Crossword Genius

Family husky, not a thoroughbred of course (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

racehorse

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'thoroughbred of course' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'family husky not a' is the wordplay.
'family' becomes 'race' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'husky' becomes 'hoarse' (synonyms).
'not' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'hoarse' with 'a' taken out is 'horse'.
'race'+'horse'='RACEHORSE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for racehorse that I've seen before include "jumper?" , "Animal" , "runner" , "Steeplechaser, maybe" , "Arab possibly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.