Nijinsky II

The racehorse Nijinsky II (presumably named after the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky) was a son of Northern Dancer and Flaming Page and a grandson of Nearco.

One of the greatest horses in thoroughbred horse-racing history, he was bred by at E. P. Taylor's famous Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and was bought by Charles Englehard at Windfields Farm annual yearling auction for $84,000.

- Nijinsky II -

Shipped to England where he was trained by Vincent O'Brien, Nijinsky II was named champion two-year-old in England, as well as in Ireland. In 1970, as a three-year-old, after winning the Epsom Derby, Nijinsky II won the Irish Derby Stakes then defeated older horses in Ascot, England's mile and one-half King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

That same year he became the first English Triple Crown winner in 35 years. During his brilliant racing career, he set the European earnings record at the time and was syndicated for a world record price.

The much loved Nijinsky II team also managed to collect the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award in this year.

Despite his relative inactivity caused by a skin disease he was the first horse to win the English Triple Crown since Bahram 35 years before. After that, Nijinsky II raced in the world-famous Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, at Longchamp, in Paris, France. There, he lost his first race by a head, to Sassafrás, some say because of poor judgment on the part of his jockey.

Nijinsky II wound up his career by finishing second in the Champion Stakes. But his two defeats could not erase the memory of his greatness.