 So
Close to a Classic
Lucky Lindy (right) comes a gallant second behind Rodrigo de Triano in the 2000
Guineas.
Trojan Fen had been Troy's first son at stud when he retired to Old Connell Stud in
1985, and rather a lot was expected of him as a sire. However things did not quite go to
plan and unfortunately he was not as successful in that sphere as he had been on the
track. His first two crops didn't contain a single pattern winner and so at the end of
1990 he was sent to India to stand there - at the time an equine equivalent of being sent
to Coventry, though the Indian bloodstock scene has improved rapidly since then!
Lucky Lindy
Of course cynics could easily say that once he had been sent abroad Trojan Fen's
progeny would improve no end, and of course in the main it's coincidence. Whether that is
true of Trojan Fen's fortunes as a sire we shall never know but it is true to say that his
best product came from his last full Irish bred crop. This was Lucky Lindy, and he
certainly did his sire proud in 1992!
A bay colt out of the Bold Forbes mare Excruciating, Lucky Lindy had been bought
cheaply as a yearling on the basis of his excellent conformation for, sadly, as his
trainer Richard Hannon had said, Trojan Fen had been the 'kiss of death' for the prices of
his yearlings. However at two he showed enough promise to be entered for the Classics,
without winning a stakes race, but it was at three that he began to show his true ability.
Entered for the Easter Stakes, a Listed 2000 Guineas Trial, Lucky Lindy just got up to
win by a head, despite a severe lack of fitness. That earned him a start in the 2000
Guineas, the first colts' Classic, over a mile. No-one really expected enough improvement
to beat the fancied runners, including the brilliant Rodrigo de Triano, and Lucky Lindy
was sent off an unfancied 50-1.
Other Near-misses
After his gallant second place in the 2000 Guineas, Lucky Lindy was sent to Ireland for
the equivalent race, where again he came up against Rodrigo de Triano and finished fourth.
However, he was then sent to France for the Prix Jean Prat and ran the race of his life,
failing only by a whisker to defeat Kitwood in the 9f, Group 1 contest. His trainer
Richard Hannon was quoted as saying 'another 50 yards and he would have won'.
A Group Success
After a couple of futile attempts at running Lucky Lindy over distances longer than 9f,
when he patently didn't stay, he was brought back to a mile for the Grosser Preis von
Dusseldorf, a Group 2 race in Germany. A three-length win gave Lucky Lindy his much
deserved first pattern race victory.
Lucky Lindy's story becomes somewhat muddled from here as his 4yo year was
disappointing in comparison with his 3yo season and at the end of it he was sold to race
in South Africa. As far as I can tell he is still there - I would be most interested to
hear from anyone who has any information about him, particularly if he is at stud there.
Please e-mail me if you know what happened to
him, I'd love to know as he was one of my personal favourites among Troy's descendents.
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