Achille - Our First Trot - Bred Stallion
The first standardbred trotting sire to stand in stud at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College was the bay
trotter Achille. This horse was bred by the late J. Malcolm Forbes of Boston, Mass., a noted breeder at
that time.
Achille, a foal of 1898, stood 15 1/2 hands high and weighed in at 1,060 pounds. His sire was the famous
Bingen, 2:06 1/4, and his dam a mare called Starlight, 2:15 3/4, by Electioneer.
The actual racing career of Achille was extremely brief for some unexplained reason. There are no
records of his being injured in heat racing. His lifetime trotting record was made at Dover, New Hampshire
on Sept. 22, 1905. Archille's lifetime performance was as follows: four official starts of 15 heats with 10
wins, two seconds and one third. He won many show ribbons and seems to have been used mainly for
that purpose.
Around 1907, Achille, along with the three - year - old Marshal M, was purchased by the Murray
government on the recommendations of the late Dr. Melville Cumming, N.S.A.C.'s first principle, and
James A. Fraser, the noted turf writer and newspaper editor of New Glasgow, N.S.
Achille stood in stud at various locations in Nova Scotia until he was sold at public auction to a Mr. Yuill of
Bible Hill in 1917.
It is difficult to properly evaluate the few offspring of this trotting sire. Many of his colts were never
registered and were used as show horses, roadsters and farm labor purposes. The few that made it to the
racetracks were exceptionally noted for their courage, stamina and exceptionally good manners. Achille
was bred to "All who wished to patronize him". He was used by Dr. Cumming sometimes as a roadster
and mail carrier and became a favorite of the local people of Truro and nearby Bible Hill. He was used for
teaching, classroom and judging purposes and several times exhibited at the Provincial Exhibition in
Halifax, where one time, after little or no training, his caretaker, the late Tom Hooper, trotted him a half
mile in 1:06 to silence critics of the stallion.
Hooper, who was the first groom and caretaker of Achille, was a rather famous horseman of his day, and
if my sources are correct, he was mayor of Pictou, N.S. for a short time after retiring from N.S.A.C.
There are many stories surrounding Achille. One is that when the Governor of Canada was visiting Nova
Scotia in 1912, Achille was hitched up in his finest and Dr. Cumming took the king's representative for a
ride, where the reins exchanged hands for a short time.
Another verified story is that on several occasions, Achille had many "speed contests" against several
local trotters from Queen Street to Bible Hill while returning with the mail in the sleigh in winter months.
The official Wallace Yearbook credits Achille with having produced about some 15 standardbred record
performers.
One of these colts, Achille The Great, would forever put this old sire in the Maritime record books for all
time. The historic event took place at the Old Halifax Exhibition Grounds in early October of 1910. Achille
The Great, a two - year - old trotter, bred by the late W. H. Musgrave of Halifax, trotted in 2:30 flat. This
broke the old Maritime record of 2:38, which had been set in 1893!
So Achille The Great became the first two - year - old trotter to ever trot in 2:30 (it was a time trial) in
Atlantic Canada. An almost unbelievable feat at that time in our history.
To today's readers and horsepeople of 1996, this time of 2:30 for a Maritime - bred two - year - old trotter
seems rather silly, as our present Maritime record of 2:05 for the class. Not so in 1912, and this is how
Jimmy power described this historic accomplishment in The Acadian Recorder 84 years ago:
"An event of the afternoon was the lowering of the two - year - old record for the Maritime Provinces by
W. H. Musgrave's great two - year - old trotting stallion Achille The Great, who not only reduced the
record by six seconds, but entered the 2:30 last. The performance was all the more remarkable with the
high wind which prevailed, and besides he was not kept close to the pole, but had him out in third
position. He had no pacemaker, but simply went on his courage. He went a splendid heat, never lifting his
nose until the seven - eighths, when he made a break, but caught quickly and came home trotting
beautifully".
Just for the record, the times were: 39 1/4, 1:16 1/4, 1:52 and 2:30 (h).
Some other standardbred performers by Achille were:
Acheen b,s, 2:12 1/4
Achille The Great b,s, 2:20 1/2
Achille Medium b,g, 2:27 1/4
Bonnie Bingen b,g, 2:20 3/4
Brenton S b,g, 2:29 1/4
Harry Mac b,s, 2:25 3/4
Kelly B b,h, 2:26
Lloyd Achille b,g, 2:21 1/4
Lord Wallace b,g, 2:28
Lochiel b,g, 2:21 1/2
Nolita b,m, 2:25 1/4
Theodore R b,g, 2:28 1/4
Truro Bell b,g, 2:23 1/2