Holy Roller by the Biscay stallion Sanction out of the mare Secret
Blessing, was a large Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the mid-to
late-1990s. He won 12 of his 26 races and a developed a cult following amongst
Sydney race fans. Bred and owned by Woodlands Stud, Holy Roller stood 18.1
hands compared to the average thoroughbred at around 16 hands. His
career highlights included wins in the Bill Ritchie Handicap and the Crystal
Mile. Video of his last win, in the Waterford Crystal Mile here.
Holy Roller was born at Woodlands Stud Denman, New South Wales, where it took
his dam over one hour to get him out. The foal arrived at 0240 and did not
stand until 0320. Both dam and foal were exhausted and lay for almost an hour
recovering. The foaling night watchman was a 6 ft young man, and when the foal
finally stood, he reached the mid-chest level of the watchman. Comments at the
time included: "VERY big foal, enormous knees, fetlocks, etc."
His dam, Secret Blessing, was an average size mare, about 16hands, but very wide
and roomy. Most of her progeny had been fairly large - her daughters tended to
be wide like her, such as Genuflect, but Immense was tall and wide but not as big
as her half-brother Holy Roller. His sire Sanction is a fairly tall horse,
16.1h. Holy Roller was weaned off his dam in
April 1993. He was always very easy to pick out amongst the weanlings in a
paddock - he was taller than the Clydesdale foal that shared the paddock.
Woodlands Stud does not sell its yearlings but races everything it
breeds; Trevor Lobb and their private trainer John Hawkes assess the
youngsters in November and divide them into the appropriate groups for
breaking-in. When John Hawkes saw Holy Roller the first time, he said, "He
would look good pulling a cart." The yearling was named for the evangelical
preachers who used to roam the southern states of the USA commonly known as
"holy rollers". He was left until the very last batch of yearlings for
breaking-in and didn't go to Belmont Park until May 1994. After the breaker
rode him the first time, he said, "This huge lump knows where he is putting his
feet and has tremendous balance." Holy Roller was gelded at an early age to try
to slow down his rapid growth pattern, but it didn't work.
At breaking-in, Holy Roller measured 17 hands and weighed an estimated 660 kg.
Each time he went out for a spell, on his return, he would be re-measured and
always had increased in height. At the end of his racing career, he measured
18.1 hands. Holy Roller didn't start until he was a
late 3 year old. He then won at Canterbury and Moonee Valley. Holy
Roller always had to race on the outside of the field to have the freedom to
stretch out properly. If caught inside other horses, he would cramp up to avoid
hitting the others. Jockeys who have ridden Holy Roller him
say it was like riding in an old Cadillac, very smooth ride, tremendous
suspension but when the stride lengthens in the straight, they get whiplash in
their necks; they also refuse to dismount straight off his back but
rather get down onto a handy rail if possible, then drop to the ground.
Another problem during a race was that the jockey was often unable to see
horses in front of Holy Roller's neck and head, and would have to trust to the
horse to get around and past the smaller horse safely. Jockey Larry Cassidy said
often he would ask Holy Roller to go forward in a race but the horse would
refuse, then move out sideways, and Larry would realise there had been a
"normal size" horse in front of him but not visible from the saddle.
Holy Roller created extra work for farriers. Standard steel shoes are about
8 inches in length but the Holy Roller needed 14 inches per hoof, meaning the
farrier had to start with a straight steel bar.
Upon his retirement, his owners - "Chicken Kings" Jack and Bob Ingham -
donated Holy Roller to Rod Hoare who was looking for a big horse to compete at
dressage and eventing. References
Holy Roller's pedigree and partial racing stats