Tinners Way (May 25, 1990 – July 5, 2017) was an American
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 ...
best known as the last colt from his sire
Secretariat's final crop.
He began running on European turf in 1992 and concluded three and a half seasons later with strong performances against top-rated fields on American dirt courses, including back-to-back wins in the
Pacific Classic. His earnings exceeded $1.8 million, which established him, along with
Risen Star
Risen Star (March 25, 1985 – March 13, 1998) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1988.
Background
The dark bay colt was the son of the great Triple Crown winner Secretariat and out of the m ...
,
Lady's Secret, and
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
, as one of his sire's top performers. After standing at stud for many years in Kentucky, California and Texas, he was retired to
Old Friends Equine
Old Friends is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase ...
near
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
in 2010, where he died in 2017.
Background
Tinners Way was a golden chestnut horse with a white
star and stripe on his forehead, reminiscent of his sire
Secretariat. His dam was Devon Diva, whose sire
The Minstrel
The Minstrel (11 March 1974 – 3 September 1990) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Ontario, he was sold as a yearling and exported to Europe, where he was campaigned in Ireland and the United Kingd ...
won both the
Epsom and
Irish Derby
The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...
. Although Devon Diva only won once, ''her'' dam Devon Ditty was the Champion 2-year-old filly in England.
Career highlights
Bred by and running for
Juddmonte Farms, Tinners Way began his career on the British turf, trained by
John Gosden and ridden by
Pat Eddery
Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
. His first start was on November 7, 1992 with a 7-furlong maiden win at
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.
History
Doncas ...
. He returned five months later at age three in the
Greenham Stakes at
Newbury, where he finished third. On May 9, he faced Group 1 company in the
Poule d'Essai des Poulains at
Longchamp, finishing ninth. He next tried the
Sussex Stakes at
Goodwood and finished eighth. Dropping down to the
City of York Stakes, he earned his first win of the season, and followed it up with a win in the
Fortune Stakes
The Fortune Stakes is a Conditions races, Listed Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park Racecourse, Sandown Pa ...
at
Kempton Park. He then finished third in the prestigious
Prix de la Forêt at Longchamp before being shipped to
Santa Anita Park in California for the
Volante Handicap
The Twilight Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three years olds over the distance of one-and-one-eighth miles on the turf scheduled annually in October at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The event currently carries ...
, where he finished fourth.
For 1994, he remained in the United States and was placed under the conditioning of Hall of Fame trainer
Bobby Frankel
Robert Julian Frankel (July 9, 1941 – November 16, 2009) was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer whom ESPN called "one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing."Privman, Jay"Robert Frankel Dies ...
. He raced on the dirt for the first time in an allowance race at Santa Anita Park, finishing second. This was followed by losses in five stakes races, though he did manage to place in the
Mervyn Leroy Handicap and
Arcadia Handicap, the latter being his only turf competition for the year. He finally returned to the winner's circle in the
Golden Gate Fields Breeders' Cup Handicap, then finished second in the
Bel Air Handicap The Bel Air Handicap was a Thoroughbred horse race run in mid July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on dirt at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth. In its final year it was ...
at
Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
* Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois
* Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and m ...
.
He came into the
Pacific Classic at
Del Mar on August 13 with only 1 win in 8 starts for the year, and faced a top quality field headed by
Bertrando
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Bertrando
, image =
, caption =
, sire = Skywalker
, dam = Gentle Hands
, damsire = Buffalo Lark
, sex = Stallion
, foaled = 1989
, country = United States
, colour = Dark Bay
, breeder = Ed Nahem
, ...
and
Best Pal
Best Pal (February 12, 1988 – November 24, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame champion racehorse, who retired as the all time record for purses of any California-bred earning (since surpassed) for his owners, the Golden Eagle Farm, US$5.6 milli ...
. He was ridden for the first time by Hall of Fame jockey
Eddie Delahoussaye
Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana.
He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby in ...
, who said after the race: "Bobby told me that this horse has one good spurt. Not a long one, but a good one. At the three-eighths pole, I had to go with my horse, because Best Pal came to me. It was a premature move, but I didn't have much choice. I had to go or I was going to get trapped." Tinners Way would win by 1 length over Best Pal in a time of 1:59 for the miles, tying the track record.
Tinners Way finished his four-year-old campaign by shipping across the country to
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...
for the
Woodward Stakes on September 17. He finished sixth behind eventual Horse of the Year
Holy Bull
Holy Bull (January 24, 1991 – June 7, 2017) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Although he finished a disappointing twelfth in the 1994 Kentucky Derby, his major wins that year in the Florida Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, Metropolitan Handicap ...
.
Tinners Way would not return to the track until June 11, 1995, in the
Californian Stakes
The Californian Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California (relocated from the now closed Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California). The Grade II event is open to hor ...
, where he finished third behind
Concern, who had won the 1994
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...
. On July 2 in the
Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...
, he beat Concern but finished second to eventual Horse of the Year
Cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
. Tinners Way then returned to Del Mar for the Pacific Classic on August 13, which he won easily over Soul of the Matter in a time of 1:59.63. He was the first horse to repeat in the Pacific Classic.
He then shipped to Illinois for the
Arlington Million on August 27. In his first start on the turf in over a year, Tinners Way finished fifth behind Awad, beaten by only lengths. Returning to California for the
Goodwood Handicap
The Goodwood is a South Australian Jockey Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three years old and older, run at set weights with penalties, over a distance of 1200 metres at Morphettville Racecourse, Adelaide, South Australia in the SAJC Au ...
, he finished second to Soul of the Matter. He then shipped again, this time to
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...
for the Breeders' Cup Classic on October 28. After a slow start and racing wide, Tinners Way would finish seventh behind Cigar.
Tinners Way did not begin his six-year-old campaign until June 2, 1996, in the Californian Stakes. Going off as the third choice in a field of four, he won by lengths in 1:46 for the miles, equaling the track record.
He then failed to respond to his jockey's urging down the stretch in his second attempt at the Hollywood Gold Cup, finishing sixth. He then returned to Del Mar to attempt to win his third running of the Pacific Classic. Unfortunately, Tinners Way injured his left front ankle and was vanned off. He never competed again.
Retirement
In 1996, Tinners Way assumed stallion duties at Vinery, Kentucky. In 2000 he was sold to the Harris Farm operation in California where he stood for the next three years. He was then acquired by Phil Leckinger to stand at Key Ranch in Texas. Leckinger said: "Harris Farms told us we'd get a lot of phone calls and requests to see him. It's gone beyond fascinating. It's gratifying to know that so many people care about an individual horse. And, if you look, his daughters especially are doing well. We still think there are enough people who understand he has something to offer the gene pool."
From 14 crops, Tinners Way sired 93 winners with a combined earnings of $3,263,785.
On September 13, 2010 Tinners Way was retired to
Old Friends Equine
Old Friends is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase ...
at Dream Chase Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky.
On July 5, 2017, he was
euthanized
Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...
due to the acute onset of severe
neurologic disease
A neurological disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness ...
.
Pedigree
References and external links
1994 Pacific Classic on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinners Way (Horse)
1990 racehorse births
2017 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United States
Old Friends Equine Retirement
Thoroughbred family 1-t
American Grade 1 Stakes winners