Kincsem

Kincsem (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkint͡ʃɛm]; Hungarian for "My Precious" or "My Treasure"; March 17, 1874– March 17, 1887) was the most successful Thoroughbred race horse ever, having won 54 races for 54 starts. Foaled in Kisbér, Hungary in 1874, she is a national icon, and is revered in other parts of the world, too. Over four seasons she won all her races against both female and male company at various race tracks across Europe, a record still unbeaten.

Pedigree

Kincsem's sire, Cambuscan, was owned by Queen Victoria. He was sold to Hungarian interests in 1873 and was brought to stand at the Hungarian National Stud, Kisber. Cambuscan, second in England's St. Leger Stakes in 1864, was by Newminster, his dam, The Arrow was by Slane. Kincsem was out of the Hungarian mare Waternymph, a daughter of the English horse Cotswold, by Newcourt (by Sir Hercules). Kincsem's third dam, Seaweed was also by Slane making her inbred to him in the third and fourth generations (3x4).

A perhaps apocryphal story surrounds the beginnings of Kincsem. Running with a group of fifty horses on the grounds of her owner's ancestral Hungarian home, she alone was lanky and ungainly. She would stand with her head low and her eyes half-opened. One night she went missing and when found again, was with a band of gypsies. "Why," asked her puzzled owner of the thief, "steal this horse when there were so many better to choose from?" "Because," answered the gypsy, "The other horses may be better looking, but she was the best of the lot. She'll be a champion."