The big fella bred to the queen
by Lisa Harkema
To many he appears to be an average American trotter bred to the first French trotting queen. However, the story of Great McKinney is that of a good horse who just needed a bit of time and then flourished in the US before he was sold to France. Together with French trotting queen Uranie he produced two talented trotters who turned out to be excellent stallions with a big legacy.
Bred by Charles A Nicholson of St Charleston, The Great McKinney, born 1922, was bought by Frank G Warden of Des Moines, also the owner of the Indian Mound Stock Farm in Enon, Ohio, and put in the training of Will Squier. Warden’s interest in the horse was natural: The Great McKinney’s sire, Arion McKinney, was also owned by Warden and stood stud at the Indian Mound farm.
The Great McKinney made his first start in a bigger race when he was one of the horses in the Matron Stake in Toledo on Jul 16, 1925 as a three-year-old. He finished 6-8, presumably quite far off Sam Williams who won ahead of Aileen Guy, and these two were a class above the rest. In the 2:12 trot for three-year-olds at Kalamazoo the following weekend he was an “also started” and he finished outside of the top-5 in both heats. On Sep 3, 1925, The Great McKinney picked up a win in the Governor’s Cup at Ohio State Fair at Columbus, winning the heats in 2:12 1/4 and 2:16 1/4 (1.22,2 and 1.24,7). Those were his starts in the Grand Circuit, but in a smaller race he set his three-year-old record 2:09 3/4 (1.20,6).
Just before the start of the 4-year-old season in July 1926 the colt was sold by Warden to JB Fletcher of Newport, KY and moved from Will Squier to legendary trainer Sep Palin, best known as the trainer of Greyhound. A newspaper report from that period describes the horse as “a large colt for his age and has been developed by his former trainer into a trotter of real merit” and thus gives an indication of his type and ability. An article in Pittsburgh Daily Post on Dec 26, 1926 gave the price to be a “reported $6,500.” Competing in the 2:06 trot at North Randall track in Cleveland on Jul 6, the three heats were won by Christie Mac, The Great McKinney and Pearl Benboe, the latter being the favorite but making wild breaks in all other heats. Christie Mac then won the final rather easily. The Great McKinney’s win was in 2:07.1 (1.19,0). (Pearl Benboe is, by the way, the trotting fourth dam of Zoot Suit whose pacing dam had, despite what many believe, a trotting maternal side.)