My Babu (1945–1970) was a French-bred

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 ...

racehorse who became one of the most influential sires in American breeding of show jumpers, eventers and

hunters Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. His descendants include Bruce Davidson's former eventing mount

JJ Babu JJ Babu was a Thoroughbred gelding that excelled in the sport of eventing, under American rider Bruce Davidson (equestrian), Bruce Davidson. JJ Babu was purchased by Davidson as a yearling. He was not only a good-looking horse, but was well-temp ...

, Anky van Grunsven's dressage horse Bonfire, and

puissance Puissance is the high-jump competition in the equestrian sport of show jumping. Description The competition involves a maximum of five rounds - opening round followed by four jump-offs, not against the clock. The first round consists of four to ...

and grand prix jumper Sympatico. Also, the grand prix jumper Napur is related to him through his sire Damascus dam Kerala. My Babu was the sire of Kerala, and therefore one of Napur's grandsires.

Racing career

During My Babu's racing career in England, the bay colt had 16 starts, 11 wins, 2 places, and 0 shows, with career earnings of £29,830. His most important win came in the 1948

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

, the 2000 Guineas Stakes in which he set a new stakes record time. He was later sold in 1955 to Americans Leslie W. Combs II and John W. Hanes for over $600,000, the highest price ever paid for a Thoroughbred imported to the United States. The stallion stood at

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

during his breeding career.

Stud record

My Babu was a sire of 47 stakes winners and was a broodmare sire of 95 winners. He earned the title of Leading Juvenile Sire in 1960. His son, Better Boy, was the Leading sire in Australia four times.Nearly 50 Years On, Djebel blood to fore in Australian classic
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', November 21, 1988, accessed April 13, 2010. By 1965, his racing descendants had won over $3,000,000. My Babu was the grandsire of National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee Precisionist, and the

damsire Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

of Hall of Fame inductees Damascus and

Gamely Gamely (February 10, 1964 – 1975) was an American Thoroughbred race horse who was voted the champion filly of her age group on three occasions. Background Gamely was bred and born at Claiborne Farm outside Paris, Kentucky. Her dam was the st ...

as well as the damsire of Little Current, the 1974 American Champion Three-Year-old Colt and winner of the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

Pedigree

References

{{2000 Guineas winners 1945 racehorse births 1970 racehorse deaths Sport horse sires Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in France Thoroughbred family 1-w Byerley Turk sire line Chefs-de-Race 2000 Guineas winners