Gorytus (horse)

Gorytus
Sire	Nijinsky
Grandsire	Northern Dancer
Dam	Glad Rags
Damsire	High Hat
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	7 February 1980
Country	United States
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Hickory Tree Farm
Owner	Alice du Pont Mills
Trainer	Dick Hern Woody Stephens
Record	8: 2-1-0
Major wins
Acomb Stakes (1982) Champagne Stakes (1982)
Awards
Timeform rating 132 (1982), 123 (1983)

Gorytus (7 February 1980 – 18 July 1996) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old in 1982, he created an enormous impression by winning the Acomb Stakes and Champagne Stakes by wide margins and was regarded as a potentially great racehorse. His very poor run when odds-on favourite for the Dewhurst Stakes was believed by many, including his trainer, to have been the result of doping. The horse remained in training for two more seasons but never fulfilled his early promise. He made little impact as a breeding stallion and died in 1996.

Gorytus was a bay horse with a small white star bred in Virginia by his owner, Alice Mills' Hickory Tree Farm. He was an exceptionally good-looking Thoroughbred, being described by the independent Timeform organisation as being "beautifully-proportioned, combining size, strength and quality" with "splendid limbs" and "a noble head". He was named after the Latin transliteration of the Greek γωρυτός, the name of a bow-case for a short recurve, or Scythian, bow.

Gorytus was sired by Nijinsky, the Canadian-bred winner of the English Triple Crown in 1970 who went on to become an important stallion, siring horses such as Ferdinand, Lammtarra, Sky Classic and Shahrastani. His dam Glad Rags was an Irish-bred mare who won the 1000 Guineas in 1966 and went on to become an influential broodmare: her descendants include Union Rags, the winner of the 2012 Belmont Stakes, and Declaration of War, winner of the Queen Anne Stakes and International Stakes in 2013.

...
Wikipedia