SECRETARIAT MOVIE
British people from my generation immediately think of Nijinsky or Red Rum as the horse that defined an era in our childhood. For me, Nijinsky shines bright, for even though I was too young to see him run in anger, the name was steeped in legend when I was a kid, and mentioned for decades after his retirement, even making its way into popular culture. Watching the reruns of his races on TV, or in the super film that was produced to commemorate his career (narrated by Orson Welles, no less), one can see why he was held up as something special!

On the other side of the Atlantic, Nijinsky's contemporary was Secretariat - a big chestnut that won the US Triple Crown, and was recently awarded a course record on video evidence almost four decades after the race was run. Surely, few other horses could evoke such passion in securing a legacy. But Secretariat was every bit as special as Nijinsky. He was in a different league, as his win in the Belmont Stakes proved without a shadow of doubt...

Anyway, a couple of years ago, Disney made a film about this magnificent beast, with the human elements in the background adding to the appeal of the story. Yes, it's old news abroad, but the DVD is now available in Japanese at last. All I can say is it's well worth watching for any race enthusiast - even those that don't follow racing seriously.

I have big hopes for one of my horses, Mistoffelees, as he has both Nijinsky and Secretariat blood in him. As Federico Tesio pointed out in Breeding The Racehorse, horses that run simply for the joy of running will almost certainly make the best racers, but with bloodlines like that, one has to have a little faith in his ability.