Customer Reviews

Matriarchs: Great Mares of the 20th Century

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You should already be somewhat knowledgeable about the history of American Thoroughbreds before reading "Matriarchs". Otherwise this book will probably remind you of a long Sunday School spin through the 'begats' in the Book of Genesis.

However, Bowen has produced a treasure for those of us who like to flip to the back pages of "The Blood-Horse" every week and pore over the genealogy charts of the stakes winners. If you catch a loved one doing this and muttering phrases like, "Inbred 3x4 to Nijinsky II, eh? No wonder she toes out," then "Matriarchs" could be 'the' perfect birthday gift.

Edward L. Bowen is an Eclipse Award-winning Turf writer, formerly editor-in-chief of "The Blood-Horse" magazine, and currently president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. I believe his most recently published book is "Nashua," which is volume eight of the 'Thoroughbred Legends' series.

In "Matriarchs", Bowen ambles gently through the race records, sales histories, and 'begats' of 20th century America's twenty-four most influential Thoroughbred matriarchs. There are also black-and-white photographs and (of course) genealogy charts of the mares and their famous descendants. The author fleshes out what could have been a very dry volume of statistics with anecdotes about the mares and their colorful owners, and some of the theorizing that goes into the breeding of these beautiful, courageous animals. Here is his riff on The Bride, a foal of Somethingroyal:

"In 1969, Somethingroyal foaled a Bold Ruler filly who went to Ogden Phipps [as part of a foal sharing agreement]...Named The Bride, she was unplaced, but produced stakes winners At Ease and Heavenly Match. Short of winning the Derby or rescuing children from a burning building, there was little The Bride could have done to avoid being known in history as the one-who-was-not-Secretariat."

"Matriarchs" should be savored for its rich detail, not read in one sitting. I suggest you dip into its pages at bedtime and drift off to Bowen's amiable and knowledgeable tale of La Troienne and her descendents, or the perils and triumphs of the imported Rough Shod II, or the career of the great champion, Cicada.

This is a beautiful book that defines the role of Brood Mares in producing winner offsprings. All racing fans interested in handicapping and the history of racing should own this book

This was amazing. So much interesting information. I could not put it down.