Charles Engelhard Question

Family made their fortune from mining precious metals in South Africa and South America. Ian Fleming is said to have based the underworld character and film Goldfinger on him.

He indeed had some great horses in the 60s with Nijinsky and Rose Bowl arguably being the best. Fulke Johnson-Houghton, Vincent O`Brien and Jeremy Tree trained for him over here. Mckenzie Miller trained for him in USA.

I agree DD, mindboggling even imagining the great success he would probably have achieved in 70s onwards if he hadn`t died suddenly from a heart attack in 1971.

.... he wasn`t old when he died, early fifties I think.

Indiana,Ribocco and Ribero other good uns that carried his famous silks.

Habitat another.

Mac. I was at Doncaster when Ribocco won the Leger,what an atmosphere. Did J.F. Watts not train Indiana, another trainer of the Engelhard horses.

Do we know how many he had in training? Hard to believe it was anything like the numbers that Sangster had when he dominated. He had much of his success buying the Ribot's and then no doubt would have done similar with the Northern Dancer's after the success of Nijinsky.

This might help you out if looked into a bit more.
300 horse with 125 in training.

There's a long article about him here, from Sports Illustrated, written in the spring of 1969 when Ribofilio was his Derby hope...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/04/28/the-walking-conglomerate

He took a punt on Ribot's prepotency, and was proved correct, but Ribot was temperamental, as well as brilliant, and Engelhard decided to have his offspring trained in England rather the US because he thought they wouldn't accept the training regimes in the US. The article also suggests that they benefited greatly from Piggott's understanding - though you'll have to go a long a long way through it because most of the article is about his character, lifestyle, and connections in the US. His father was Prussian, and became a friend of FDR. Charles himself started off a Republican, but switched to be a major supporter of the Democrats.

Of course
Mr Bond
I know your a secret agent!!!

Habitat was a great example of the skill of Fulke Johnson Houghton. He managed to get the 3yo Habitat into the Lockinge with just 7.12 which Ron Hutchinson could do. At 10/1, he beat Jimmy Reppin and Wolver Hollow, the best older milers around, and went on to win all of the top mile races including the Moulin. One of the first Group 1 flat races I ever saw live. Of course Lester had managed to jock Ron off by then. Fulke J=H also went through an entire season with a 40% strike rate with Aga Khan 3yos. Habitat was champion broodmare sire 3 times with Chalon, Habeebti and Someone Special just a few of the Group winners who went on to be top brood mares. Someone Special was dam of Barathea and Gossamer, both Irish Guineas winners.

Apologies senior moment. It was another Habitat mare, Brocade who was dam of Barathea and Gossamer. Yet another Group 1 winner by Habitat. Someone Special was dam of One So Wonderful who won the Juddmonte at York.

Yes Tommy, Indiana was indeed trained by Jack Watts and ridden by Jimmy Lindley. Was exported to stud in Japan. No videos of the race available. Which is a shame.

Thanks Ged, an interesting, and as you say, a lengthy read. It doesn't give a breakdown of the 200+ horses, but I would imagine most were racing in the US.

He had trainers in England/Ireland, the US, France and South Africa. As the article says, he had his first horses in South Africa in 1957.

Peter Walwyn gave him his first winner in England, Ticklish, in 1959. FJ-H's first winner was for him, in 1961. Both ridden by Lester.

He was lucky to come across Nijinsky - he had asked Vincent O'Brien to go and look at a Ribot yearling at EP Taylor's farm in Toronto. O'Brien wasn't keen to go all that way just to see one horse, but thought he'd better go to keep Engelhard happy. He didn't like the Ribot as it had crooked forelegs, but while he was there he saw a Northern Dancer that he really did like, so he advised Engelhard to buy that one instead at the upcoming sales. That was Nijinsky. Engelhard first met O'Brien at the sales in 1964, and sent him 2 horses - Right Noble and Grey Moss - they both ran, unplaced, in the 1966 Derby. Right Noble went off joint fav.

Nijinsky was the top price at the sale at 84,000 so not so much an astute buy of an unconsidered horse by O'Brien as legend has it.

He was offered for sale at the Windfields Farm's annual yearling auction where he was bought for $84,000 (equivalent to $780,000 in 2025)
by the American minerals magnate and industrialist Charles W. Engelhard Jr., acting on the advice of the Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien. Wiki

His sire Northern Dancer
when Windfields Farm offered all of its yearlings for sale at its annual auction ... Northern Dancer did not find a buyer at his Can$25,000 reserve price.