Snow Knight was a 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...

 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...

 who won Britain's

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...

 most prestigious race in 1974, the Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

, then the following year earned an Eclipse Award

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

 as the American Champion Male Turf Horse.

Background

Snow Knight was bred by J. A. Claude Lilley, a textile manufacturer

Textile industry

The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....

 and the proprietor of Quarry Stud on Duffield Bank in Makeney

Milford, Derbyshire

Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

. Lilley had owned and raced Pretendre

Pretendre

Pretendre was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who came within a neck of winning the 1966 Epsom Derby. Bred by The Princess Mary, Princess Royal, Pretendre's damsire was Verso II, winner of the 1943 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was sired by Doutelle, a multiple stakes winning son of Prince...

, sire of the 1971 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 winner, Canonero II

Canonero II

Canonero II , was a Venezuelan champion thoroughbred race horse.Bred by Edward B. Benjamin in Greensboro, North Carolina, the bay colt was born with a noticeably crooked foreleg, and as such was considered to have no future in racing. He was sold as a yearling for a mere $1,200 at the Keeneland...

. Snow Knight's dam was Snow Blossom, a daughter of Flush Royal, winner of England's Great Yorkshire Stakes and the Prix Noailles

Prix Noailles

The Prix Noailles is a Group 2 flat horse race in France which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.-History:...

 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...

. His sire was the speedy runner Firestreak who had been owned by Canadian

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...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 Neil F. Phillips, whose wife Sharon purchased Snow Knight at auction as a yearling for £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

5,200.

Europe

Trained by Peter Nelson, at age two Snow Knight made five starts, winning two and finishing second twice. At age three, in the trial races for the Epsom Derby

Trial races for the Epsom Derby

Trial races for the Epsom Derby are horse races during April and May which are contested by three-year-olds likely to run in the Epsom Derby in early June....

, he finished second in the Betfred Classic Trial Stakes at Sandown Park

Sandown Park

Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing during afternoons, evenings and on weekends, and also hosts many non racing events such as trade...

 and third in the Lingfield Derby Trial

Lingfield Derby Trial

The Lingfield Derby Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Lingfield Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 106 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.The event was established in 1932, and...

.

Always a fractious colt, in the paddock at Epsom Downs

Epsom Downs

Epsom Downs is an area of chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 in oder that racehorses can be trained without interference. It is open to users such as ramblers,...

, Snow Knight threw jockey Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor (jockey)

Brian Taylor was a successful jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing best known for riding Snow Knight to victory in the 1974 Epsom Derby.Taylor was born in Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, England...

 and at the starting gate was still fighting his handlers. Sent off at odds of 50:1, he ran in the middle of the pack until the field made the turn at Tattenham Corner

Tattenham Corner

Tattenham Corner is a small town in Surrey, UK, located inside the M25 motorway thus being part of the London commuter belt. It is home to the Epsom Downs Racecourse. The location is to the west of the A240, with the M25 approximately five miles to the south...

, when he sped to the lead and won by two lengths. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1088683/index.htm

North America

In the fall of 1974, Snow Knight was sold for a reported C$

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

1 million to Canada's leading horseman, E. P. Taylor

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...

, and sent to Taylor's 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...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. For new trainer Jim Bentley, Snow Knight made three starts at Toronto's

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...

  but performed poorly. For the 1975 racing season, Snow Knight was sent to race in the United States, where MacKenzie Miller

MacKenzie Miller

Mackenzie Todd Miller was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and owner/breeder. During his forty-six year career, he conditioned seventy-two stakes winners, including four Eclipse Award champions....

 was entrusted with his race conditioning. Miller, known for his patience, spent months working with the high-strung colt. His diligence paid off when Snow Knight won the important Manhattan Handicap

Manhattan Handicap

The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York...

 and Man o' War Handicap

Man O' War Stakes

The Man o' War Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Now Raced in July, it is a Grade I event offering a purse of $500,000 and is open to horses three-years-old and up. Run at one and three-eighths mile on the grass, the race sometimes attracts top European horses...

 on dirt. Sent back to Woodbine Racetrack for the prestigious Canadian International Championship

Canadian International Stakes

The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....

, he defeated an international field on the turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

.

Honours and awards

On January 23, 1977, Snow Knight was elected to the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame

Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum

The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase Thoroughbred horses that trained in Aiken, South Carolina....

. He was voted American Champion Male Turf Horse in the Eclipse Awards for 1975.

Stud career

Retired to stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 duty at Windfields Farm, in 1986 Snow Knight was sent to stand in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Although he met with limited success as a sire, Snow Knight was the damsire of Snow Bride

Snow Bride

Snow Bride is a British thoroughbred race horse sired by Blushing Groom. She was owned by Sheikh Mohammed and trained in the United Kingdom by Henry Cecil. She is in the record books as having won the Epsom Oaks in 1989 by disqualification after the Aga Khan's winning filly Aliysa tested positive...

. The 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....

 won the 1989 Epsom Oaks

Epsom Oaks

The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....

 and was the dam of Lammtarra

Lammtarra

Lammtarra was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse who won three Group One races in 1995 and was voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champion Colt...

, the 1995 European Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt

Cartier Racing Award

The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier jewelers. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by British racing journalists and readers of the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph newspapers.Eight...

 and winner of the 1995 Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

 and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

.