The English Triple Crown – that is, the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St. Leger – may not be the sought-after prize it once was, but the fact remains that Nijinksy, who won all three races, among others, during his three-year-old campaign in 1970 was the last horse to win it. Ninjinsky was owned by American businessman Charles Engelhard Jr., whose wife, Jane, was responsible for naming him after Russian-born ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, and trained by Vincent O’Brien Ballydoyle, Co. Tipperary. He was ridden, in Ireland, by Liam Ward and elsewhere by Lester Piggott.
Nijinksy tasted defeat just twice, on the last two starts of his career. He was beaten a head, under controversial cirucmstances, by Sassafras, ridden by Yves Saint-Martin, in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October 1970 and, shortly afterwards, three-quarters of a length by the unfancied five-year-old Lorenzaccio, ridden by Geoff Lewis, in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket. On the first occasion, Nijinsky suffered an interrupted passage when attempting to challenge and shied away from the whip in the closing stages, but Piggott bore the brunt of the criticism for riding an ill-judged race.
Despite winning his first 11 races, including the Triple Crown, over distances between six furlongs and a mile and three-quarters, Nijinsky was awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of just 138. Such a rating places him in the ‘top class’ category, but is 2lb shy of the 140 required to make him one of ‘greats’ of the Timeform era, which began shortly after World War II.
Nijinsky was subsequently syndicated for a hefty $5.44 million for stud duties and stood at Clairborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky for the whole of his career as a stallion. He became leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland, with progeny including the Derby winners Golden Fleece, Shahrastani and Lammtarra and the 2,000 Guineas winner Shadeed.