Since it’s a good day to talk horses, a jog of the memory led to a web search, which led to this nice piece:
Remembering ... Hoist The Flag
September 2014
http://www.horseracingnation.com/blogs/zatt/Remembering_Hoist_The_Flag_123
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoist_The_Flag#Assessment
more detail about Hoist the Flag’s injury and the surgery that saved him and made his offspring possible:
The Dream Lives On
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8925-2002Jun6.html
Regarding Northern Dancer:
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-05-14/sports/bs-sp-northern-dancer-20140514_1_california-chrome-pimlico-race-course-native-dancer
[In 2014] for the first time, every Derby starter — 19 in all — bore bloodlines that trace back to the homely half-pint whose libido far exceeded his looks... His record Derby time (two minutes) stood until broken by Secretariat in 1973.
http://www.hitechbloodstock.com/northern_dancer.htm
Northern Dancer sired 635 foals: of the 488 that started in races, 368 were winners of which 146 were stakes winners. 26 of theses animals were champions in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, The US and Canada... He died in 1990 at the age of 29.