Mill Reef - 50 Years On

YEARS ON

I t i s n o w 5 0 y e a r s s i n c e M i l l R e e f w o n t h e D e r b y , p r o v i n g t o t h o s e p e d i g r e e e x p e r t s t h a t d o u b t e d h i s a b i l i t y t o s t a y , t h a t h e r e a l l y c o u l d b e a t h i s b e s t o v e r a m i l e a n d a h a l f .

Mill Reef, a handsome, strong, compact colt, was by Never Bend (second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness), out of the maiden Milan Mill, bred in America by his owner Paul Mellon. He was sent to England in December 1969, to be trained by Ian Balding at Kingsclere. As a juvenile, he won five of his six starts and after taking Newbury’s Greenham Stakes as a three-year-old, he finished three lengths second to the great Brigadier Gerard in the 2000 Guineas. Mill Reef would now head to Epsom and despite his sires’ owner/breeder, Harry Guggenheim, strongly doubting Mill

Reef’s staying ability, the bookmakers sent him off the 100-30 favourite. On a warm day, under blue skies and after a long delay at the start – caused by Bourbon breaking his bridle – the 21 runners finally got on their way. Linden Tree took them along and led into the straight from Homeric, Lombardo and Mill Reef. Two furlongs out, Linden Tree was still going strongly, but Homeric weakened and Lombardo soon gave way. Soon after, Mill Reef, with Geoff Lewis aboard, cruised up to the plucky Linden Tree and inside the distance, went on to win by two lengths, in 2 minutes 37.14 seconds. Mill Reef then won all his remaining starts, kicking off in the Eclipse Stakes when annihilating the French-trained Caro and lowering the Sandown Park course record. Next up, he won Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, then in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe he broke the Longchamp course record, defeating the popular French filly, Pistol Packer, by three lengths. Kept in training as a four-year-old, he won the Prix Ganay by a contemptuous 10 lengths and followed up by taking the Coronation Cup. Soon after, he contracted a virus infection, missing his second Eclipse Stakes. Then, sustaining a swollen hock, he also missed the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup and so the long-awaited rematch with Brigadier Gerard failed to come off. The tragic run continued, when on 30 August Mill Reef broke his near-foreleg while working at Kingsclere. The break was such that he could thankfully be saved and after a six-hour operation, involving the insertion of a steel plate in his leg, followed by six weeks in plaster, he fully recovered and retired to The National Stud in 1973. In 1977, his problems returned when he contracted contagious equine metritis. As a result, he got only nine mares in foal. Nevertheless, two of the offspring proved exceptional: Fairy Footsteps won the 1000 Guineas and Glint of Gold went on to take six Group 1 races. The following year, when Shirley Heights won both the English and Irish Derby he became Champion Sire, and then again in 1987, when Reference Point won the Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the St Leger. In 1988, he sired his fourth Classic winner when Doyoun won the 2000 Guineas. Furthermore, the line of three Derby winners – Mill Reef – Shirley Heights – Slip Anchor – not only gave Thoroughbred breeders access to his legacy, but has assured his place in history. Sadly, Mill Reef was put down on 2 February, 1986, after suffering a severe heart condition. He was buried at The National Stud in Newmarket. by Michael Church Official Derby Historian