Last updated on February 26, 2008
Uncle Remus was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the New Zealand Derby and New Zealand 2000 Guineas in the 1977-78 season. He is rated among the best Derby winners of the last 30 years.
Uncle Remus was trained by Colin Jillings, who in his illustrious training career had five Derby victories, but it is probably fair to say that none of the other four winners had the same amount of ability as Uncle Remus.
Perhaps overshadowed by Balmerino, whose deeds in the Northern Hemisphere were constantly in the headlines, Uncle Remus was a great horse in his own right, as shown by his impressive record of 15 wins from just 28 starts.
Following his racing career he was reasonably successful at stud, but never sired a horse with anything like his own ability.
Famous quotes containing the words uncle and/or remus:
“Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle;
I am no traitor’s uncle, and that word “grace”
In an ungracious mouth is but profane.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If it had not been for storytelling, the black family would not have survived. It was the responsibility of the Uncle Remus types to transfer philosophies, attitudes, values, and advice, by way of storytelling using creatures in the woods as symbols.”
—Jackie Torrence (b. 1944)