Kincsem and her trainer, Robert Hesp
152 years ago, Kincsem (meaning “My Precious”), the unbeatable wonder mare, was born in the northern Hungarian town of Kisbér. 150 years ago (though not to the exact day), she won her first race and went on to claim a total of 54 victories over the course of her career, remaining undefeated throughout her racing career. She is considered one of the most successful racehorses in history.
March 17, 1874, is undoubtedly the most significant date in the history of horse racing. On that day, the liver chestnut English Thoroughbred mare registered under the name Kincsem was born in Kisbér, the offspring of Cambuscan (a prominent English Thoroughbred stallion) and the mare Waternymph, and to this day she leads the world rankings for thoroughbred racing victories and undefeated records.
The achievements of this remarkable mare, who won all 54 of her races, have not only never been replicated to this day, but have not even come close to being matched.
At the stud farm founded in Kisbér in 1853 to supply horses to the officer corps of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, two famous stallions were standing at the time, in the 1870s: Buccaneer, who had been raised at the English Royal Stud, and Cambuscan, who was nearly ten years younger but also came from Queen Victoria’s stables. Ernő Blaskovich, on the other hand, did not own any exorbitantly expensive studs, which is why he was forced to transport his mares to the selected stallion.
Although the landowner had originally selected Buccaneer as a “partner” for his mare Waternymph, the mating between the two did not take place due to scheduling conflicts, which is why the mare was instead bred to the stallion Cambuscan.
At first glance, the result seemed to be a failure. Kincsem was a small, frail foal, and Blaskovich had so little faith in her that he tried to sell her, but without success.
From the age of one, that is, as a yearling, the foal suddenly began to grow and gain strength, and when Blaskovich entered her in her first race in Berlin at the age of two, she won right away.
Ernő Blaskovich. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
The young mare competed in her first six races in Germany, and even then, word of her fantastic abilities began to spread.
By this time, Robert Hesp, who had come to Hungary from Slingsby in the county of Yorkshire in 1846, was already Kincsem’s trainer in Göd.
“My great-grandfather—who had learned Hungarian perfectly—recognized the genius in Kincsem, and his patient work and expertise eventually bore fruit,” recalled József Hesp, Robert Hesp’s great-grandson, in an interview with Index a few years ago.
Trainer Robert Hesp with Kincsem and his jockey Harry Wainwright in Hoppegarten on July 18, 1879. Retouched photograph by Heinrich Schnaebeli. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
After conquering the German and Austrian racetracks, Kincsem also took France and England by storm.
As József Hesp recounted, his great-grandfather stayed deeply attached to Kincsem – so much so that Robert Hesp himself passed away about a month after Kincsem died in March 1887.
The wonder mare triumphed in such major races as the German, Vienna, and Prague Derbies, but also competed in England and won fifteen times in Budapest.
She ran her last, fifty-fourth race in Budapest in 1879 and, of course, won that one as well.
Blaskovich, who earned 200,000 gold forints (equivalent to several billion forints today) from Kincsem’s successes, became so wealthy that he had his own palace built in the city center of Pest, that still stands today after undergoing renovation.
Kincsem, with jockey Michael Madden in the saddle, after winning the Baden Grand Prix in September 1878. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Kincsem competed in her last two races in Budapest, no longer with the English jockey Michael Madden in the saddle—who had ridden her in forty races—but with the equally English Tom Busby: she won the Ritter Prize over 2,800 meters on October 19 and the Fillies’ Race over 2,400 meters on October 21. In the latter race, she finished with an outstanding lead of 10 lengths over the runner-up.
Kincsem ended her career at the peak of her success.
From then on, the Blaskovichs used her as a broodmare. Kincsem’s bloodline remains unbroken to this day, and numerous successful racehorses are her direct descendants.
On her 13th birthday, March 17, 1887, the wonder mare passed away. Her former trainer, Robert Hesp, followed his beloved champion mare 39 days later, on April 25.
Statue in Kincsem Park in Budapest, a work by the sculptor Béla Tóth. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Xia
The name of the world-famous racehorse lives on in Budapest’s Kincsem Park, and her life-size bronze statue stands at the entrance to the racetrack. Her skeleton can still be seen today at the Hungarian Agricultural Museum in Budapest.
In 2017, film director Gábor Herendi released his romantic adventure film Kincsem (Bet on Revenge) a cinematic adaptation of the mare’s life and that of her owner.
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Via Index, Featured image: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
