George Royal (1961–1981) was a Canadian

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Background

George Royal was a bay horse foaled in Cloverdale, British Columbia. He was sired by Dark Hawk out of the mare Polly Bashaw. His great-grandsire was Hyperion, son of the English Triple Crown Champion

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. He was originally owned by Robert Hall and Ernie Hammond and trained by Robert W. Hall.

Racing career

The colt began racing at two at Vancouver's Exhibition Park, winning four of his eight starts. Although a winner of nine consecutive stakes races at age three, he received little notice in Canada in 1964 as a result of

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...

becoming the first Canadian-bred to win the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

. Ridden and eventually trained by

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Donald Richardson, George Royal was sent to

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to compete, where

Johnny Longden John Eric "Johnny" Longden (February 14, 1907 – February 14, 2003) was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to ...

took over as jockey. In 1965, George Dunn handled his conditioning, for a short time, on behalf of Robert Hall. In 1965, George Royal won the 1{{fraction, 3, 4-mile

San Juan Capistrano Handicap The San Juan Capistrano Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of run on the turf track held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in June. The event currently offers a purse o ...

on the

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Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

, then later the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses from three years of age and upwards on Turf. It is held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is . History The Cana ...

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. His performances in 1965 made him the first British Columbia-bred horse to win

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

honours. In 1965 George Royal made Canadian history when he became the 1st horse to ride in a commercial passenger plane when he flew with Air Canada from Vancouver to Toronto. In 1966, in Johnny Longden's last race as a jockey, George Royal repeated as winner of the San Juan Capistrano Handicap. In the Clubhouse at Santa Anita Park there is an

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of the finish of the 1966 San Juan Capistrano, which was also used for the cover of the Santa Anita official program during the 1967 racing season. That fall, jockey Ismael Valenzuela made it back-to-back wins in the Canadian International Stakes.

Stud record

Retired to

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duty as number two in earnings by a Canadian-bred horse, George Royal stood at Robert W. Hall's Emerald Acres farm in

Aldergrove, British Columbia Aldergrove is a community in the Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Township of Langley within British Columbia, Canada, approximately east of Vancouver. The community is urban in nature and, although not List of towns in British ...

, where he sired several stakes winners before suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1981 that led to his having to be humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

. He was buried at the family farm, Emerald Acres, where a monument marks the spot.

Honours

On its creation in 1976, George Royal was inducted in the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

. Honored by the British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame, his statue stands in the paddock at

Hastings Racecourse Hastings Racecourse is a horse-racing facility at Hastings Park, four miles from Downtown Vancouver. Originally called East Park, it opened for business in 1889, making it Vancouver's longest continuously used professional sports facility. The rac ...

in Vancouver and a stakes race there bears his name.

References

George Royal at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

George Royal's pedigree and partial racing stats
1961 racehorse births 1981 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Canada Racehorses trained in Canada Canadian Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 4-d