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Home - General
Interest Section - His
ex girlfriend, Mimi - Their
daughter, Paisana
| Osage Red - Question Mark
x Levis Maid
Not sure how old he is in this photo - it could not have been taken
later than early 1949, when he would have just turned four.
Nelson Nye tells us that he was 15.1, chestnut, bred by Dell Owens,
and foaled in Osage, Nevada, 1945. Also that at the close of 1948 he had
made ten starts, winning nine of them, and that he went 400 in :20.7 at
Las Vegas, 1/10 of a second short of the world record at the time.
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| We made his acquaintance in the late 60's when
he belonged to Steve and Joann Swan, who were avid collectors of Question
Mark breeding - particularly palaminos. Mimi
had not gotten in foal for several years, and '69 or '70 Steve Swan kindly
offered to have a look at her. With a very deft and sensitive touch he
discovered scar tissue obstructing the cervix sufficiently as to prevent
conception by live cover. (This was missed at Davis, account of the speculum
simply pushed it out of the way.)
As I recall, she was bred A-I from then on, but it was certainly A-I
in this case, as Osage Red then had age related infirmities that prevented
him doing live cover.
This produced Paisana,
who unluckily inheirited the "unhelpful" disposition often associated with
the Question Mark breeding. You may read some rather sanitized stories
touching on that, for instance, in Nye's "Champions of the Quarter Tracks"
a glowing report is given of Osage Red's disposition. I can say that this
opinion was not shared by most who actually knew the animal.
Still, he was an outstanding champion in his own right, from an excellent
family, and many of his babies were absolutely top-grade "horseflesh". |
At right, adcopy, c. 1959
Credit is also due Nye for the story below, "borrowed" from Champions
of the Quarter Tracks, 1949 |
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Home - General
Interest Section - His
ex girlfriend, Mimi - Their
daughter, Paisana
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