Dance Smartly
| Dance Smartly | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Danzig |
| Grandsire | Northern Dancer |
| Dam | Classy 'n Smart |
| Damsire | Smarten |
| Sex | Mare |
| Foaled | 1988 |
| Country | Canada |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Sam-Son Farm |
| Owner | Sam-Son Farm |
| Trainer | James E. Day |
| Record | 17: 12-2-3 |
| Earnings | $3,263,835 |
| Major wins | |
|
Natalma Stakes (1990) Canadian Oaks (1991) Queen's Plate (1991) Prince of Wales Stakes (1991) Breeders' Stakes (1991) Molson Export Million (1991) Breeders' Cup Distaff (1991) Canadian Maturity Stakes (1992) | |
| Awards | |
|
5th Canadian Triple Crown Champion (1991) United States Champion 3-Yr-Old Filly (1991) Canadian Horse of the Year (1991) Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare (2001) | |
| Honours | |
|
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1995) United States Racing Hall of Fame (2003) Dance Smartly Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack | |
| Last updated on 30 September 2011 | |
Dance Smartly (1988–2007) was a Champion Thoroughbred Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to ever win a Breeders' Cup race.
Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, the bay mare was by Danzig (a son of Northern Dancer), her dam was the Canadian Hall of Fame mare Classy 'n Smart by Smarten.
Racing career
Trained by Jim Day, as a two-year-old, Dance Smartly won three of five races, then at age three developed into one of the top Thoroughbreds in North America, going undefeated in the 1991 racing season. Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day, Dance Smartly became the only filly to ever capture the Canadian Triple Crown by winning the Queen's Plate, the Prince of Wales Stakes, and the Breeders' Stakes. She capped off her year at Churchill Downs with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. For her 1991 performance, Dance Smartly was voted the Eclipse Award as North America's best three-year-old filly plus two Sovereign Awards as Canada's best three-year-old filly and the most coveted Horse of the Year honor.
Dance Smartly raced four more times at age four, then retired as the number one money-winning filly in the world.
Stud record
As a broodmare at Sam-Son Farm, she successfully produced a number of top horses, including the back-to-back Queen's Plate winners, Scatter The Gold and Dancethruthedawn (won Go For Wand Handicap) both by Mr. Prospector.
Dance Smartly was euthanized in August 2007 after suffering an irreparable injury in her paddock at Sam-Son Farm. She was 19 years old and not in foal at the time.
Honours
In 1995, Dance Smartly was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and in 2003 into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, New York. Dance Smartly was named as one of the most notable fillies in Canada.
Tabulated pedigree
| Sire Danzig (USA) 1977 |
Northern Dancer (CAN) 1961 |
Nearctic | Nearco |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lady Angela | |||
| Natalma | Native Dancer | ||
| Almahmoud | |||
| Pas de Nom 1968 |
Admiral's Voyage | Crafty Admiral | |
| Olympia Lou | |||
| Petitioner | Petition | ||
| Steady Aim | |||
| Dam Classy 'n Smart (CAN) 1981 |
Smarten | Cyane | Turn-To |
| Your Game | |||
| Smartaire | Quibu | ||
| Art Teacher | |||
| No Class | Nodouble | Noholme | |
| Alba-Jay | |||
| Classy Quillo | Outing Class | ||
| Quillopoly |
References
- Dance Smartly's pedigree and racing stats
- Dance Smartly at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
- Dance Smartly at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
- August 20, 2007 obituary for Dance Smartly at Thoroughbred Times