Windfields (1943–1971) was a Canadian Hall of Fame

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic ...

who was the first stakes race winner bred by E. P. Taylor and for whom he named his world-famous

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

. Out of the mare Nandi, for whom the

Nandi Stakes The Nandi Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of July or first week of August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. An Ontario Sire Stakes, it is a restricted race for two-year-old Filly, fil ...

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

is named, Windfields was sired by Bunty Lawless, who in 1951 was voted Canada's "Horse of the Half-Century." Trained by

Bert Alexandra Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert * Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a So ...

, as a two-year-old in 1945 Windfields won his first start by six lengths, then won the five

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

Victoria Stakes in a time of 0:59.00, breaking Faireno's track record at Old Woodbine Racetrack by 3/5 of a second. The colt followed this win with another track record in the Rosedale Purse but then suffered a knee injury that kept him out of racing. Ineligible for Canada's most prestigious race, the Kings Plate for three-year-olds, in September 1946 the three-year-old Windfields defeated Plate winner

Kingarvie Kingarvie (1943–1955) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by the renowned automobile pioneer, Col. Sam McLaughlin, he was out of the mare, Forsworn. He was sired by Teddy Wrack who was a son of Bull Dog, a Cha ...

by five lengths in the 1946 Breeders' Stakes. Scratched from the

1946 Belmont Stakes The 1946 Belmont Stakes was the 78th running of the Belmont Stakes. It was the 40th Belmont Stakes held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York and was held on June 1, 1946. With a field of three horses, Assault, the winner of that year's Kentucky D ...

, Windfields won his third straight race, and second in a row at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

, with a win in the mile and one-eighth Gravesend Purse. Although never a great racehorse, Windfields competed through age six, notably defeating the great Australian runner Shannon to win a

Stakes race Glossary of North American horse racing: Additional glossaries at: * Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting * Glossary of equestrian terms * Parimutuel betting#Parimutuel bet types A B ...

on January 25, 1948, at

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 races ...

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of ...

As a sire

Retired to stud duty, Windfields made his real contribution to racing as a

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. He sired fifteen stakes winners, including 1956 Canadian Triple Crown winner and Hall of Fame inductee Canadian Champ. Through his daughter

Victoriana Victoriana is a term used to refer to material culture related to the Victorian period (1837–1901). It often refers to decorative objects, but can also describe a variety of artifacts from the era including graphic design, publications, phot ...

, who produced seven winners, Windfields was the damsire of the good filly

Northern Queen {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Northern Queen , image = , caption = , sire = Nearctic , grandsire = Nearco , dam = Victoriana , damsire = Windfields , sex = Filly , foaled = 1962 , country = Canada , colour = Dark Bay , breeder = ...

, and Canadian Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee Victoria Park. Through another daughter, Windfields was the damsire of

Cool Reception Cool Reception (1964–1967) is a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. During his two-year-old racing season, trainer Carl Chapman retired and the colt's conditioning was taken over by Lou Cavalaris, Jr. Racing career In 1966, Cool Re ...

, the 1996 Canadian Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and a Hall of Fame inductee. Windfields died in 1971 at age twenty-eight and was buried in the equine cemetery at Windfields Farm in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

External links

Windfields' pedigree and partial racing stats

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1943 racehorse births 1971 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ontario Racehorses trained in Canada Horse racing track record setters Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 11-c