Mill Reef
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| Mill Reef | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Never Bend |
| Grandsire | Nasrullah |
| Dam | Milan Mill |
| Damsire | Princequillo |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1968 |
| Country | USA  |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Paul Mellon. Racing silks: Black, gold cross and stripe on cap. |
| Owner | Rokeby Stables |
| Trainer | Ian Balding |
| Record | 14:12-2-0 |
| Earnings | $764,412 |
| Major Racing Wins, Awards and Honours | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Coventry Stakes (1970) Gimcrack Stakes (1970) Dewhurst Stakes (1970) Epsom Derby (1971) Eclipse Stakes (1971) King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1971) Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (1971) Prix Ganay (1972) Coronation Cup (1972) |
|
| Racing Awards | |
| English 3-Yr-Old Champion Colt (1971) European Horse of the Year (1971) English Champion Older Horse (1972) Timeform rating: 141 Leading sire in GB & Ireland (1978, 1987) |
|
| Honours | |
| #4 - 20th Century's Top 100 European Racehorses Life-size statue at The National Stud, Newmarket Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury Racecourse |
|
| Infobox last updated on: November 30, 2006. | |
Mill Reef (1968-1986) was a Champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United Kingdom.
Mill Reef was owned and bred in America at the Rokeby Stables in Virginia of his owner/breeder, the philanthropist Paul Mellon. He was a son of Never Bend, out of the mare Milan Mill. As a yearling it was thought that his action better suited him to a career on the turf courses in Europe rather than the dirt tracks in America and so he was sent to England in December of 1969 to be trained by Paul Mellon's young English trainer Ian Balding at Kingsclere and carried his owners famous colours; Black with Gold Cross, stripe on cap; in all of his fourteen races by the jockey Geoff Lewis. Mellon named the horse after the Mill Reef Club, which is situated on the island of Antigua in the West Indies. The Mellon family has maintained a home at Mill Reef since its founding in the early 1950's.
As a yearling, Mill Reef showed himself to be an exceptional talent. Once, whilst visiting the stables and watching the yearlings being put through their paces on the Kingsclere gallops, the noted former amateur jockey and journalist Lord Oaksey asked "Whose that!" to which Balding replied, "That is Mill Reef!", and he went on to prove himself to be an outstanding two year old in 1970.
Mill Reef made his debut in May in the Salisbury Stakes at Salisbury, where he beat previous winner and 2-9 favourite the Lester Piggott ridden Fireside Chat by four lengths. He then went to Royal Ascot winning the Coventry Stakes by six lengths and the decision was taken go to France for the Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte, but after an arduous journey, he tasted defeat for the first time by the narrowest of margins, to another exceptional English two year old, My Swallow. Back on home soil he was entered in the Gimcrack Stakes at York in mid August, but after a torrential overnight downpour turned the going into a quagmire, his trainer wanted to scratch him from the race. However after discussions with his owner prior to the race, Paul Mellon said, "let him run, I've a feeling it will be alright". Mill Reef put up one of his greatest displays, scampering over the rain-sodden ground to win as he liked by ten lengths from Green God (who was to be crowned champion sprinter the following year). A below par display in his next race, where he beat the useful filly Hecla by a neck in the Imperial Stakes at Sandown, was followed by a return to his best when easily winning the prestigious Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket by four lengths, his final race of the season. In a crop of outstanding two year olds, Mill Reef was rated 1lb below his French conqueror, My Swallow - who went on to remain unbeaten winning all of France's top two year old races and 3lb ahead of the unbeaten Middle Park Stakes winner Brigadier Gerard.
As a three year old, following a facile victory in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury, Mill Reef was beaten three lengths in the 2,000 Guineas by Brigadier Gerard, who was to prove himself an outstanding miler, with his old rival My Swallow back in third. Although his breeding hinted otherwise, Mill Reef then proved himself to be the outstanding middle distance racehorse of the year, easily winning the Epsom Derby by two lengths from Linden Tree, the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown beating the crack French colt Caro by four lengths and winning the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot by six lengths from the Italian Derby winner Ortis. In October he completed an extraordinary year by winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in France from Europe's best, beating the star French filly Pistol Packer by three lengths, thus becoming the first horse to achieve the Eclipse, King George, and Arc treble.
Kept in training as a four-year old, Mill Reef looked better than ever when returning to Longchamps to win the Prix Ganay in April 1972 by an 'official' ten lengths (although photographs show the winning margin to be nearer to twenty lengths!), and a summer rematch with Brigadier Gerard, who had also been kept in training as a four year old, was earmarked for the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown; but after a narrow win in the Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs by a neck from Homeric, it was found he was suffering from a heavy virus and that had to be postponed. Fully recovered, Mill Reef was being trained for an Autumn campaign and a return to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October, when tragedy struck on the gallops, he stumbled shattering his foreleg in a routine gallop.
Thankfully after a painstaking operation he was saved, and although his racing career was over he was to become a very successful stallion at The National Stud in Newmarket. Mill Reef died in 1986 and he was buried within the National Stud where a statue stands in memory of a superb racehorse.
Mill Reef was given a rating of 141 by Timeform, the 7th highest rating ever given. What rates him so highly was his versatility to win on any going and over a range of distances
Mill Reef's offspring included amongst many others the winners in 1978 of both the Derby, Shirley Heights, and the French Derby (Prix du Jockey Club) Acamas.
The Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury Racecourse is named in his honour.
The following is inscribed on the plinth beneath his statue at the National Stud :
Swift as a bird I flew down many a course.
Princes, Lords, Commoners all sang my praise.
In victory or defeat I played my part.
Remember me, all men who love the Horse,
If hearts and spirits flag in after days;
Though small, I gave my all. I gave my heart.
From Paul Mellon's speech at the Gimcrack Dinner 1970.
| Sire Never Bend |
Nasrullah | Nearco | Pharos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nogara | |||
| Mumtaz Begum | Blenheim II | ||
| Mumtaz Mahal | |||
| Lalun | Djeddah | Djebel | |
| Djezima | |||
| Be Faithful | Bimelech | ||
| Bloodroot | |||
| Dam Milan Mill |
Princequillo | Prince Rose | Rose Prince |
| Indolence | |||
| Cosquilla | Papyrus | ||
| Quick Thought | |||
| Virginia Water | Count Fleet | Reigh Count | |
| Quickly | |||
| Red Ray | Hyperion | ||
| Infra Red |
[edit] References
Mill Reef winning the 1971 Epsom Derby www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fSzivJyFo8
