Bred and foaled at Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, Nijinsky was a son of Northern Dancer, one of the most important sires in the history of thoroughbred racing. His dam was Flaming Page, a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
Nijinsky was sold at a yearling auction to American mining magnate, Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. whose wife gave him the name Nijinsky in honor of the Russian ballet star, Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky. Raced in Europe, Nijinsky was voted Champion 2-year-old in England and Ireland for 1969 and in his Triple Crown season was voted Europe's Horse of the Year.
At the end of 1970 Nijinsky was syndicated for a then world-record price and retired to stud at the renowned Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. He sired 155 stakes race winners and in 1986 became the only horse in history to sire a winner of both the Kentucky Derby (Ferdninand) and the Epsom Derby (Shahrastani) in the same year.
A motion picture narrated by Orson Welles and titled "A Horse Called Nijinsky" had a theatrical release in 1972 and was made available on video in 1988. Author Lesley I. Sampson's book titled Nijinsky: Blue Riband Sire, was published in 1985.
Nijinsky died in 1992 and was buried at Claiborne Farm.
Bred and foaled at Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, Nijinsky was a son of Northern Dancer, one of the most important sires in the history of thoroughbred racing. His dam was Flaming Page, a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee.
Nijinsky was sold at a yearling auction to American mining magnate, Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. whose wife gave him the name Nijinsky in honor of the Russian ballet star, Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky. Raced in Europe, Nijinsky was voted Champion 2-year-old in England and Ireland for 1969 and in his Triple Crown season was voted Europe's Horse of the Year.
At the end of 1970 Nijinsky was syndicated for a then world-record price and retired to stud at the renowned Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. He sired 155 stakes race winners and in 1986 became the only horse in history to sire a winner of both the Kentucky Derby (Ferdninand) and the Epsom Derby (Shahrastani) in the same year.
A motion picture narrated by Orson Welles and titled "A Horse Called Nijinsky" had a theatrical release in 1972 and was made available on video in 1988. Author Lesley I. Sampson's book titled Nijinsky: Blue Riband Sire, was published in 1985.
Nijinsky died in 1992 and was buried at Claiborne Farm.
Family Members
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Vice Regent
1967–1995
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Lyphard
1969–2005
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Nice Dancer
1969–1997
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Northern Taste
1971–2004
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Northerly
1972–1987
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Topsider
1974–1992
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Northern Dictator
1974–1997
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The Minstrel
1974–1990
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Be My Guest
1974–2004
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Danzig
1977–2006
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Antique Value
1979–1997
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Dixieland Band
1980–2010
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Salmon Leap
1980–1993
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Pacificus
1981–1999
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Wild Applause
1981–2003
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Fairy King
1982–1999
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Green Dancer
1972–2000
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State
1974–1993
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Maruzensky
1974–1997
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Ile de Bourbon
1975–1997
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Ile de Bourbon
1975–1997
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Yamaninsky
1975–1998
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Number
1979–1997
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Yamanin Penny
1979–1998
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Gorytus
1980–1996
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Caerleon
1980–1998
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Russian Roubles
1980 – unknown
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Shadeed
1982–2005
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Ferdinand
1983–2002
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Seattle Dancer
1984–2007
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