gold were both sired by Mr. Prospector, the world class sire which Seth Hancock brought up from Florida to stand at Claiborne. Mr. Prospector, which was still active into the year of his death, at 29 in 1999, eventually added another, unique distinction. He became the world's all-time leading sire of stakes winners, with a total of 180. The former record had been held by another Claiborne stallion, Nijinsky II, who sired 155. (As of summer, 2003, the still-active Claiborne stallion Danzig ranks high on the all-time list with 180.) As was true of Bold Ruler, Mr. Prospector created, and fulfilled, the expectation that any new crop would include not just one, but several, of the leaders in various divisions around the world. He begot champion sprinters and champion stayers, champions on dirt in North America and on grass in Europe. Likewise, his sons have followed in his footsteps, with horses such as Forty Niner, Miswaki, Conquistador Cielo, Fappiano, and Woodman deepening his influence around the world.

Personal Ensign and Beyond

In 1988, Ogden Phipps and trainer Shug McGaughey had in the barn a spectacular filly, Personal Ensign. The farm foaled daughter of Claiborne stallion Private Account was unbeaten at two and three, but injuries had limited her campaigns and she had not yet been voted a championship. One of the maxims of horsemen is that, sooner or later, "they all get beat." No trainer ever plots a strategy with the thought of a horse going unbeaten in major competition.

Yet, Personal Ensign stood on the threshold of that unexpected achievement as she went to the post on a dark, rainy autumn day at Churchill Downs in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Against her was Winning Colors, the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby, and the distinguished Goodbye Halo. In a race of unsurpassing drama, Personal Ensign shucked off her dislike for the footing that day and charged down the middle of the stretch in time to catch Winning Colors, brightening the gathering gloom with a bolt of her own brilliance. She retired undefeated in 13 races over three years and was the overwhelming choice as champion of the older distaff division of 1988. Personal Ensign immediately made an impact as the dam of Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Miner's Mark, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner My Flag, and Oaklawn Handicap winner Traditionally. 

Early in the new century, another champion had already emerged from Claiborne. The Phipps family homebred Storm Flag Flying swept the Grade I Matron, Frizette, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to be hailed as unbeaten Eclipse Award Champion in the juvenile filly division of 2002. Storm Flag Flying represented yet another chapter in the unique saga of Personal Ensign. Only 14 years after her own victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Personal Ensign has already become the dam and granddam of Breeders' Cup winners. Her Easy Goer filly My Flag had won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1995, and My Flag then produced Storm Flag Flying to carry on the family heritage. With the death of Ogden Phipps early in 2002, the championship status of Storm Flag Flag Flying took on special meaning to the Phipps and Hancock families.

The same year of Personal Ensign's Horse of the Year campaign, 1988, Ogden Phipps' Easy Goer earned the championship among juvenile colts, launching a career which also saw him sweep such traditional events as the Belmont Stakes, Wood Memorial, Travers, Whitney, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Suburban Handicap. He returned to Claiborne for stud duty, and although he died young, Easy Goer's influence has been felt in the success of offspring My Flag and others.

Yet another Claiborne foal won a championship in 1988. Peter Brant's Mr. Prospector colt Gulch had been versatile as to distance throughout his career, but at four he proved particularly adept at pure speed. He charged from behind to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint, cementing the championship in that category. True to his own career, however, his offspring was not limited as to stamina, and his first crop included the classic winner Thunder Gulch, yet another Horse of the Year raised at Claiborne.

The 1989 Breeders' Cup Juvenile was won by Ogden Mills Phipps' Claiborne-foaled Rhythm, another in the brigade of Mr. Prospector, and the win clinched the juvenile championship. At three, Rhythm returned to win the historic Travers Stakes.

Also in 1989, Mrs. Jane duPont Lunger's homebred Go for Wand added a championship for horses raised at Claiborne, taking the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies as well as her division's Eclipse Award. At three, she was so spectacular, dashing through such races as the CCA Oaks and Alabama, that she was recognized as one of the great fillies of her time. Tragically, she fell in the Breeders' Cup and had to be euthanized because of severe injury from the freak mishap. She was buried at Saratoga. Go for Wand was the overwhelming choice for her second Eclipse Award, as champion three-year-old filly of 1990.

The long tradition of championship fillies and mares from the Phipps broodmare band has continued prominently in the 1990s and beyond. Heavenly Prize, sired by Seeking the Gold, carried the Phipps stable colors to a series of major triumphs, including the venerable Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, and was the choice as champion three-year-old filly of 1994. She would likely have repeated as a champion the next year but for the spectacular, season-ending victory of Inside Information in the Breeders' Cup Distaff of 1995. Inside Information also kept matters inside the Phipps stable, however, for she was also a homebred. Both Heavenly Prize and Inside Information were foaled at Claiborne.

The 1995 season also saw the tough campaign of Thunder Gulch, which the farm had foaled and raised for breeder Peter Brant and which raced for Michael Tabor. Thunder Gulch's long list of major wins that year included the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and he was voted the Eclipse Award as champion three-year-old colt.

Before the aforementioned 2002 championship campaign by Storm Flag Flying, Claiborne Farm also saw another of its graduates win the Breeders' Cup en route to an Eclipse Awards in the two-year-old filly division in 2001. Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's Tempera was foaled and raised at Claiborne.

So, the saga of Claiborne Farm has seen the generations pass, both in bloodlines and sporting families, but the maintenance of quality remains a constancy. The fields that spawned classic winners of the 1930s still nurture young foals and send them forth to win their own distinctions.