Tall Tales of the Track: A Stinging Inspiration for Success

Some horses just need a little inspiration. A little kick of the heels cues them to pick up their pace. Maybe a smooch in their ear to signal ‘time to fly.’ We know and love horses for their many fantastic attributes, like speed, stamina, and heart, but we have all seen times when they need something extra to extend themselves. In the case of Polynesian, he needed a few stings to find success.

Tying Up

By all accounts, Polynesian had everything going for him: bred by Joseph Widener, the man behind the construction of Hialeah Park and president of Belmont Park, the brown colt counted English stakes winner Unbreakable as his sire, and his dam Black Polly’s family included Kentucky Oaks winner Black Maria. When he was a yearling, Widener died, and his son Peter Arrell Browne Widener II inherited his father’s Elmendorf Farm; the younger Widener then gave the young Polynesian to his wife Gertrude. 

Black Polly died of colic not long after foaling her brown colt, so Polynesian was raised on cow’s milk, which, according to legendary turf writer Joe Palmer, is “why he subsequently became bullheaded.” That obduracy came to a head after the colt experienced a bout of azoturia, or tying up. Caused by fatigue, the condition leads to muscle stiffness, often in the hindquarters, and can make horses hesitant to move, often during or after exercise. The suspected azoturia left his hind end nearly paralyzed, to the point that it took several men to carry him onto the horse van that took him to trainer Morris Dixon’s farm. 

Dixon, a long-time steeplechase rider, turned the colt out in a paddock, but it was clear that he was still having issues moving. Though he was supposedly recovered from the azoturia, the colt still moved as if he were dealing with pain: “He wouldn’t move if he could help it,” Dixon said. “We had to haul him out of the stall in the morning, and when we got him in the paddock, he’d just stand there – only a few steps all day. Then at night we’d have to haul him back in.” 

Then, one day, circumstances led to a cure for what ailed Polynesian. 

Letting Loose

It could have been that the colt leaned against the tree. Or that Dixon’s young son shied a rock at the buzzing mass in its limbs. Whatever did it, the hornet’s nest was furious at the disruption and went scouting for its source. What did they find? Polynesian. 

The colt, who previously had required four men to get him in and out of his stall, the one who barely moved a handful of steps a day, took off as the hornets unleashed their fury. Polynesian ran away from the stinging sensation at full speed, and in the process, it seems that all of his problems were solved. 

“He came in dripping wet,” Dixon remembered. “And I thought at the very least he’d get pneumonia.” 

Instead, Polynesian found his feet again. Though he had recovered from azoturia, the colt still remembered the pain and would not move as he should have been able to – until he ran into those hornets. Once again confident that he could run, the son of Unbreakable went on to run ten times at age two, winning five, including a division of the Sagamore Stakes and a second in the second division of the Endurance Handicap. His three-year-old season corresponded with the end of World War II: racing was suspended for the first few months of 1945, so his season did not start until May. He won the Withers on June 6 and then followed it up with a win in the Preakness, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Hoop Jr. 

Though Polynesian was primarily a sprinter, he did stretch his speed out to 1 3/16 miles and was also second in the 10-furlong Saratoga Handicap. He equaled a world record for six furlongs at age four and then set or equaled three track records at age five. He earned an Eclipse for Champion Sprinter in 1947. 

His career done, Polynesian retired to Gallaher Farm, where he sired 185 winners and 36 stakes winners from 298 named foals. That list includes Alanesian, winner of the Astarita and Spinaway Stakes and dam of sire Boldensian; Banquet Ball, dam of 1963 Kentucky Derby winner Chateaugay and stakes winner Primonetta; and more. But Polynesian is most famous for siring Native Dancer, 1953 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, two-time Horse of the Year, and Hall of Famer. In turn, Native Dancer gave us Natalma, dam of Northern Dancer; Raise a Native, sire of Alydar and Mr. Prospector; Shenanigans, dam of Ruffian; and dual classic winner Kauai King. 

Next time you see a hornet’s nest, perhaps say a wee thank you for their hand in bringing us some great horses before getting as far away from those stingers as you can.