Sword Dancer
| Sword Dancer | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Sunglow |
| Grandsire | Sun Again |
| Dam | Highland Fling |
| Damsire | By Jimminy |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1956 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Brookmeade Stable |
| Owner | Brookmeade Stable |
| Trainer | J. Elliott Burch |
| Record | 39: 15-7-4 |
| Earnings | $829,610 |
| Major wins | |
|
Mayflower Stakes (1958) Belmont Stakes (1959) |
|
| Awards | |
| U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1959) U.S. Champion Male Handicap Horse (1959) United States Horse of the Year (1959) |
|
| Honours | |
| United States Racing Hall of Fame (1977) #53 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century Sword Dancer Handicap at Saratoga Race Course |
|
| Horse (Equus ferus caballus) | |
| Last updated on June 23, 2010 | |
Sword Dancer (1956–1984) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the leading American colt of his generation and was voted United States Horse of the Year in 1959.
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
Owned by Isabel Dodge Sloane's Brookmeade Stable, the small Sword Dancer was less than impressive racing at age two, winning only three times in fourteen starts. At age three, he began to develop and in the 1959 Kentucky Derby was beaten by a nose by Tomy Lee in a stretch duel. When Tomy Lee did not compete in the Preakness Stakes, his jockey Bill Shoemaker rode Sword Dancer to a second-place finish behind Royal Orbit. In the Belmont Stakes on June 13, Sword Dancer got the better of what was described as a "bitter stretch duel"[1] with Bagdad to win by three-quarters of a length on a muddy track. The colt went on to win a number of major races, including a defeat of Hillsdale in the Woodward Stakes. He also defeated 1958 Horse Of The Year Round Table for a second time (he was a disappointing third in the Woodward), beating him by seven lengths in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Aqueduct Racetrack.[2] His performance throughout 1959 earned him Horse of the Year honors from all three of the major awarding bodies.[3]
After a slow start at age four, Sword Dancer came on to win four important races out of his twelve starts. In one of his most notable performances, he won a second Woodward Stakes in track record time of 2:01.2 in September, beating a field that included Bald Eagle and T. V. Lark.[4]
[edit] Stud record
An ankle injury in the Man O' War Stakes ended his racing career and he was retired to stand at stud at Darby Dan Farm. Sword Dancer notably sired the Hall of Fame colt Damascus, and the filly Lady Pitt, the 1966 American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. He was later sent to a breeding farm in France.
[edit] Honors
In 1977, Sword Dancer was inducted into the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His portrait by equine artist Richard Stone Reeves can be seen in the museum's collection.
[edit] References
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nHkzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DOsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4125,3779552&dq=sword-dancer&hl=en
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Jv0sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O80FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6328,280676&dq=sword-dancer+gold-cup&hl=en
- ^ "Sword Dancer Picked as Horse of the Year". Montreal Gazette. 1959-12-20. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-4ktAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H50FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6975,4128305&dq=sword-dancer+horse-of-the-year&hl=en. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iokeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rswEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5062,3799924&dq=sword-dancer+woodward&hl=en
- Sword Dancer's pedigree and racing stats
- Sword Dancer at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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