16 November 2012

Man o' War at 22 at THE Stud


Man o' War at 22.  Still supple and powerful.


This short but valuable view of history also has another feature that interested me.  The narrator says Man o' War was "retired to the stud." Few people--except me and a few diehards--use the word this way anymore, but this use from a more animal-oriented era gives the hearer more information than the current use as a synonym for any intact male horse.  The word once meant a horse breeding farm, and on such a farm would be stud horses and stud mares.

Not only a superb runner, Man o' War went on to become a top sire, even though his book of mares was restricted by his owner. Had he been on the open market, his name might be even more prominent today.