Customer Reviews

Personal Ensign: Thoroughbred Legends

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I saw Personal Ensign race at Belmont and she was such an awesome racehorse, one of the best I was privileged to see. I also saw her Breeder's Cup on television and when everyone thought she was beaten, she displayed a tremendous amount of courage and passed Winning Colors at the last second. She is one of the very few American champions that have an undefeated record; when she retired she was 13 for 13. What is even more incredible is that Personal Ensign was injured at two and recovered from an operation to correct the damage and came back from the injury better than ever. She was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame several years later and produced three stakes winners, including the outstanding filly, My Flag, who also won a Breeder's Cup race. She was also named "Broodmare of the Year" because of her outstanding record. Bill Heller captures the grace and poise of the champion racemare in his excellent contribution to the Thoroughbred Legends Series. He describes her pedigree and presents biographical background about her owners, trainer, and jockey. Some remarkable champions appear in her pedigree notably Damascus, Buckpasser, Numbered Account and Hoist the Flag. Included are: her pedigree chart, a Daily Racing Form past performances chart and several pages of photographs. Some rare photos are provided including those of Personal Ensign with some of her offspring, including My Flag as a foal. Personal Ensign is one of the best mares to race in the 20th Century and Bill Heller's book is well worth reading.

Personal Ensign is truly one of thoroughbred racing's finest and most inspiring legends. Here is a filly who could run with the best of them, even the colts. Not only did she win every single race she was ever entered in, but she was able to recover from a broken pastern bone (a break that is often fatal), and race in top form again thanks to the wizardry of a remarkable surgeon and the devoted care of her trainer and stable crew.

Unfortunately, the author tries to do too much, attempting to cover the lives of not just the filly, but her ancestors, trainers and owners as well. If the book was several hundred pages long, and the author had the time and space to really develop his subjects, it could have been intriguing. Instead what we get is a mismash of information that never allows the reader to really experience and feel what it was like to own and train a top quality thoroughbred. He doesn't begin to touch on the horse herself until Chapter 5.

My reaction is of course partly due to personal preference in reading material. When I buy a book about a famous athlete, whether it be a cyclist, thoroughbred or dancer, I am wanting to know what makes that athlete special, the circumstances that shape his or her personality, the people and situations that determine how a career unfolds. I want details, coherence and insightful commentary on how the story unfolds. I don't want a lot of casual facts and extraneous data.

What I missed in this book was Personal Ensign herself, which is a shame since even her photographs make it clear that she shone as a personality as well as a racer. Not a book for those who really want to feel what this horse was all about.

Anyone who loves the superfilly and admires the job her handlers and owners have done shouldn't hesitate in purchasing this book. Not only does it tell her story from birth to undefeated champion to broodmare of the year, it tells the stories of the Phipps family, trainer Shug McGaughey and Shug's assistant trainer Buzz Tenney, all of whom clearly cooperated to a great degree in the writing of Ensign's story. I thank them all for such a wonderful tribute to a magnificent filly, and for sharing their stories.

I really enjoyed this book because it gave great insight into the personal life of the champion. What a great racemare, I hope people read it and recognize that fillies can be special too.