Bessarabian
Encyclopedia
Bessarabian is a Canadian
Champion
Thoroughbred
Filly
racehorse
. Owned by Thor Eaton's Eaton Hall Farm, the Eaton family
member entrusted her race conditioning to Mike Doyle. The millionaire granddaughter of Northern Dancer
, Bessarabian raced in Canada and the United States. She won eighteen of her thirty-seven starts and was voted the 1986 Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
.
As a two-year-old, Bessarabian had an outstanding season and was sent off as the parimutuel betting
favorite in the 1984 inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
held that year at Hollywood Park Racetrack. However, coming out of the first turn of the race, longshot Fran's Valentine veered wide and knocked another horse off stride and into Bessarabian who never recovered and finished fifth. Fran's Valentine won the race but was disqualified and the win awarded to runner-up, Outstandingly
.
Retired to broodmare duty, Bessarabian produced four foals, the most successful of which in racing was probably Dagda, a stakes-winning gelding
born in 1992 sired by Alysheba
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Champion
Sovereign Award
The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing.The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Year....
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
Filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Owned by Thor Eaton's Eaton Hall Farm, the Eaton family
Eaton family
The Eaton family of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were owners of the Eaton's department stores, a national chain that was founded in 1869, and became bankrupt in 1999. At the family's height, their net worth was around $2 billion...
member entrusted her race conditioning to Mike Doyle. The millionaire granddaughter of Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
, Bessarabian raced in Canada and the United States. She won eighteen of her thirty-seven starts and was voted the 1986 Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse
The Canadian Champion Older Female Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred Filly four years of age and older competing in Canada.Past winners:...
.
As a two-year-old, Bessarabian had an outstanding season and was sent off as the parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
favorite in the 1984 inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup...
held that year at Hollywood Park Racetrack. However, coming out of the first turn of the race, longshot Fran's Valentine veered wide and knocked another horse off stride and into Bessarabian who never recovered and finished fifth. Fran's Valentine won the race but was disqualified and the win awarded to runner-up, Outstandingly
Outstandingly
Outstandingly was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was voted an Eclipse Award as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1984. Bred and raced by Louis and Patrice Wolfson's Harbor View Farm, she was trained by U.S...
.
Retired to broodmare duty, Bessarabian produced four foals, the most successful of which in racing was probably Dagda, a stakes-winning gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
born in 1992 sired by Alysheba
Alysheba
Alysheba was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners....
.