In 1963, Locust Hill Farm owners Mr. and Mrs. Stuart S. Janney Jr. bred one of their foundation mares (a gift from Mrs. Janney’s mother Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps) to Native Dancer. The result was a filly named Shenanigans whose modest racing career boasted three wins from 22 starts and a single stakes placing in the 1965 Maryland Futurity. Her performance on the track, however, was no indication of her impact as a broodmare.
Shenanigans got off the mark quickly. Her first foal, by Nearctic, was Icecapade. Winner of seven stakes races, including the William duPont Jr. H. and Nassau County H., Icecapade also placed in the Fall Highweight and the Withers and set a six-furlong track record (1:08 flat) at Monmouth Park. After his racing career, Icecapade also proved to be a successful stallion siring over 70 stakes winners, including the influential stallion Wild Again.
Three years after she produced Icecapade, Shenanigans produced a filly by Reviewer, a son of Bold Ruler who also stood at Claiborne. Named Ruffian, the big, black filly sent the racing world into a tailspin with her runaway ability. She chalked up wins in the Fashion S., the Astoria, the Sorority, and the Spinaway at two, then continued her dominance at three winning the Comely, the Acorn, the Mother Goose, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Tragically, Ruffian suffered a grave injury to her right front leg in a match race against the year’s Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. All efforts were made to save her, but the spirited filly re-injured herself in recovery and had to be euthanized. Champion Filly at two and at three, Ruffian was such a spectacular racehorse that in the more than 30 years since she raced, she remains the benchmark by which all other top fillies are measured.
Shenanigans also produced another stakes winner in 1974, Buckfinder by Claiborne stallion Buckpasser. Buckfinder won the William duPoint Jr. H. and Celanese Cup and also placed in the seven other stakes including the Metropolitan H. Shenanigans appears in the pedigrees of Offlee Wild, Louis Quatorze, Milwaukee Brew, Sarava, Wild Zone, etc.
Dam of 6 foals, 6 winners, including 3 stakes winners
Died in 1977.