Russia was a hardy

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who won the 1946

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

and other staying races.

Breeding

He was a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

stallion foaled in 1940 by the unplaced, but good sire, Excitement (IRE) from the unraced Lady March by the useful broodmare sire, Bonnement (GB). Lady March also had two sets of twins that died and Brazen March, a filly that did not race. Russia was bred at

Trangie, New South Wales Trangie is a town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is on the Mitchell Highway north west of the state capital Sydney. It is part of Narromine Shire local government area. At the , Trangie had a population of 768. ...

by J. G. Leeds and trained throughout his career by Ted Hush. During Russia's racing career Leeds gave Ted Hush a half share in Russia prior to his Melbourne Cup win.Cavanough, Maurice, ''The Melbourne Cup'', Jack Pollard P/L, North Sydney, 1976

Racing record

A hardy competitor he competed for seven seasons over distances from 5

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

(1,000 metres) to 2¼ miles, starting 89 times for 22½ wins, which included victories in 19 principal races.ASB – Russia (AUS)
Retrieved on 2009-7-1 Racing under

weight for age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Henry John Rous, Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English ...

(w.f.a.) conditions he won 12½ races and defeated Shannon and

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

when they were at the peak of their racing careers.Pring, Peter; ''Analysis of Champion Racehorses'', The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, His biggest win was the 1946 VRC

which he won by five lengths in a time of 3 minutes 21.25 seconds that equalled the then race record set by Wotan ten years earlier. Russia won a further 10 races following his Melbourne Cup win. He won £39,273 during his racing career.

1945 and 1946 racebooks

File:1945 AJC Derby Racebook P1.jpg, 1945 AJC Colin Stephen Stakes racebook front cover File:1945 AJC Colin Stephen Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1945 AJC Colin Stephen Stakes page showing the winner, Russia File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P1.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup racebook front cover File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P2.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup showing raceday officials File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P3.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup page showing the winner, Russia File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P4.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup starters and results File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P5.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup starters and results File:1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Racebook P6.jpg, 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup starters and results

Image gallery

File:Russia 1946 VRC Melbourne Cup Flemington Racecourse Jockey Darby Munro Trainer Ted Hush.jpg, Russia and

Darby Munro David Hugh "Darby" Munro (5 March 1913 – 3 April 1966) also known as "the Demon" or the "Brown Bomber" was an Aboriginal Australian jockey born in Caulfield. He was a three-time winner of the Melbourne Cup. He has been described as "arguab ...

File:E. Hush and Jockey L.Fell at Kensington Racecourse Sydney 16 December 1939.jpg, Ted Hush trainer at Kensington Racecourse File:1947 AJC Colin Stephen Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1947 AJC Colin Stephen Stakes racebook page showing the winner, Russia

Stud record

Russia stood at stud in 1948 before he returned to racing in the autumn of 1949 for a short period. He was then sold to David J. Davis of Phar Lap fame, and lived in America after the conclusion of his racing career. Russia did not sire any principal race winners in Australia but did produce three stakes winners in the US, Carolas ($42,610), Georgie ($21,505) and Noredski ($72,410).

References

{{Reflist 1940 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Melbourne Cup winners Thoroughbred family 1-i Godolphin Arabian sire line