Magyar Posta is marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the world-famous racehorse Kincsem by issuing a special stamp. Forty thousand copies of the stamp designed by the graphic artist Imre Benedek were produced by ANY Security Printing Company. The new issue goes on sale at Filaposta in Hungary, philately specialist services, certain post offices and www.posta.hu from 3 May 2024.
Kincsem (1874-1887), a Hungarian racehorse bred in Hungary, the daughter of English thoroughbreds, who competed and won fifty-four times, is the pride of Hungarian horse breeding and equestrian sport. In Hungary Kincsem, meaning My Treasure, was known as “the invincible wonder mare” and in the rest of Europe as the “Hungarian miracle”, the “Hungarian wonder”, or the “Wunderstute” in German.
Kincsem was owned by Ernő Blaskovich, a landowner who was also her breeder and the founder of the stud in Tápiószentmárton. The wonder horse was trained by the Englishman Robert Hesp, who prepared her for racing at his training facility established in Göd. The Hungarian racehorse, who later achieved world fame, competed 54 times at 13 racecourses in Europe and Austria-Hungary, winning all 54 races. Her last race took place for the Kanca Prize in Pest on 21 October 1879, and this was how the correspondent of the time bade farewell to her: This was the last, the 54th, race and the 54th victory for a horse whose like there has never been and will never be again. Kincsem also left her mark as a breed mare.
As no racehorse has ever been able to surpass her performance to date, her world-repute still brings credit to Hungarian horse breeding in general today. Her repute is well illustrated by the fact that races have been named after her in countries where she never ran in her lifetime. Artists, painters and sculptors have immortalized the figure of Kincsem in their works, which makes the saying “Kincsem is eternal” true.
The special stamp features Kincsem and her jockey, and lists the scenes of her most important victories. The stamp also features a cat, who was Kincsem’s best friend and inseparable companion. A scene from a race appears on the first day cover, and a graphic composition of a horseshoe encompassing Kincsem’s achievements features in the imprint of the special postmark.
