{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Wilwyn , image = , caption = , sire = Pink Flower , grandsire =

Oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...

, dam = Saracen , damsire =

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

, sex =

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, foaled = 1948 , country =

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, colour =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, breeder = not found , owner = Robert C. Boucher , trainer = George Colling
John Waugh (assistant) , record = 35: 21-4-3 , earnings =

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

71,582 (equivalent) , race = Rous Memorial Stakes (1952)
Great Yorkshire Stakes (1952)

Washington, D.C. International Stakes The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlongs ...

(1952)
Queen Anne's Plate (1953)

John Porter Stakes The John Porter Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs () a ...

(1953)
Limekiln Stakes (1953) , awards= Leading sire in South Africa (1964) , honours = , updated= Wilwyn (foaled 1948 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a

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 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 ...

and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

Background

Wilwyn was sired by Pink Flower, a son of one of Germany's great runners,

, a three-time winner of the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is schedul ...

and a two-time winner of the

Grosser Preis von Berlin The Großer Preis von Berlin, formerly known as the Deutschland-Preis, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Hoppegarten over a distance of 2,400 metres (ab ...

. His dam, Saracen, was a daughter of Federico Tesio's outstanding

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

runner,

. The horse was by Robert C. Boucher, a fruit farmer from

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

br>
and trained by George Colling.

Racing career

He raced at age three with his best

conditions race Conditions races are horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the ...

result a third in the Knights Royal Stakes. In October 1952, assistant trainer John Waugh brought the four-year-old Wilwyn to the United States where he won his eleventh straight race by capturing the inaugural running of the

at the

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades unt ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

An outstanding race in which the lead changed hands six times, the success of the Washington, D.C. International Stakes would help spawn the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

. The November 27, 1952 edition of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that an American syndicate was negotiating with owner Robert Boucher to buy Wilwyn. Boucher rejected an offer of US$100,000 and the deal did not go through

After winning the October 27, 1953 Limekiln Stakes at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

, Wilwyn was sent back to the United States for the second edition of the Washington, D.C. International Stakes. This time, he finished out of the money

Stud record

Wilwyn was retired to Stud (animal), stud duty in England, but met with his greatest success as a sire after being sent to breeders in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1959. There, he earned Leading sire honors in 1964

References

Photos of Wilwyn and the 1952 Washington D.C. International Stakes

LIFE magazine story with photos on the 1952 Washington D.C. International Stakes
1948 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom South African Champion Thoroughbred Sires Thoroughbred family 7-b