Nijinsky II – A leading horse and a sire
A lot of Canadian-bred racehorses have earned a name in the sport for their solid performances. However, one of them stands out as one of the best of all time and his name was, Nijinsky II. He gave some memorable performances during the 1969-70s and managed
to win numerous awards for his achievements.
The legendary horse was sired by Northern Dancer, who is considered to be one of the most prominent sires of his time. After being foaled in 1967, he was sold for $84,000 to Charles W. Engelhard Jr and was sent to Ireland for his training at Ballydoyle,
County Tipperary.
In 1969, Nijinsky started his career as a two-year-old and caught the attention of everyone with his spectacular performances. He was mostly dominate during that season and did not allow his rivals to make an impression against him.
In his first ever outing, the Canadian horse was given a starting price of 4 to 11, as the bookmakers expected him to be strong straight away. He did not disappoint them at all and took the top spot comfortably. He displayed excellent speed back then and
signalled a threat to his future opponents.
During the 1969 season, Nijinsky won quite a few events including the Railway Stakes, Anglesey Stakes, Beresford Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. His performances were good enough for him to earn a lot of respect amongst the bookmakers and the punters.
Looking at his solid performances on his debut season, it was clear that the talented horse would be a force to reckon with in the 1970 season. He certainly proved to be a strong runner and started off the year with his success in the Gladness Stakes.
This was just the start to a successful season for the Vincent O'Brien’s trainee and he went onto prevail in the 2,000 Guineas afterwards. He continued the winning momentum and prevailed in the prestigious events such as the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby, King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the St. Leger Stakes.
However, his progress was hindered by ringworm, a skin disease, which kept him out of action for quite some time. He never managed to be competitive again and the Champion Stakes in 1970 proved to be his last appearance before he was retired to the stud.
He then served as a leading sire for a lot of years before finally passing away in 1992.
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