Ballindaggin (horse)

Ballindaggin (1985–2008) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.

Background

He was named for the small village of Ballindaggin in County Wexford, Ireland. Out of the mare Can't Be Bothered, his damsire was the good runner and successful stallion, Stop The Music. Ballindaggin was sired by Noble Nashua, a multiple stakes winner whose victories included the Grade I Marlboro Cup. Noble Nashua was a son of the 1955 United States Horse of the Year and National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee, Nashua.

Racing career

Ballindaggin was raced by George Layman, Jr. of Naches, Washington. He was one of three partners who purchased half of the breeding rights to Seattle Slew. Trained by John Hertler, in 1987 the two-year-old colt swept all three races in the New York Stallion Series, defeating Fourstardave in each race.

Racing at age three, Ballindaggin was winless in his first seven starts but in September earned the most important win of his career at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada when he defeated Regal Classic and others to win the $1 million Molson Export Challenge.^[1]

Retirement

Retired to stud duty, Ballindaggin stood at several breeding farms including at Jerre Paxton's Yakima Stallion Station in Yakima, Washington. He met with little success as a sire and in July 2006 was donated to Old Friends Equine, a retirement and rescue facility for pensioned Thoroughbreds in Georgetown, Kentucky.^[2] Ballindaggin was euthanized on July 22, 2008 at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute near Lexington as a result of severe back problems brought on by degenerative arthritis.^[3]

Pedigree

References