Hy Diamond was foaled in 1946. His sire, Hygro, was bred by George Wingfield, a casino and banking magnate, at his Nevada Stock Farm near Reno, Nevada. Hygro was by the imported French stallion Epinard and out of Ruddy Light, a stakes-winning daughter of Honeywood. Hygro made eighteen starts and won nine races under the ownership of his breeder. He set a stakes record in the six-furlong Helpful Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland. He was also victorious in the Joliet Handicap, Hawthorne Juvenile Handicap and Capital Handicap, often carrying more weight than his rivals.
At the height of the Great Depression, Wingfield retired from racing. The horses of his Nevada Stock Farm were sold in a dispersal sale on November 26th, 1932. Hygro was purchased by Abraham Bartelstein for $12,000. He was later sold and moved to the Tulahteka Ranch in Kerrville, Texas. Hygro sired 150 Thoroughbred foals that earned over $1 million on the track at a time of small purses. His best Thoroughbred starters were Quien Es, Pride of Hygro, Dutch Raider, Camp Verde and Hyhustle.
Hygro was also highly influential in the early Quarter Horse industry. He sired 21 Quarter Horse foals, including stakes winners Hy Dale and Hy Maria. Noteworthy runners Hygro Jr, Hyglo and Hy Dunn were also among his Quarter Horse progeny. Hysition, a race-winning Thoroughbred son of Hygro, sired AQHA Racing Champions Black Easter Bunny and Hy Alwin. Hygro’s sons Hy Aethal, Hy-Playwell, Hy Qua, Hygoby, Hyno, Nick o’ Time and Texon Boy also sired Quarter Horses. Hygro’s daughters produced stakes winners Don Bar and Vanna Bar, as well as AQHA Champions King Glo, The Haymaker and Hygro Leo.
Sirita, the dam of Hy Diamond, was an unraced daughter of Jack High, a record-setting multiple stakes winner. Jack High was bred and owned by George D. Widener Jr. in Kentucky. He sired fifteen stakes winners, including Lucky Draw, Hi Billee, High Trend, Frere Jacques and Jack S. L. His sons Andy K., Lillolkid and With Regards sired Quarter Horses. Sirita produced four Thoroughbred foals, all of which were race winners. Hysis and Hydid were full-siblings to Hy Diamond. She produced her final foal, Sirita’s Gal, for Henry Seiler in 1950 when she was only eleven years old.
As a two-year-old, Hy Diamond made four official starts and won one race. He also placed second behind Johns Joy in the 1948 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at Fair Grounds. At three, Hy Diamond failed to hit the board. At age four, he made ten starts and won four races. He also placed second in the 1950 Governor’s Handicap at Suffolk Downs. His final race record was seventeen starts, five wins, four seconds and three thirds, with $9,650 in earnings.
Hy Diamond’s first foal crop arrived in 1952. One of his first foals, Diamond Mae, was a chestnut mare bred by J. B. Ferguson, the breeders of Go Man Go and Top Moon. Diamond Mae was out of May West Ferguson, a Quarter Horse daughter of the Thoroughbred stallion Marco Way. Diamond Mae was 7/8ths Thoroughbred. In 1954, she set a new track record at Ruidoso Downs for 400 yards in 20.4 seconds. She was named the AQHA Racing Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. As a three-year-old, Diamond Mae equaled the 350-yard track record at Los Alamitos. In 1956, she won the Shue Fly Stakes and Miss Princess Invitational Handicap. Diamond Mae went on to produce eight AQHA registered foals, including track record setters Hustling Man, Miss Diamond Leo and Miss Maydeck. She was also the dam of Racing Register of Merit earners Top Diamond Mae, Go Mae Go and Hustling Miss.
Summer Jewel, a mare bred by Thomas H. Heard Jr. in Texas, became Hy Diamond’s first Thoroughbred stakes winner when she captured the 1956 Rancocas Stakes at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Summer Jewel later produced Bag of Ice, winner of the 1964 Tri-State Futurity. Deep Diamond, Hy Diamond’s other Thoroughbred stakes winner, won the 1958 Debutante Stakes at Fair Grounds. She also won the 1960 Ascot Speed Handicap. Deep Diamond had just one recorded foal that was unraced.
Hy Diamond Dandy was the next Quarter Horse stakes winner by Hy Diamond. Hy Diamond Dandy was bred by Louis Herron of Uvalde, Texas. He set a new track record for 330 yards in the inaugural West Texas Futurity at Sonora Park. He also set a new track record for 300 yards in 16.6 seconds on the same racetrack. After he retired from racing, Hy Diamond Dandy became a Grand Champion halter horse. He stood at the Big Tree Ranch in Sabinal, Texas. Hy Diamond Dandy sired 288 AQHA registered foals. His daughter Bonnie Hy was the second dam of barrel horse sire Flaming Talent.
Diamond Charge, a brown stallion bred by J. B. Wood of Victoria, Texas, was Hy Diamond’s next great runner. In 1960, Diamond Charge set a new track record at Ruidoso Downs for 330 yards in 17 seconds flat. He later won the Inaugural Handicap at Los Alamitos. Diamond Charge started his stud career at The Red Bee Ranch near Wichita, Kansas. He later moved to Grabro Farms in Edmond, Oklahoma. His 265 AQHA registered foals made him a leading sire of Racing ROM earners. His son Diamond Duro was an AQHA Supreme Champion. His sons Diamon Dell and Freckles Diamond were AQHA Champions.
Sparkling Tip was the best producing Quarter Horse daughter of Diamond Charge. Sparkling Tip was bred by Frances A. Genter in Florida. She was out of Tiptoe Tune, a Thoroughbred daughter of Spy Song. Like her ‘aunt’ Diamond Mae, Sparkling Tip was also 7/8ths Thoroughbred. She won one race and earned just $244 on the track. Sparkling Tip went on to produce Elan Again, the 1975 AQHA Racing Champion Aged Mare. She also produced stakes winners Charter Jet and Merridoc.
We Go Charge was another great producer by Diamond Charge. We Go Charge was bred and owned by Gene Miles of Wichita, Kansas. She was out of the Appaloosa mare Wego Melody. We Go Charge made 19 starts and won five races, including the 1968 Oklahoma Futurity and Centennial Juvenile Stakes. She went on to produce twelve ApHC registered foals, including Hall of Fame inductees Easy We Go, Scooter Bug G, We Go Moon Bug and We Go Easy. We Go Charge died in 1998 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame that same year for her accomplishments as a racehorse and broodmare.
Getting back to Hy Diamond, Lady Miers, a chestnut mare bred by W. L. Miers, was his final stakes winner. Lady Miers equaled the track record for 330 yards in 17.5 seconds in the 1960 West Texas Futurity. She later won the Yucca Handicap at Sunland Park. Lady Miers went on to produce six AQHA registered foals, including Miers Art, winner of the 1970 West Texas Futurity, a race that the Hy Diamond family dominated. Lady Miers was also the dam of Racing ROM earners Miers’ Paul, Miers’ Jet Too and Sir Miers.
By 1960, Hy Diamond had moved to Walter Merrick’s ranch, which was in Cheyenne, Oklahoma at the time. Merrick stood him to the public for a fee of $500, which is the equivalent of about $5,500 today. Other noteworthy runners by Hy Diamond included Tall Texan, My Hy, Chicaro Diamond, Dunken Kenner, Hy Arlene, Hy-Field, Sugar Foot Slone and Senor Sam. In 1964, Shining Diamond, the one Performance ROM-earner by Hy Diamond was foaled. His son Hy Jule also earned performance points.
Altogether, Hy Diamond sired 146 Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse foals in 19 foal crops. His offspring included 71 race winners, 33 ROM earners, ten stakes finalist, six stakes winners, one Superior Race Award earner and one AQHA Racing Champion. They earned $438,707 on the track and 60.0 points in the arena.
Sons of Hy Diamond sired more than 1,600 Quarter Horse foals. Hy Diamond Dandy and Diamond Charge were the largest contributors to that number. His sons Hy Jule, Brays Hy Diamond, Hy Diamond Leo, Epinard Bee and Garver’s Two also sired many foals.
His daughters produced 283 AQHA registered foals that earned $507,015 on the track and 71.0 points in the arena. Diamond Mae and Lady Miers were his best producing daughters. His daughter Hy Arlene was also a good producer. Hy Arlene was the dam of nine AQHA registered foals, including multiple stakes winner Mr Quapaw. She also produced Performance ROM earner Sequayah. Stakes winners My Bar None and Ludie’s Puma were also out of Hy Diamond mares.
Hy Ho Hank, a sorrel gelding by Tonto Bars Hank and out of Hy Gay, was the leading point-earner out of a daughter of Hy Diamond. Hy Ho Hank earned a Performance ROM in the Open Division. Walk On Easy and Hy Diamond Jim also earned Performance ROMs. Tiny Ticker, a bay stallion by Tiny Watch and out of Hy’s Lou Do, was an NCHA money earner.
In addition to Quarter Horses, daughters of Hy Diamond also produced great families of Thoroughbreds. Double Diamond, a Thoroughbred mare bred by Clyde Jennings in Texas, was the matriarch of the most persistent Hy Diamond line in Thoroughbreds. Double Diamond produced multiple stakes winner Dontsopnow. Her daughter, Time Barrier, produced stakes winners C. J.’s Boy and Farm Time. Time Barrier was also the second dam of stakes winners Cologny, Selective and Keep It S. S. She was the third dam of stakes winners Board Eligible, Romansh and Twice the Appeal.
Hy Diamond’s last foals were born in 1971 when he would have been 25 years old. Although he sired a relatively low number of foals, his name persists in the pedigrees of racing and performance horses of three different breeds today!
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, Appaloosa Horse Club, The Quarter Horse Journal, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 