Snow Knight was bred by J. A. Claude Lilley, a textile manufacturer and the proprietor of Quarry Stud on Duffield Bank in Makeney, Derbyshire. Lilley had owned and raced Pretendre, sire of the 1971 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Canonero II. Snow Knight's dam was Snow Blossom,[2] a daughter of Flush Royal, winner of England's Great Yorkshire Stakes and the Prix Noailles in France. His sire was the speedy runner Firestreak who had been owned by Canadianlawyer Neil F. Phillips, whose wife Sharon purchased Snow Knight at auction as a yearling for £5,200.
Small injuries slowed him but he would fight back. Always a fractious colt, in the paddock at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Snow Knight threw jockey Brian Taylor and at the starting gate was still fighting his handlers. Sent off at odds of 50:1, he ran in the middle of the pack until the field made the turn at Tattenham Corner, when he sped to the lead and won by two lengths.[3]
North America
In the fall of 1974, Snow Knight was sold for a reported C$1 million to Canada's leading horseman, E. P. Taylor, and sent to Taylor's Windfields Farm in Ontario. For new trainer Jim Bentley, Snow Knight made three starts at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack but performed poorly. For the 1975 racing season, Snow Knight was sent to race in the United States, where MacKenzie Miller was entrusted with his race conditioning. Miller, known for his patience, spent months working with the high-strung colt.[4] His diligence paid off when Snow Knight won the important Manhattan Handicap and Man o' War Stakes. Sent back to Woodbine Racetrack for the prestigious Canadian International Championship, he defeated an international field on the turf.
