Black Helen
Black Helen was an American Thoroughbred race horse who was named the Champion three-year-old filly of 1935 after winning eight races that year including the Coaching Club American Oaks, Florida Derby, Maryland Handicap and American Derby, becoming only the second filly to win the latter. Black Helen was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991, one year after her full-brother Bimelech. Black Helen was the first foal to race by La Troienne, later acknowledged as one of the most influential American broodmare of the twentieth century. Black Helen herself did not produce any stakes winners but several of her daughters went on to do so. Her descendants include Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin and champions But Why Not, Princess Rooney, Pleasant Tap and Travelling Victor. Background Black Helen was bred by Colonel Edward R. Bradley and was foaled at his Idle Hour Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1930, Bradley purchased a well-bred mare named La Troienne, in foal at the time to Gainsborough, for 1,250 guineas at the Newmarket sales and imported her to America. La Troienne was a homebred for the notable French breeder Marcel Boussac, but went winless in seven starts. After the Gainsborough foal died, La Troienne was bred to Bradley's foundation stallion Black Toney, a moderate racehorse known for his stamina and toughness. La Troienne was bred to Black Toney three times in all, resulting in two Hall of Fame racehorses (Black Helen and her younger brother Bimelech) and the outstanding producer Big Hurry. La Troienne produced seven other winners and seven of her daughters were stakes producers. Her female family (designated as 1-x) is one of the most successful of the twentieth century, from which numerous classic winners descend. Black Helen was small, weighing only 900 pounds when fully grown and standing barely high. Because she was so small, Black Helen was not nominated to enter any important two-year-old stakes races. Instead, Bradley assigned her to the farm's second string trainer, Bill Hurley. Racing career 1934: two-year-old season Black Helen won her first seven starts before losing her last two races at age two. Despite these losses and not being eligible for any major stakes races, she was the second-rated filly of 1934, to Nellie Flag, according to The Blood-Horse magazine. She started racing in the Chicago area, winning two races at Washington Park in June and two at Arlington Park. She first attracted national attention when she won the West Pullman Purse at Washington Park on June 18 by four lengths. Her time of 0:59 for the five-furlong sprint was only one-fifth of a second off the track record. On July 3, she won by six lengths and set a track record at Arlington Park by running five furlongs in 0:58, leading the New York Times to call her the best juvenile filly of the season. A throat ailment kept her from racing during the summer, but she returned on October 16 at Laurel Park, where