Ogygian has spent his life surrounded by legend. Named for the magical island where Odysseus lives for seven years with the goddess Calypso in Homer’s Odyssey, he is the greatest son of 16th ranked throroughbred of the twentieth century, Damascus.

Hailing from famous Tartan Farms, Ogygian was trained by Jan Nerud, son of Hall-of-Famer John Nerud, trainer of the great Dr. Fager. Ogygian was arguably the fastest runner of his generation. As a 2-year-old, he was unbeaten in three starts, including a stunning 9 1/2 length victory over champion sprinter Groovy in the 1985 Belmont Futurity (G1). As a 3-year old he vanquished the competition in the Riva Ridge Stakes, the Dwyer Stakes (G1) and Jerome Handicap (G1). As a stallion standing at Claiborne Farms, Ogygian sired 23 stakes winners and 11 graded stakes winners.

But it was as a broodmare sire that he made his mark as a stallion. He is the maternal grandfather of international 2 Year Old Champion Johannesburg and other top stakes earners. Like Sunshine Forever and Creator, Ogygian went to stud in Japan before being acquired by Old Friends through our associate at Narvick International, Megumi Igarashi.  “He is hanging the charm against evil from his bridle,” Miss Igarashi informed us via email. “It’s violet, the holy color of Buddhism. Someone gave it to him a long time ago.” The lucky amulet brought this champion safely home in August of 2005.

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