Fortress

Fortified (Huge - Coquette 1904) - gray in apples stallion of the Oryol trotter breed; was born in the stud farm of the then famous horse breeder I. G. Afanasyev of the Tambov province . The mother of Krepysh, the mare Koketka (Veshchun - Kralya) did not perform at racetracks. The father of Krepysh was the famous trotter named Gromadny (Flying - Gromada 1894), who was the winner of many large prizes, including the Imperial Prize, one of the most important in the career of any Russian trotter of those years. On the exterior, Gromadny was also a magnificent trotter and was recognized as the champion of the All-Russian Horse Show in 1910. Krepysh was one of the first foals born from Gromadny. The grooms, factory riders and the breeder himself mockingly called the young trotter “Coramora” ^[1] . Krepysh had rather large growth (for which his audience and the press later nicknamed “The Gray Giant”), while the length of the body was somewhat short and at the same time rather long in relation to the length of the back of the legs. In addition to this drawback of the exterior, Krepysh had a number of minor defects (flat ribs, weak dibs), which, according to many, could seriously hinder Krepysh’s successful career at the hippodrome. So, for example, it was because of Krepysh that Afanasyev’s deal with the well-known horse trader Ilyushin at that time did not take place. Ilyushin was going to purchase the entire bet of foals born in 1904, except for Krepysh. Afanasyev, on the contrary, certainly wanted to sell Krepysh along with everyone. Thus, the transaction did not take place. Many other buyers examined Krepysh, but invariably refused to buy it, believing that he was quickly injured at the hippodrome and would not be able to perform.

Career start

The running career of Krepysh, like many trotters at that time, began at the age of three. At that moment, there was a fierce debate in Russia, even an open struggle between lovers of the purebred Oryol trotter and adherents of metalization, crossing the Oryol trotter with a more frisky American . Each victory of a mestizo over an Oryol man was then perceived as proof of the correctness of the “metalisers” and vice versa. However, the Mestizos defeated the Oryol more and more often, their advantage was already so great that the Oryol trotters were forced to establish a series of prizes that were closed to Métis. Krepysh, still belonging to Afanasyev, under the control of the expert on the Oryol trotters of the rider Vasily Yakovlev, on June 3, 1907, reached his first start in his life. This happened at the Moscow Hippodrome in the second group race for Oryol trotters at a distance of 1 mile (1067 m). Fortified came to the finish third with a speed of 1 minute 39.5 s. Three days later, Krepysh started the same distance in the prize of the third group for the Oryol trotters and took first place with a speed of 1 minute 40 seconds. Shortly after this launch, Krepysh was acquired by Mikhail Mikhailovich Shapshal, a horse owner. He had been following Krepysh for a long time since he accidentally saw him on the street: “on the Old Bashilovka the groom beat and pulled some big gray horse that fell on the panel; the author came running, indignant at the mistreatment of the horse, and then, stopping the groom, he heard from him that the horse was called Krepysh, that he was three years old, that he was the son of Gromadny and was standing by the rider Yakovlev ”(“ Krepysh is the horse of the century ”Shapshal M. M.). After this purchase, Krepysh started several more times in the summer season of 1907, but not too well. In the first start after the purchase, he was disqualified for unnecessary malfunctions at a distance, once without a prize place also due to a severe malfunction and once was a winner, showing the best agility for 1 verst 1 minute 35.5 seconds. After all the failures, many horse breeders began to laugh openly at Shapshal, one of the runners, M.S. Balashov, even sent Shapshal a huge lantern with an inscription that said that when buying a horse, you should examine it at the lantern. However, the owner of Krepysh quickly found the cause of failures at a gallop at a trotter. The reason for this was the weak ligaments of the put joints of the trotter's hind legs, which crunched even when the Fortress walked. For their treatment and strengthening from the Crimea, the then-famous Maynak muds were discharged, which were spread on the feet of Krepysh under a warming compress. Shapshal also feared that on the hard concrete track of the Russian hippodromes, the hooves of Krepysh would quickly fail and strengthened them throughout the running career of the Oryol trotter with the help of Crimean clay.

The next performance of Krepysh took place already in the winter, December 4, 1907, where Krepysh, having started in the prize of the second group for the Oryol trotters, won with playfulness 1 minute 38 seconds. After that, Krepysh again had no starts until spring, systematically training and approaching his best form. In the first spring starts on March 2 and 4, 1908, rider Vasily Yakovlev was given strict instructions not to strain Krepysh in pursuit of first place. As a result, the gray trotter took third and second places respectively in open prizes ^[2] , where he still improved his agility by 1 verst - 1 minute 33.4 s.

First records

The result of these two prizes showed that Krepysh was really strong and ready for more serious tests. He easily held the fight, had a clear, confident trotting move, and there was no talk of any failures. From March to May, he again had a break, after which Krepysh started in early May in the prize of the third group for the Oryol trotters of four years, but not a mile away as before, but 1600 m. Krepysh easily ran this distance, ending it at first place with a very serious agility for the four-year-old Orlov trotter of those years 2 minutes 22.2 seconds. On May 13, Krepysh won again, showing an even more serious result: 2 minutes 19.2 s, which automatically put him among the best four-year-old Orlovites in 1908. Faster than him at that time there were only two Oryol trotters - Gramotey and Tramp, as well as Brander. On May 23, Krepysh started in the prize of I.N. Dubovitsky, where he shared second place with Brander, showing agility of 2 minutes 18.3 seconds. After this speech, many horse owners offered Shapshalu to sell Krepysh for large sums of money, but the owner refused to sell his trotter. Nevertheless, since he was in dire need of money (and there were rumors that the card loss was to blame), he was still forced to sell the right to own half of Krepysh to the owner of the tobacco factory B.I. Katlam, but remained the sole trotter coach. On June 8, Krepysh was recorded for the Great All-Russian Derby with the best four-year-old trotters of that year, mostly mestizos, as well as the Orlovites Gramoteem. On the same day, a few hours before Derby, Shapshal set his pet to break a record for four-year-old Oryol trotters at 1600 m, which was at that time 2 minutes 17 seconds. In running separately for a while, Krepysh easily surpassed this time by showing 2 minutes 14.3 seconds. Then, already tired after such a frisky run, he started in Derby, where the main favorite was the bay mare, mestiska Weakness. At the start of the first prize of the prize, there were many false starts that were made by Weakness, which had an even worse effect on the tired Fortress. As a result, he remained second for Weakness, showing nonetheless a frisky time - 2 minutes 15.2 seconds. In addition to Krepysh’s fatigue after the record he set, this loss was also explained by the fact that, according to the rules adopted at that time, the winner of the Derby, if it is an Orlov trotter, does not have the right to start the Four-year prize in the Oryol, so Yakovlev received instructions from Shapshal not to fight for victory at all costs .

Since then, every start of Krepysh immediately attracted the attention of the public, specialists and the press.

On July 20, Krepysh started in the prize draw named after Count Orlov-Chesmensky with a prize fund of thirty thousand rubles. Here, only Oryol trotters were his rivals, but even Gramotiy could not even fight the gray trotter from a distance. The strong guy easily won both prizes of the prize without a fight, showing agility of 2 minutes 15.4 seconds in the first round and 2 minutes 18 seconds in the second round. After this easy victory, Krepysh was twice recorded to beat his own record for four-year-old Orlovites. But the first time the rider Yakovlev, because of a broken arm, could not cope with the strongly pulling Krepysh, and the second time Krepysh finished the run, but could not set a record, showing 2 minutes. 14.4 sec Moreover, on the next day of each such run in the press there were articles with a detailed analysis of the performances of Krepysh. The next start of the gray record holder took place on October 5, 1908 in St. Petersburg, where he again easily defeated all Oryol trotters with a speed of 2 minutes. 15.5 sec He was brought from Moscow by train, and there was always a horse next to him, which served to calm Krepysh. This was especially important when loading into a car, which the Oryol recorder was very afraid of. The new record of Krepysh took place on November 16, 1908, when he started to break the winter record for the Oryol four-year-olds, which had been 2 minutes at that time. 17.2 sec Strong guy easily broke this record, showing 2 minutes. 15.3 from December 12, he is again recorded for breaking the record, but Krepysh only repeats his run almost a month ago - 2 minutes. 15.3 s

On December 21, Krepysh started for the first time in a prize with older mestizos ^[3] , among which were the Weakness and Cheerful mares, on which American riders, brothers S. and V. Keyton, rode. Krepysh confidently won the prize with a playfulness of 2 minutes. 18.2 sec The victory of the recorder over two cool mestizos once again proved the exceptional class of Krepysh.

Outstanding victories and records of the Fortress

In 1909, Krepysh’s victories continued: he easily won in the Oryol prize on January 11 with a playfulness of 2 minutes. 17.7 from February 1, 1909, Krepysh started in the International Prize in St. Petersburg, which was played for trotters of all countries. American trotters , mestizos and Oryol trotters started here. At the same time, under the terms of the prize, American trotters gave odds to the Métis, and mestizos gave odds to the Oryol, as the least frisky. Thus, Krepysh had good conditions and chances of winning. That year, at the start of the International Prize, there were eight mestizos and three Orlov trotters, including Krepysh. Participants rode in turns separately for a while with the Idler ^[4] . The most important favorite of the prize was a very strong mare. Sorry from the American trotter Pass Roses and Mashista's mare. Krepysh became the confident winner of the International Prize, showing agility of 2 minutes in the second round. 15.4 s (and minus the handicap - 2 min. 10.4 s). Sorry, trying to surpass his time in the second round got off and took in the second place. On February 15, Krepysh started in the prize of All countries, this time in Moscow, but again with the best mestizos and Oryol trotters. An hour before the start of the prize, a talented American rider William Keyton recorded a classy Oryol trotter Zaysan (Flying - Zorka 1902) to break the winter record for Oryol trotters. Zaysan set a new record in 2 min. 14.4 s. However, an hour later, in the prize draw, Krepysh was even faster. In the fight against Sorry, he won the prize with an even higher record - 2 min. 13.5 sec Only 12 days after this record-breaking victory, Krepysh is again being recorded for a beating, now of this record. On the run separately for a while, the Oryol record holder easily showed 2 min. 11.7 s. After that, Krepysh had rest until spring and then started only in April with the best Oryol trotters, among whom were Gramotey and Zaysan, but none of them were already rivals to Krepysh. He ran along the entire distance, with each step moving away from the rest and easily defeated in 2 minutes. 13.2 sec Three days later, Krepysh started in the race with mestizos and won again. On May 10, in a race with a mestizo three versts (3200 m), Krepysh again without a fight spent the entire run and, restrained by Yakovlev, showed a playfulness of 4 minutes. 32.5 sec This was a new record for Oryol trotters at 3 versts. On May 25, Krepysh again ran this distance and was even faster - 4 minutes. 32 sec The distance at the finish line between the record holder and his rivals, other Orlov trotters, was almost 11 seconds. On the day of Derby, Krepysh again started 3 versts with Orlovtsy and Métis and again raised his own record, winning with a playfulness of 4 minutes. 31.1 sec Thus, Krepysh clearly demonstrated that he has an outstanding supply of strength and agility, not only for short but also for long distances. With his victories and records, Krepysh glorified his name throughout Russia. His name thundered throughout the country, he was known even to people who were far from trotting races and who had never been to a hippodrome. Fortress was the real national pride of Russia. Those who saw him running were impressed by powerful smooth movements, as if unhurried, but exciting a large space. “He did not run, but swam,” the eyewitnesses of his run recalled. The suit's gray color, large growth, and stately Oryol become always distinguished him in company with any other trotters, especially with small and ugly mestizos and American trotters. People from all over Russia came to watch the performance of the phenomenal horse, even from abroad. It was thanks to him that American trotters began to rapidly lose their position in the European market. William Keyton on his Zaysan made an attempt to break the record of the Fortress at 1600 m, which was 2 min. 13.7 s, however unsuccessful, Zaysan confirmed his class, but the record remained unshakable. At one time, the owner of Krepysh M. M. Shapshal, sensing danger, writes down Krepysh himself to beat this record. On June 19, 12 days after the last run at 3200 m, the gray record holder started breaking his own record at 1600 m and confidently demonstrated his phenomenal class, showing 2 minutes. 09.2 sec At this time, the American Billings brought to Moscow from the USA two of his outstanding trotters, world record holders at 1609 m - mare Lou Dillon, showing at this distance 1 minute 58.4 s and gelding Ulan 1 minute. 58.2 sec Fortress and his phenomenal run interested Billings most of all. However, he refused the offer of Shapshal to ride in the same race with Krepysh on these horses. The owner of Krepysh knew what he was doing. Considering the severity and poor condition of the track on the racetracks in Russia at that time, as well as the difficult climatic conditions, on the light, ideal for trotting American racecourses, Krepysh’s speed would be no worse than the speed of two world record-holders. So Ulan showed very high seconds - 2 min. 06.6 and 2 min. 04. Krepysh also showed up at frisky work and easily repeated the fastest half a half of Ulan in 39 seconds, showing a quarter result (400 m) higher than Ulan - 29.4 seconds against 30 seconds of the American trotter. In the fall, Krepysh was given rest, they began to prepare him for winter prizes along the ice path. On November 22, Krepysh sets his next record - winter for Oryol trotters at a distance of 3 versts - 4 minutes 34.2 from December 6, the gray record holder lowers the bar at the winter Oryol record by half a half (1600 m), showing 2 minutes. 11.3 sec

At the beginning of 1910, Krepysh had problems with the move, he was insecure, interceptions became frequent ^[5] . However, Yakovlev, confident in the undeniable superiority of Krepysh over all other horses, did not take any measures to correct the course of the trotter. On January 17, Krepysh started in a large prize with mestizos that did not pose any threat to the Orlovites. Only the mare of Adversity (Fighter - Nelly R) was under the control of one of the most talented riders of that time - the American William Keyton. As a result, thanks to the negligence of Yakovlev and the talent of Keyton, Nevzgod wrested the victory from Krepysh, being half a head ahead of him at the very finish. This loss had a very strong resonance among the public: supporters of the Oryol trotter's metalization were rejoicing with the American, while the Oryol lovers, for whom Krepysh had long been a national hero, did not even know how to explain the loss of the great record holder. После бега выяснился ещё один факт, который не добавил Крепышу резвости на дистанции. Перед заездом ни наездник, ни владелец не удосужились проверить состояние подков Крепыша. Как оказалось, шипы на всех четырёх подковах были стёрты, что для ледяной дорожки вещь недопустимая. Вскоре после этого случая Шапшал отказался от услуг кузнеца конюшни Василия Яковлева и нанял своему рекордисту отдельного кузнеца, в чьи обязанности входило постоянно следить за состоянием подков и копыт Крепыша. 31 января Крепыш выступил в призе «Новых трибун», где помимо Невзгоды бежала гораздо резвая Слабость, на которой снова ехал Вильям Кейтон. Пресса предсказывала победу именно ей, она очень хорошо смотрелась на тренировках. Однако и ход Крепыша был исправлен, некоторые его поклонники заказали для него лавровые венки. Владелец рекордиста также был уверен в победе своего питомца и даже заранее заказал белую попону с красной надписью «Смеётся тот, кто смеётся последний», что после многочисленных насмешек над ним после обидного проигрыша Крепыша, было вполне уместно. В день заезда Шапшал намеренно затянул начало старта на 10 минут, зная, что Невзгода будет готова бежать именно в назначенное время, затем её возбуждение спадёт. В итоге бег сложился удачно для Крепыша. Первый круг Слабость и Невзгода держались в спине у Крепыша, но на втором тот легко и уверенно ушёл от них на недосягаемое расстояние. Финишировал Крепыш с новым зимним рекордом на 3200 м 4 мин. 33,7 с под шум и овации трибун. Кобылы-метиски отстали от него на целых 9 секунд. Через неделю орловский рекордист с лёгкостью выиграл ещё один бег на ту же дистанцию, где с ним бежали только орловцы. 14 февраля Крепыш был записан на Интернациональный приз в Петербурге, где с ним должна была бежать лучшая из российских рысаков того времени (кроме Крепыша) кобыла Прости. Крепыш и Прости, как главные фавориты приза, давали фору остальным участникам, которые, тем не менее, особой опасности не представляли. В итоге Прости показала 2 минуты 13,2 с, а Крепыш пробежал за 2 мин.11,3 с 24 февраля Прости установила новый зимний рекорд на льду — 2 мин.10,2 с 26 февраля на побитие нового рекорда вышед Крепыш. Без особых усилий рекорд Прости был побит — Крепыш пробежал 1600 м за 2 мин.08,5 с, с явным запасом сил. Шапшал планировал записать Крепыша ещё раз на побитие рекорда — шансы у того были показать время около 2 мин.06 с. Но рано наступившее потепление сделало дорожку непригодной для такого резвого бега. Тем не менее, не сомневавшийся в классе Крепыша владелец через газеты бросил вызов владельцам рысаков всего мира выступить в одном заезде с Крепышом при условии, что заезд будет проходить в Москве или Петербурге. Никто на этот призыв так и не откликнулся. Статьи о феноменальном орловском рысаке появились и в американской прессе. В частности, приводилось интервью Ч. Таннера, видевшего Крепыша в беге, а также приезжавшего вместе с ним в Россию М. Хоу. Оба американца давали подробное описание экстерьера Крепыша, а также опровергали ходившие в то время слухи, что Крепыш не орловский рысак, а сын серого американского рысака Вильяма С. К., которого его владелец долгое время выдавал за чистопородного орловца ^[6] , поскольку экстерьером Крепыш нисколько не напоминает американского рысака. Кроме этого, Хоу отметил, что рысистый ход Крепыша отличается от хода американскимх рысаков, но тем не менее, рысь его идеальна. «Когда я смотрю на Крепыша, то не могу оторвать глаз от него, столько царственного величия в его формах и движениях», — высказался Чарльз Таннер.

Смена наездников и новые рекорды

The co-owner of Krepysh Katlam greatly interfered with M. Shapshal in work with the horse, including trying to intervene in the training process and record Krepysh for prizes without the knowledge of Shapshal, who under the contract was the sole trainer of the trotter. The rider of Krepysh, Vasily Yakovlev was also on the side of Katlama and practically stopped fulfilling the instructions of Shapshal. Unhappy with this state of affairs, Shapshal cunningly led Krepysh out of Yakovlev’s stable, and then announced to Yakovlev that he would no longer ride on the record holder. After a difficult process, when Katlama sold his half of Krepysh to the Moscow Running Society, Shapshal managed to redeem it and again become the sole owner of Krepysh. The record holder changed the stable and replaced the rider. Shapshal had to choose between the Russian rider I. Baryshnikov and the talented American V. Keyton. Baryshnikov was a good rider, but he had too much weight, while Keyton was a real genius in his field, but he was an adherent of the American and the mixed-race trotter. As a result, the choice nevertheless fell on Baryshnikov, although Shapshal set the condition for him to lose weight. Vasily Yakovlev, who often drank earlier, but restrained himself while a great trotter stood in his stable, drank himself completely and two years later died of delirium tremens.

On June 1, 1910, Krepysh, after a six-month break, started for a prize with a mestizo at a distance of 3200 m. The first lap of the recorder was five seconds ahead of the second Chardasha (Baron Rogers - Chervonnaya Lisichka). At the finish after the second round, Krepysh showed a new phenomenal record of 4 minutes. 25.7 s, despite the fact that the second Chardash lost to him 12 seconds, and the remaining mestizos even more. On June 25, Krepysh started again at the same distance, and forgive him in the race. However, she limped and remained the last, but Krepysh won again, in a quiet playfulness of 4 minutes. 37.6 sec He easily won other long-distance races with mestizos and Orlovites. In autumn, the All-Russian Horse Exhibition was opened in Moscow, to which the open prize named after the All-Russian Exhibition was timed. To participate in the prize were recorded Krepysh and I'm sorry, which drove W. Keyton. The participation of Krepysh in this prize was mandatory, although the owner and trainer of the record holder protested - the trotter had a peak of his form, and there was too little time to bring him to the prize in excellent condition. Shapshal warned the running Society that Krepysh would not start at the best condition, however, the belief in the phenomenon of the gray Orlovtsy was too high. At the start of the prize, Sorry, she easily took the lead, Krepysh managed to catch up with her, but could not do more, remaining the second on the back of the case. Forgive me, I managed to break the record of Krepysh by showing 2 minutes. 08.0 sec

After that arrival, Krepysh was given rest. By the beginning of 1911, Krepysh again acquired its smooth, confident trotting course. On January 9, he started for a prize at a distance of 3200 m and won it. On January 18, he was recorded for breaking a winter record at 3200 m, and the strong man easily did it, showing 4 minutes. 30.4 sec After that, Krepysh rested again until the summer, after which they began to prepare him for the fall season in St. Petersburg, where nominal prizes were played. According to the rules of that time, every trotter could win a prize only once in his life, therefore by that time Krepysh had not so many prizes that he did not win. However, certain concerns were inspired by the fact that the recorder did not have that clear move. As a result, Krepysh lost one of these prizes to the mestizo Centurion (Vilburn M - Gypsy) in a quiet playfulness of 2 minutes. 16.6 sec After this, Shapshal handed the Fortress into the hands of the American W. Keyton. However, after this failure continued. Krepysh started in the race with the Orlovites, where he had long had no rivals, however, having lost at the start, he remained only third, showing 2 minutes. 17.3 p. Apparently, the trotter had some problems with his health. He was taken back to Moscow, where he underwent a two-month rehabilitation course, after which he began to be trained by William Keyton. He began to work on the muscles of the Fortress and achieved excellent results. The strong man regained his excellent, balanced move. In early January 1912, at the Semenovsky Hippodrome in St. Petersburg, Krepysh started a distance of 4 versts and won with a new record for Orlov trotters - 6 minutes. 16.4 sec However, it was clear that the heyday of the running abilities of the Fortress had passed. Soon, these suspicions came true. In early February, Krepysh ran 4 versts in company with mestizos, while Keyton doubted the victory of Krepysh one day before the start. And so it happened; Krepysh lost to Centurion, showing only 6 minutes. 41.8 sec - shortly after the record in 4.16. However, Shapshal began to suspect that the American rider had deliberately set up losing to Krepysh in the fight against the mestizo.

1912 International Prize

On February 12, 1912, the most memorable, at the same time, the most controversial and most significant race in the career of Krepysh took place. To participate in this prize, a stallion named General H., who had 2 minutes in his homeland, was specially brought from Canada. 04.6 s on 1609 m. In addition to General Eych, another American trotter, Bob Douglas from the USA, who had 2.04.4, started there. However, the main favorites for this prize were General H.H. and Krepysh. William Keyton rode on the Fortress, his father Frank Keyton rode on the General. In such conditions, when the best Oryol trotter goes to the start with the best American, when the trade of American trotters in Russia was concentrated in the hands of the Cayton family, William Keyton simply could not bring Krepysh to the finish line first. Imagining the consequences, if Krepysh loses to the American trotter who was running in the hands of his father, Keyton Jr. came to Shapshal a few days before the prize and honestly suggested that he change the rider for this prize, warning that he could not go around General. It is difficult to say why Shapshal refused to change his rider. In part, he suggested that Keighton Jr.'s impeccable reputation would not allow him to play dishonestly. In part, the decision to leave Krepysh in the hands of Keyton was influenced by the fact that shortly before the prize everyone saw General Eych limping, the press even suggested that in this connection General H. could not start at all. Of course, the Americans were not going to glorify the name of the Oryol Fortress. The stands on the day of February 12, 1912 were crowded, many did not have enough space, and they remained standing at the entrance. All participants of this prize, both riders and owners, as well as the public, understood the importance of this race. The fate of the Oryol breed depended on its outcome, by and large the entire national economy. Sympathy of the public was mainly on the side of Krepysh - this was indicated by the result of the sale of sweepstakes. Of 2206 sold tickets in a single, 1013 were delivered to Krepysh. The start was given, Milord (Baron Rogers - Mighty) was immediately seriously lost. General H.H. took the lead and took a brow, Fortress settled down next to him. Behind them ran Bob Douglas. The whole distance Krepysh and General Eych went together. The rest of the trotters, among them the mestizo Centurion, Nal, Khabara, Mark, stood behind with a gap. In the last quarter of the race, Bob Douglas lost his way and fell out of Wrestling. General H.H. walked a little ahead of Fortress, then the fortress tried to become a leader, but only managed to catch up with General Eych, they went further in a fierce struggle. Then Krepysh began to fall behind and General H.H. won the prize, and Krepysh, as M. Shapshal later wrote in his book, came to the finish line with the reins released. The public accepted the victory of General Eich in silence, without ovation. After the prize, William Keyton stated that "Fortress is now only the shadow of the former Fortress." The result of this prize stirred up society. Gossip, talk, speculation. They called the amount of bribes that W. Keyton allegedly received.

Retirement

After the unsuccessful winter season of 1912, Shapshal was about to sell Krepysh as a producer. the best Oryol uterus was concentrated at that moment in the state Khrenovsky stud farm, but the deal did not take place. After that, half of the Fortress was still sold to the horse breeder Tolstoy, while Shapshal reserved the right to cover the ten Oryol queens that he had. At the same time, the uterine composition of mares in Tolstoy did not fit Krepysh as a manufacturer. On May 9, 1912, in Moscow, Krepysh, who returned from the stud farm, where he covered several mares, confidently won the open prize at a good time for 2 minutes. 12.2 sec Six days later, he started again in the open prize and won it with even higher agility - 2 min. 11 sec. After these victories, Keyton, who was still the rider of Krepysh, became convinced that the eight-year-old trotter could break the record for the Oryol trotters, which Shapshal did not share. Nevertheless, the American rider insisted on his own. For the last time in his career, the gray record holder went to the start for a record run at a distance of 1600 m. However, the record did not work. Fortress showed a high time of 2 minutes. 09.6 s, but before his own record of 2 min. 08.5 he was too far away. After a failed record, Krepysh was given rest for the whole summer. He saw the next start only on August 30 in St. Petersburg. In the race with the Oryol trotters, he again won a landslide victory with a speed of 2 minutes. 13.6 sec After that, he started 3 miles with mestizos and also won this run. However, then, recorded on an international prize with American trotters by mutual decision of Shapshal and Kayton, Krepysh again lost. After this, Shapshal refused the services of Keyton, believing that, like in winter, he deliberately did not give Krepysh a win, wanting to show that the Oryol record holder was worse than the American trotters. The press also noted that when working in training, Krepysh showed Keithon excellent seconds, and in critical performances he always ran clearly not at his best. Indirectly, Keyton’s disinterest in the victories of Krepysh could also be served by the fact that before leaving Russia, William said that of all the trotters he rode here, the strongest was Iris (Baron Rogers - Spark), the most pleasant Taglioni (Gay Bingen - Secret 1909 4 min. 24.1 s at 3200 m), and the most frisky - Laurel 2 min. 09.6 sec Fortress on this list, for some reason, did not make it. The next rider of Krepysh became A.V. Konstantinov. On November 18, in St. Petersburg, under his control, Krepysh again easily won a prize of 3 versts. After several more easy victories, but in modest seconds for himself, Krepysh was recorded to beat the winter Oryol record by 4 miles. Despite the frosty and windy weather on December 23, Krepysh confidently coped with the task, breaking the current record for 5 s and showing 6 minutes. 11.7 sec The next start for the Oryol record holder was the International Prize for a mile and a half (1,600 m), after long doubts and meetings of Shapshal and Konstantinov Krepysh nevertheless went to the start, but in the end only took third place. The last start in the career of Krepysh took place on February 17, 1913 under the direction of V.V. Bibikov. The sturdy fled in the prize of All Countries with trotters such as General Eych, Belle Bird and Centurion and were left without prize money. A month after this run, Krepysh finally completed his career and went to the Tolstoy factory.

In the stud farms from Krepysh, very few offspring were obtained for such a cool horse. This is partly due to the untimely death of the Oryol record holder, and partly due to the high price for mating with Krepysh. The offspring received from Krepysh in their mass did not have a high potential, since most of the mares that Krepysh covered were not suitable for him by blood or the obviously worst class. In addition, most of his children were not tested at racetracks or were under-tested due to the Civil War, during which neither running nor racing were conducted in our country. Many children of Krepysh, as he himself died, at the end of the war, 12 sons and 9 daughters of Krepysh were recorded in the pedigree book of the Oryol breed. Some of them, such as Trekking, Kartal, Nilgai, gave pretty frisky trotters in the factories, but subsequently, there were no descendants of Krepysh on the male line. Today, Oryol trotters, children of the record holder Ippik (Persid - Iphigenia 1.59.7 1980), whose both parents are descendants of Krepysh, ascend to Krepysh along female lines. Persis goes back to the daughter of Fortress, Kruchina-Fortress, Iphigenia - to the granddaughter of Trekking Mine. Also the distant descendants of the great trotter today are the children of the breed's absolute record holder today Cowboy (Block Post - Coolness 1.57.2 1984) and Playboy (Block Post - Problem 2.05.6 1990). A checkpoint by its mother Blockade dates back to the Campaign. The children of the mare Drofa, the record holder for the four-year-old Orlovites, Drotik (Cyprus - Drofa 2.02.6 1998) and the record holder of the Ural region Drobovik (Cowboy - Drofa 2.05 1997) ascend through the mare Delnaya to the mare Nilgai. Sinap (Peony - Asparagus 2.02.5; 4.18.8 1983) and his children ascend to the other daughter of Krepysh, the mare of Syrly-Cheshme, through her mother Asparagus, and his children, including the winner of the prize named after him. Leo Tolstoy in Paris Shelest (Sinap - Casket 2.05.7 1998).

Children of the Fortress

stallions:

• Trekking (Fortress - Pervynka 2.18)
• Kartal (Fortified - Zaseka 2.17.6)
• Dogwood (Fortress - Casorja)
• Kemar-Kapu (Fortress - Siren 2.30)
• Zipun (Fortress - Overcoat 1.34.5)
• Kudeyar (Fortress - Saja 2.43.2)
• Ak-Kash (Fortress - Deposit)

mares:

• Nilgai (Fortress - Nezym of the Plant)
• Kraly-Krepysh
• Kruchina-Fortress (Fortress - Submissive)
• Fortress Award
• Praise
• Sirlı-Cheshme (Fortress - Govorushka 1.36,4)
• Chekhard-Krepysh (Krepysh - Telegram)
• Gul-Dzhan (Krepysh - Tzelma F American breed)
• Samue Khanum
• Kirlie-Bibish (Fortress - Maksha)
• Slaughter (Fortress - The Shrew)

• Horse Square
• Oryol trotter
• Standardbred horse
• Russian trotter
• Fortress (1981 film)

• Fortified - a horse of the century: a collection / Comp. A. M. Polzunova . - M .: IPK Synthesispolygraph LLC, 2004. - 160 with ISBN 5-8329-0067-7

• More about Krepysh