At his Hamburg Place near Lexington, Kentucky, Madden had a good stallion called Star Shoot which he bred to all of his mares.

Grey Lag (whose name came from a type of wild European goose) stood 16 and a half hands tall when he was sold as a yearling to Hall of Fame trainer Max Hirsch.

Sinclair took enormous pleasure in his recently purchased no-expense-spared Rancocas Stable in New Jersey while buying every horse that took his fancy.

The trainer, Hall of Famer Sam Hildreth, not as well-heeled as Sinclair nor as happy about the horse—a superstitious man, he hated the grey patches—nevertheless remained in the partnership.

Grey Lag raced the remainder of his two-year-old season in Hildreth's name, but after that he was a Rancocas Stable entry every time.

This time he was given to a veterinarian as a riding horse, but the vet died soon afterwards, and Grey Lag was sold at the estate auction.

When Sinclair sold the farm, as well as his mansion in New York City, he was still a wealthy man, and Grey Lag remained protected.