Renowned bloodstock writer Tony Morris with the 21st in his series celebrating 100 horses instrumental in shaping the Thoroughbred.
Native Dancer, gr c, 1950, Polynesian – Geisha, by Discovery
Delivering its verdict on the stud career of Phalaris at his death in 1931, the Bloodstock Breeders’ Review seemed almost to damn it with faint praise. “Regarded as a whole it is a highly satisfactory one” hardly does justice to a consistent record that brought two sires’ titles along with second, third, fourth and fifth places in other seasons.
However, while that obituarist was no more capable than any other judge of predicting that Phalaris would come to be recognised as head of the world’s overwhelmingly dominant male line, he did suggest that the horse’s influence would extend into the years to come because of prominent sons who were certain to keep his name and reputation alive.
There would only ever be one American-based stakes-winner by Phalaris – the colt Carlaris, imported as a foal in 1923 – but breeders there were not slow to recognise the quality emerging from the stallion’s early crops in England, and they were soon in the market for some of his better sons.
A syndicate headed by Hal Price Headley bought Pharamond, winner of the 1927 Middle Park Stakes, from Lord Derby at the end of his 3-year-old campaign, and in 1929 Joe Widener acquired that horse’s older brother, Sickle, on lease for three years, with an option to purchase him for $100,000 at the end of that period. Sickle, who had finished a close third in the 2000 Guineas, clearly had solid credentials on his own merits, and as Hyperion, his 2-year-old half-brother by Gainsborough, was shaping up as a Classic contender at the time Widener was required to make his decision, it amounted to a no-brainer.
Pharamond made his mark, getting 35 stakes winners, including the accomplished Menow, the line extending via one superstar in Tom Fool to another in Buckpasser. Sickle’s line would last longer and prove the more consequential overall, thriving deep into the 21st century, while Hyperion, for all his host of successful sire-sons, is fast disappearing from the top line of pedigrees.
Widener, whose colours had long been familiar on English and French racecourses, decided to send a couple of his Sickle home-breds into training with Cecil Boyd-Rochfort each year, and one of those to arrive as a yearling in 1936 was Unbreakable, a handsome colt described as black in the American Stud Book, but always brown during his spell in England.
Unbreakable performed creditably in his overseas venture. At two he won three of six starts, most notably the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, and was placed in the other three, including third in the Middle Park Stakes. He ranked 5lb behind the season’s top juvenile, his stable-companion Portmarnock.
He was unplaced on his first three outings as a 3-year-old, including the 2000 Guineas and Derby, his best efforts coming in a win in the Waterford Stakes at Ascot and a second place in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. His only starts at four came in a pair of competitive handicaps; after an unplaced effort under top weight in the City & Suburban at Epsom, he scored a well-merited success in the Victoria Cup at Hurst Park.
Enormous consequences
If Widener had entertained hopes that Unbreakable would achieve enough to earn a berth as a stallion in England, he now recognised that was not to be. But all was well that ended well, as it was back at Elmendorf that the horse was destined to play his part as an influence on the breed.
Sickle compiled an admirable stud record, with 14 percent of his stock becoming stakes winners. Unbreakable was not in that league, responsible for a more ordinary six percent, but his liaison with the Polymelian mare Black Polly – winner of just a juvenile maiden event – in 1941 would have enormous consequences that could not have been foreseen.
There was no special reason to get excited about the mating, though, once the product had proved his class, analysts would draw attention to the fact that, while Unbreakable was a grandson of Phalaris, Black Polly was a granddaughter of Phalaris’s sire, Polymelus. But nobody could make a convincing case for the double dose of Polymelus as a significant factor in the brilliance of Polynesian, who effectively ‘outran his pedigree’ by winning 16 stakes from two to five, including the 1945 Preakness, and retired with an overall record of 27 wins and 20 minor placings from 58 starts, banking $310,410.
Polynesian, who was raised on cow’s milk after Black Polly colicked and died when he was three weeks old, earned recognition as a proper racehorse, whose performances amounted to proof of pedigree. He set or equalled track records from six to nine furlongs, and was renowned as a tough, resolute and consistent competitor, acclaimed champion sprinter in 1947, his last season in training. He would surely attract mares from prominent breeders.
Key changes
In 1948, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt might have been regarded as a former prominent breeder. He had been given Sagamore Farm as a 21st birthday present from his mother in 1933, and his passion for racing and breeding had been fired by early success, much of it centred on the performances of Discovery, runner-up in the 1934 Kentucky Derby and three-time hero of both the Whitney Stakes and Brooklyn Handicap.
But, when he returned from war service in 1945, Vanderbilt had acquired different priorities in his life, notably with a keen involvement in charitable organisations. Sagamore Stable reached its lowest ebb in 1948, ranked 28th among North America’s owners. Changes would have to be made if the operation was to regain its pre-war conspicuous status.
Two key changes came with the appointments of Ralph Kercheval as stud manager and William C Winfrey as trainer, and it did not take long for the new incumbents to make their mark.
One of the mares for whom Kercheval needed to choose a mate in 1949 was Geisha, a daughter of his boss’s old favourite, Discovery. Vanderbilt had bought her dam, Miyako, a juvenile stakes winner, as a prospective broodmare, but she had died after producing only three foals, none of them a notable achiever at the track. But Geisha, the only filly, had at least won a maiden at three, and though small, she was quite well-made.
Polynesian’s speed and class persuaded Kercheval that he would make a suitable mate for Geisha, and the colt she produced on March 27, 1950, displaying the grey coat she gave him, offered high hopes from the start. She had carried her foal far beyond the regulation 11 months, but fears of an overgrown, ungainly product were far from realised.
As Native Dancer grew up, he could not be identified as the superstar he became, but he was ever a willing pupil while learning what was required of him before the time arrived for his transfer into the care of Bill Winfrey, whose tenure as Vanderbilt’s trainer had already been marked by the stellar performances of such as Bed o’ Roses, Loser Weeper and Next Move.
With Winfrey at Santa Anita in December 1951, the yearling colt was asked to demonstrate how well his education had gone. He sped a quarter-mile in :23 flat without raising a sweat. A repeat drill three days later took :23.2. The trainer was long enough at the game to be aware that early promise was not always translated into solid achievement; indeed, in the coming months he would experience the frustration of a talented colt, multiple juvenile stakes winner Cousin, losing interest in racing. Cautious optimism defined the attitude that Winfrey adopted over Native Dancer.
The colt’s debut came at New York’s old Jamaica track in mid-April 1952. The public were aware that he had been working well, and they sent him off a solid favourite at 7/5. It would be the only time in his life that he started at odds-against.
His ready victory by more than four lengths may have come only in a five-furlong maiden, but for some spectators his performance impressed rather more than Master Fiddle’s defeat of Tom Fool in the day’s feature event, the Wood Memorial.
Native Dancer reappeared four days later in a field of 12 for the Youthful Stakes over the same track and distance, romping home by six lengths. Some good judges were already predicting that he would go to the top, but bucked shins soon intervened and he remained out of competition for more than three months.
Principal target
Winfrey had the colt back in prime condition for Saratoga, where he proved the headline act, collecting four stakes by daylight margins in as mamy August weeks. He opened with a ready triumph in the Flash on the first Thursday and came back for consecutive Saturday successes in the Saratoga Special (16th), the Grand Union Hotel (23rd) and the Hopeful (30th).
His principal target at Belmont the following month was naturally the Futurity on the 27th, but Winfrey saddled him first for a special weight prep five days earlier. He came from behind in both races to relegate Tahitian King, another son of Polynesian, to second place.
The Futurity was supposed to represent Native Dancer’s farewell appearance as a 2-year-old, and by winning it he had already done enough to earn recognition as best of his age group. But some critics qualified their admiration for the colt by noting that he had been campaigned entirely in sprints.
Winfrey was happy to take on a fresh challenge and received his boss’s backing for a venture back at Jamaica at the end of October. The East View Stakes required its contestants to go around two turns and cover a mile and a sixteenth, the longest distance in American juvenile racing. The doubters were silenced when Native Dancer came from far back to master Champagne Stakes winner Laffango and win going away.
The grey was now not just the best juvenile around, but in the minds of many a candidate for Horse of the Year. At the time, there was a very unsatisfactory arrangement with three different organisations conducting polls; two of them had Native Dancer on top, the other, more logically, adopting the line that a true champion exhibited its class outside its own age group. Whatever, the Experimental Free Handicap had him top of his class by 7lb.
Physical improvement
Native Dancer had a break at home in Sagamore before returning to Winfrey, who was then based once more at Santa Anita. The colt had spent months in California at two and did so again at three, but he was never to race in front of west coast fans. However, they were able to watch him train throughout February and on to mid-March, when he was put on a train to New York for the finishing touches to his preparation for Classic glory.
Those at Belmont having their first sight of the colt for five months were impressed by the physical improvement he had made, but some expressed doubts over his lack of competition. Some Derby contenders were already stakes winners over nine furlongs.
Keen to get any kind of race into his charge, Winfrey entered him in the six-furlong Assault Purse at Jamaica on April 13. He was furious when track officials cancelled the race, as only two other horses had been entered. Native Dancer’s debut at three would have to come in the Gotham Stakes on that track, just two weeks before Kentucky Derby day.
In fact the Gotham was run in two divisions, and Native Dancer, supposedly drawn in the weaker heat, won in taking style by two lengths. But he could not go to Churchill Downs off such an obviously uncompetitive race, and remained at Jamaica to contest the Wood Memorial the following week. He gave a convincing display in that event, proving his class at nine furlongs as he thrashed old rival Tahitian King by four and a half lengths.
Native Dancer did not win the Kentucky Derby, and he would be remembered as much for his narrow defeat by Dark Star as for any of his victories; that is the effect of a unique event. Why it happened was long debated and to no avail. He certainly received a hefty bump on the first turn and was pushed wide. And criticism of the ride he got from Eric Guerin seemed justified. But there was little point in looking for excuses and recriminations; the Derby was history, and there were important targets to come in the near future.
Two-thirds of the Triple Crown
Two weeks after the loss at Churchill, Native Dancer notched a four-length victory in the Withers over a mile at Belmont. A week later, there was the Preakness at Pimlico and three weeks after that the Belmont back in New York. He met stiff competition from Jamie K in both events, but prevailed by a neck each time. Two-thirds of the Triple Crown were his.
His assignments in July were the Dwyer over ten furlongs at Aqueduct and a trip to Chicago for the mile Arlington Classic. A routine score over modest rivals in the first was fine, but in the second he had to cope with a heavy track while spotting 6lb to apparently worthy foes. Any idea that those factors made him vulnerable was soon scotched. The grey ran off for the easiest of wins by nine lengths.
August brought him further triumphs in the Travers at Saratoga, by five and a half lengths, and in the American Derby at Washington Park, where Eddie Arcaro took the ride while Eric Guerin served a suspension. The replacement pilot did not feel confident as the grey idled in the backstretch, but in the home straight Native Dancer got his act together, assumed command inside the last furlong and drew clear for a two-length score.
The dominant 3-year-old colt of 1953 was being readied for a fresh challenge – a meeting with dominant 4-year-old Tom Fool in the Sysonby Stakes in late September – until he came back from a workout lame on his near-fore. Tom Fool duly won that race and his follow-up victory in the Pimlico Special ensured that he would wear the Horse of the Year crown.
Native Dancer’s programme for 1954 was supposed to include an ambitious venture to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but that was just one of many targets he would miss. He made two starts in May, trotting up in the six-furlong Commando Purse at Belmont before a memorable performance in the mile Metropolitan Handicap at the same track.
Devastating run
The task he was set included concessions of up to 24lb to eight rivals. Straight Face, recent winner of the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico, received 13lb, and that was nearly enough to bring him victory, because the Dancer came from way back with a devastating run that reeled in that rival only in the shadow of the post.
When the weights for the Suburban Handicap were announced, Straight Face was given a 15lb break, but when the day of the race arrived Native Dancer was an absentee, lame again. Still, Straight Face’s commanding victory by four and a half lengths paid quite a compliment to his Metropolitan conqueror.
Bill Winfrey had the big grey tuned up for competition again at Saratoga, where his return to competition came in a seven-furlong overnight handicap against just two obviously inferior rivals. Native Dancer was required to give one of them 18lb, the other 30lb, but no amount of weight conceded could have contrived a horserace out of their meeting, so no betting was permitted. The winning margin was nine lengths.
Six days later Native Dancer came back lame on his off-fore after a routine workout, and on hearing the vet’s opinion, his owner-breeder decided that retirement was the appropriate option. The son of Polynesian had run 22 times and had suffered a single loss. He had become horseracing’s first TV star, the grey’s habitual come-from-behind style in 26ft strides thrilling viewers of the new medium and gaining converts to the sport.
Best by far in his juvenile campaign, he ruled again over a not particularly distinguished 3-year-old crop, and was curiously celebrated as Horse of the Year at four, when his limited campaign seemed much less remarkable. The award was perhaps best considered as the equivalent of a ‘special Oscar’, recognising an outstanding career.
Handsome specimen
Native Dancer at four had become a handsome, powerful specimen, standing 16.3 hands. His racing record, his looks and his pedigree ensured that he would attract keen patronage at Sagamore, and many pundits felt that it was just a matter of time before he headed North America’s sire standings.
In fact, the nearest he got to the title was the second place he reached in 1966. He ranked sixth in 1965, his only other year among the top ten. But that does not mean he failed to make a mark on the breed; it might even be argued that his influence would surpass that of any other horse of his era.
The best runner in Native Dancer’s first crop did his racing in France and England for Gertie Widener. That was Dan Cupid, who ranked among the best juveniles of 1958 at sprint distances, and at three caused a shock by running the outstanding Herbager to a short head in the Prix du Jockey Club. Inbred to Sickle, Dan Cupid got the magnificent Sea-Bird among his first crop and twice featured in the top three sires in France.
Of the 44 stakes winners (14 percent of foals) to Native Dancer’s name, six did their racing in Europe. Two fillies did exceptionally well, Secret Step as a crack sprinter, Hula Dancer as an outstanding middle-distance performer. The latter’s victories in the 1000 Guineas and Champion Stakes were largely responsible for her sire’s runner-up status in Britain and Ireland in 1963.
The highest earner among Native Dancer’s progeny in North America was Kauai King, who profited from the absences of such as Buckpasser and Graustark to land the Classic double of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1966. Protanto, a major stakes-winner at two, three and four, ranked second for money, but would have been third on the list if Dancer’s Image had not been disqualified after finishing first in the 1968 Kentucky Derby.
Grandsire of two mighty influences
Full sisters out of British-bred Beaver Street, Native Street (Kentucky Oaks) and Street Dancer (Milady Handicap) were tough and talented performers, winners of 23 races between them. That pair outranked Next Move’s daughter Good Move, who notched wins in the Spinaway and Selima Stakes at two in 1960.
Of Native Dancer’s sons who won major stakes, Native Charger (Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby) and Dancer’s Image (Wood Memorial Stakes) compiled creditable records at stud, the latter in a peripatetic career, but Kauai King proved a dire failure in his second role, and – like Dancer’s Image – died in Japan.
But what is most remarkable about Native Dancer’s enduring presence in 21st century pedigrees is the fact that he featured through sons who had only brief careers at the track. Raise A Native was retired after only four starts at two, impressing enough to be named champion of his crop, while his contemporary Atan broke down while winning his only race.
Atan was responsible for the admirable Sharpen Up, who thrived as a sire on both sides of the Atlantic, delivering top-class sprinters, milers and middle-distance performers. Raise A Native also excelled, famed for Majestic Prince, who won two-thirds of a Triple Crown, Alydar, who finished runner-up in all three jewels of a Triple Crown, and Mr Prospector, who came to matter more than that illustrious pair in the long term.
Native Dancer was, as mentioned above, sire of several fillies who met with notable successes on the racecourse, but the daughter who eventually mattered most was one whose only win in stakes company was taken away from her by disqualification. Natalma had to forfeit her victory in the Spinaway Stakes and was relegated to third, and in the following year she had to miss her shot at the Kentucky Oaks through injury. That accident led to her retirement and a consequential liaison with novice stallion Nearctic.
Over the last half-century, the male lines of Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector have come to dominate around the world. As grandsire of both those mighty influences, Native Dancer has become a staple of the breed, his name a presence in the overwhelming majority of pedigrees in the 2020s.