Native Dancer
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| Native Dancer | ||
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| Sire: | Polynesian | |
| Grandsire: | Unbreakable | |
| Dam: | Geisha | |
| Damsire: | Discovery | |
| Sex: | Stallion | |
| Foaled: | 1950 | |
| Country: | USA | |
| Colour: | Gray | |
| Breeder: | Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr. | |
| Owner: | Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr. | |
| Trainer: | Bill Winfrey | |
| Record: | 22:21-1-0 | |
| Earnings: | $785,240 | |
| Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards | ||
| Major Racing Wins | ||
| Hopeful Stakes (1952) Preakness Stakes (1953) Belmont Stakes (1953) Travers Stakes (1953) Wood Memorial (1953) Arlington Classic (1953) American Derby (1953) Dwyer Stakes (1953) Withers Stakes (1953) Gotham Stakes (1953) Metropolitan Handicap (1954) |
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| Racing Awards | ||
| U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt (1952) United States Co-Horse of the Year U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1953) United States Horse of the Year (1954) Timeform rating: 140 |
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| Honours | ||
| U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1963) #7 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century |
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Infobox last updated on: January 2, 2007. |
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Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 - November 16, 1967), nicknamed the Gray Ghost, was one of the most celebrated and accomplished thoroughbred racehorses in history, the first horse made famous through the medium of television.
Born at Scott Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, the gray colt was raised and trained at owner Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.'s Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. A son of 1945 Preakness Stakes winner Polynesian out of the mare Geisha, in his first season of racing Native Dancer won all nine races he entered, thrilling crowds with his come-from-behind running style. He was voted the Eclipse Award as Champion 2-year-old for 1952 with two of the three major polls naming him Horse of the Year.
In his three-year-old campaign, the undefeated racehorse received a great deal of media attention leading up to the 1953 Kentucky Derby. He won both the Gotham Mile and the prestigious Wood Memorial on route to racings most prestigious event but at the Derby, Native Dancer lost for the first time. Although jockey Eric Guerin was roundly criticised in the press, the horse had in fact been fouled twice during the race but recovered to barely lose to Dark Star.
Following his loss at Churchill Downs, Native Dancer quickly reestablished himself as one of the best horses in America. He won the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes and the Travers Stakes a feat accomplished until then only by Duke of Magenta, Man O' War, and Whirlaway, and by only two other horses since. Native Dancer never lost again that season and was named Champion Three Year Old Colt.
In 1954, Native Dancer won all three races he entered and was scheduled to be shipped to France to compete in the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. However, he had to be retired as a result of a recurring foot injury with a record of 21 wins out of 22 lifetime races. Voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year for 1954, he appeared on the May 31st cover of Time Magazine.
At stud, Native Dancer was a highly successful sire, and is an ancestor of countless modern champions. One of his daughters, a mare named Natalma produced the great Northern Dancer. His tail-male descendants, particularly through his grandson Mr. Prospector, have come to dominate many U.S. Triple Crown races.
Native Dancer was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1963 and on November 16, 1967 he died and was buried at Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland.
In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Native Dancer was ranked #7.
[edit] References:
- Boyd, Eva Jolene. Native Dancer (2000) Eclipse Press, ISBN 1581500483
- Eisenberg, John. Native Dancer: The Grey Ghost, Hero of a Golden Age (2003) Warner Books ISBN 0446530700
| Sire Polynesian (USA) br,1942 |
Unbreakable blk,1935 |
Sickle | Phalaris |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selene | |||
| Blue Grass | Prince Palatine | ||
| Hour Glass | |||
| Black Polly b,1936 |
Polymelian | Polymelus | |
| Pasquita | |||
| Black Queen | Pompey | ||
| Black Maria | |||
| Dam Geisha (USA) gr,1943 |
Discovery ch,1931 |
Display | Fair Play |
| Cicuta | |||
| Ariadne | Light Brigade | ||
| Adrienne | |||
| Miyako gr,1930 |
John P.Grier | Whisk Broom II | |
| Wonder | |||
| La Chica | Sweep | ||
| La Grisette (FNo.5) |
[edit] References
Categories: 1950 racehorse births | 1967 racehorse deaths | Thoroughbred racehorses | Racehorses trained in the United States | American racehorses | Racehorses bred in Maryland | United States thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame inductees | Famous horses | Preakness Stakes winners | Belmont Stakes winners | American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year
