HENRY CECIL'S GREAT GREY BATTLESHIP

Graham Buddry remembers the mighty Indian Skimmer battleship

- Graham Buddry

At the astonishing height of his considerable training powers, Henry Cecil had difficulty in sending out anything other than a continuous stream of winners. Many of them became household names while others shone but briefly, yet few were as popular, or talented, as the iron-grey battleship that was Indian Skimmer.

Foaled in 1984 in Kentucky, the daughter of Storm Bird had exemplary breeding through grandsire, Northern Dancer, and damsire Vaguely Noble. The resulting offspring was named Indian Skimmer after a rare tern-like, scissor-billed bird.

Running in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed, Indian Skimmer had one race unplaced where she had little idea of what to do or how to actually race yet quickly established herself with five victories through 1987, first at lowly Wolverhampton. This was quickly followed by the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket where she ran with the choke out for nearly a mile so hard did she fight for her head before settling. Two furlongs later she was asked for an effort and still cruised well clear to win as she pleased.

The Musidora at York saw only two opponents take on the grey and although they were both high class in their own right, once inside the final furlong they were made to look like selling platers. Next were two successful trips across the Channel. The first of these was the Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp before a mouth-watering clash with the mighty Miesque for Chantilly’s Prix de Diane, the French Oaks.