La Lorgnette
Encyclopedia
La Lorgnette is a Canadian
Champion
Thoroughbred
filly
racehorse
. A giant sized filly at 17.1 hands, she was bred and raced by E. P. Taylor's
Windfields Farm
. She was sired by the Val de l'Orne, a multiple stakes winner in France
including the Group One
Prix du Jockey Club
. Val de L'Orne's sire was Val de Loir
, the Leading sire in France
for three straight years between 1973 and 1975. La Lorgnette's dam was The Temptress, a daughter of the 1970 British Triple Crown champion Nijinsky
who was also bred at Windfields Farm.
Trained by Macdonald Benson
, La Lorgnette raced at age two with her best result a win in the 1984 Natalma Stakes
. The following year she won the Canadian Oaks then, up against her male counterparts, defeated race favorite Imperial Choice
to win Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate
. In the ensuing Prince of Wales Stakes
at the Fort Erie Racetrack, the two horses reversed their position. For her 1985 performances, La Lorgnette was voted the Sovereign Award
as Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
.
Retired to broodmare duty, La Lorgnette has stood in Canada and in the United States. She is best known for producing Hawk Wing
who was bred at John G. Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farms
in Lexington, Kentucky
. Hawk Wing was the top two-year old of 2001 in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
and a winner of three Group One
races. La Lorgnette's last foal, by Fusaichi Pegasus
, was born in 2005.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Champion
Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
The Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 3-Year-Old Filly Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.-References:*...
Thoroughbred
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...
filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. A giant sized filly at 17.1 hands, she was bred and raced by E. P. Taylor's
E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred race horses. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P...
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm is a six square kilometre thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by...
. She was sired by the Val de l'Orne, a multiple stakes winner in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
including the Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
Prix du Jockey Club
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
. Val de L'Orne's sire was Val de Loir
Val de Loir
Val de Loir was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won important races in France including the French Derby and was a Champion sire.Val de Loir stood at Haras de Sassy in Saint-Christophe-le-Jajolet in Lower Normandy...
, the Leading sire in France
Leading sire in France
The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the season .-----References:* -See also:*...
for three straight years between 1973 and 1975. La Lorgnette's dam was The Temptress, a daughter of the 1970 British Triple Crown champion Nijinsky
Nijinsky II
The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...
who was also bred at Windfields Farm.
Trained by Macdonald Benson
Macdonald Benson
Macdonald "Mac" Benson is a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer. A resident of Woodbridge, Ontario, Benson came to Canada in 1978 to train for E. P. Taylor's renowned Windfields Farm...
, La Lorgnette raced at age two with her best result a win in the 1984 Natalma Stakes
Natalma Stakes
The Natalma Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Run in early September, the G III race is run at a distance of one mile on turf and is open to two-year-old fillies...
. The following year she won the Canadian Oaks then, up against her male counterparts, defeated race favorite Imperial Choice
Imperial Choice
Imperial Choice is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by E. P. Taylor at his Windfields Farm, his dam was Your My Choice, whose sire Barachois was a son of the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer...
to win Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
. In the ensuing Prince of Wales Stakes
Prince of Wales Stakes
The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and three sixteenths . In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the...
at the Fort Erie Racetrack, the two horses reversed their position. For her 1985 performances, La Lorgnette was voted the Sovereign Award
Sovereign Award
The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing.The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Year....
as Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
The Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 3-Year-Old Filly Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.-References:*...
.
Retired to broodmare duty, La Lorgnette has stood in Canada and in the United States. She is best known for producing Hawk Wing
Hawk Wing
Hawk Wing is a Thoroughbred racehorse trained by Aidan O'Brien.-2001: Two-year-old career:He was the top two-year old of 2001 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by virtue of a two and a half length win in the National Stakes. He was not undefeated at two, however, having earlier finished second in...
who was bred at John G. Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Canada and the United States. It was founded in 1960 in Aurora, Ontario in 1960 by John Sikura, Jr., who died mysteriously in an unsolved 1994 car fire. The Canadian operation is now run by his son, R. Glenn...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. Hawk Wing was the top two-year old of 2001 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and a winner of three Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
races. La Lorgnette's last foal, by Fusaichi Pegasus
Fusaichi Pegasus
Fusaichi Pegasus was purchased as a yearling for $4 million by Fusao Sekiguchi. His name is a combination of his owner's name, "Fusao," and the Japanese word for one, "ichi," to mean #1 or the best. The second half is the winged horse of Greek mythology. Fusaichi Pegasus won the Kentucky Derby...
, was born in 2005.