The mare Hennessy will be remembered for two reasons. Firstly, because she produced a brilliant Indian Derby winner in the form of Sir Bruce and secondly, because she was the mount of the inimitable Aslam Kader when he broke out of the maiden ranks as a 5kg-allowance apprentice whose body-weight was 44kg. Available at 6/1, Hennessy made every post of the 1000 metres sprint a winning one and notched up a memorable win for the boy who was to become a living legend in this country. Hennessy eventually went on to win seven races before being retired to stud. Sired by Asopo out of Abeyance, Hennessy was a half-sister to the prolific Hard Held who recorded 20 wins in a long career which saw him pick up the Indian 2000 Guineas and the Eclipse Stakes. Another horse which boasted of the Hennessy bloodline on his dam’s side was the Class I colt Philanderer who won a total of 17 races including the Stewards Cup and the RWITC Cup twice.

In conjunction with champion sire Everyday II (who was featured in our Magnificent Seven series of sires), Hennessy went on to produce a dark bay colt in 1982 called Sir Bruce — the prize property of the late Y.M. Chaudhury. Sir Bruce’s 10 wins included several major events of the country ( The Indian Derby, The Indian 2000 Guineas, Bangalore Derby, President of India Gold Cup and The Nizam’s Gold Cup). His rider’s bloomer cost him the Pune Derby, where he returned injured after bumping into the rails. He unfortunately missed out narrowly on the Invitation Cup where he finished second.
Sir Bruce was retired to stud in 1987 and stood at Gurgaon, Haryana.