George Royal
| George Royal | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Dark Hawk |
| Grandsire | Alibhai |
| Dam | Polly Bashaw |
| Damsire | Pasha |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1961 |
| Country | Canada |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | D. J. Wilson Dunn |
| Owner | Robert W. Hall & Ernie Hammond |
| Trainer |
Robert W. Hall Donald Richardson George Dunn |
| Record | 45: 21-5-4 |
| Earnings | $323,693 |
| Major wins | |
|
British Columbia Derby (1964) San Juan Capistrano Handicap (1965 & 1966) Canadian International Stakes (1965 & 1966) |
|
| Awards | |
| Canadian Horse Of The Year (1965) | |
| Honours | |
|
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1976) British Columbia Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1988) George Royal Stakes at Hastings Racecourse Life-sized statue at Hastings Racecourse |
|
| Last updated on February 15, 2007 | |
George Royal (1961–1981) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.
George Royal was a bay horse foaled in Cloverdale, British Columbia. He was sired by Dark Hawk out of the mare Polly Bashaw. His great-grandsire was Hyperion, son of the English Triple Crown Champion Gainsborough. He was originally owned by Robert Hall and Ernie Hammond and trained by Robert W. Hall.
The colt began racing at two at Vancouver's Exhibition Park, winning four of his eight starts. Although a winner of nine consecutive stakes races at age three, he received little notice in Canada in 1964 as a result of Northern Dancer becoming the first Canadian-bred to win the Kentucky Derby. Ridden and eventually trained by Texan Donald Richardson, George Royal was sent to California to compete, where Johnny Longden took over as jockey. In 1965, George Dunn handled his conditioning, for a short time, on behalf of Robert Hall. In 1965, George Royal won the 1 3⁄4-mile San Juan Capistrano Handicap on the turf at Santa Anita Park, then later the Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. His performances in 1965 made him the first British Columbia-bred horse to win Canadian Horse of the Year honors. In 1965 George Royal made Canadian history when he became the 1st horse to ride in a commercial passenger plane when he flew with Air Canada from Vancouver to Toronto. In 1966, in Johnny Longden's last race as a jockey, George Royal repeated as winner of the San Juan Capistrano Handicap. In the Clubhouse at Santa Anita Park there is an oil painting of the finish of the 1966 San Juan Capistrano, which was also used for the cover of the Santa Anita official program during the 1967 racing season. That fall, jockey Ismael Valenzuela made it back-to-back wins in the Canadian International Stakes.
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