Lyford Cay (foaled 1954 in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) was a Canadian

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

Gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who in 1957 won the 98th running of the Queen's Plate, Canada's most prestigious race and North America's oldest annually run stakes race

Background

Out of the mare, Famous Maid, Lyford Cay's sire was

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee and sire of four Queen's Plate winners, Chop Chop. Bred by prominent breeder/owner

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

, in 1955 the unnamed

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

was purchased by

Jim Boylen James Francis Boylen (born April 18, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach. He was the coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, Boylen served as head coach for the University of Utah, coa ...

at Taylor's annual yearling sale but Boylen soon came to believe the horse had knee problems and returned him

Before turning him over to trainer Gordon J. McCann, "Pete" McCann, Taylor named the colt for Lyford Cay on

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in the

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, an exclusive residential community developed by Taylor and where he maintained a home.

Racing career

In the two top races of 1956 for Canadian Juveniles, Lyford Cay finished second in the Coronation Futurity Stakes and third in the

Cup and Saucer Stakes The Cup and Saucer Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Open to two-year-old horses foaled in Canada, it is currently run at a distance of miles on turf. Along with its dir ...

. As a three-year-old, Lyford Cay won the Plate Trial Stakes and then on June 8, the Queen's Plate itself, capturing the mile and a quarter event in track record time of 2:02 3/5. Later that month he won the Woodstock Stakes following the disqualification of winner, Pink Velvet.

Pedigree

{{Pedigree , name = Lyford Cay, bay gelding, 1954 , f = Chop Chop , m = Famous Maid , ff = Flares (horse), Flares , fm = Sceptical , mf = Fairaris , mm = Phylsovina , fff =

Gallant Fox Gallant Fox (March 23, 1927 – November 13, 1954) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown. In a racing career which lasted from 1929 to 1930, Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 races includ ...

, ffm = Flambino , fmf = Buchan , fmm = Clodagh , mff =

Fair Trial A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

, mfm = Nunnery , mmf = Sandwich , mmm = Sundergain , ffff =

Sir Gallahad III Sir Gallahad (1920–1949) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and an extremely important sire in the United States. Racing career Racing at age two in France for his British breeder/owner, Jefferson Davis Cohn, Sir Gallahad earned victory in ...

, fffm = Marguerite , ffmf = Wrack , ffmm = Flambette , fmff =

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, fmfm = Hamoaze , fmmf = Tredennis , fmmm = Clare , mfff =

Fairway Fairway may refer to: * Fairway (golf), part of a golf course *Fairway (navigation), a part of a water body with navigable channel *Fairway (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse *Fairway, Gauteng, South Africa *Fairway, Kansas, United States *Fairway, ...

, mffm = Lay Juror , mfmf = Friar Marcus , mfmm = Picardy , mmff = Sansovino , mmfm = Waffles , mmmf = Gainsborough , mmmm = Phyllis Dare (family: 5-d)

References

Lyford Cay's pedigree and partial racing stats

1954 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ontario Racehorses trained in Canada King's Plate winners Thoroughbred family 5-d