Seattle Dancer
Encyclopedia
Seattle Dancer was an Irish
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who is the most expensive yearling
ever sold at public auction.
by Warner L. Jones, William S. Farish III, and William S. Kilroy. The partnership owned his important dam, My Charmer
. My Charmer was the dam of 1977 U.S. Triple Crown
winner, Seattle Slew
. Seattle Dancer's sire was the 1971 British Triple Crown
winner and Champion sire, Nijinsky
, who was a son of Northern Dancer
, whom the National Thoroughbred Racing Association
calls "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history". http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=3407
In July of 1985, the regally bred Seattle Dancer was sent to the Keenland selected yearling sale
where intense bidding on behalf of major breeders such as Allen Paulson
and Sheikh Mohammed
drove his selling price to a World record
US$
13.1 million. Seattle Dancer's new owners were
Stavros Niarchos
(Greece
), Susan Magnier and her father, Vincent O'Brien
(Ireland), Robert Sangster
(England
), and a California
businessman, Daniel Schwartz.
Brought to Ballydoyle Stable
in Ireland, a virus swept through the stables that kept a weakened Seattle Dancer out of racing as a two-year-old. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=srkTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XpADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2060,292601&dq=seattle-dancer&hl=en. Conditioned by Vincent O'Brien
, and raced in the colors of Stavros Niarchos, in his April 1987 debut Seattle Dancer finished third in a race at the Curragh Racecourse
in Ireland. He then won the Group 3
Gallinule Stakes
at the Curragh and the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial
at Leopardstown Racecourse
. In his next start, at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris
, France
, he finished sixth in the Group 1
Prix du Jockey Club
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a7oTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4970,5759381&dq=seattle-dancer+prix+du+jockey+club&hl=en At the same racecourse, in what would prove to be his final race, Seattle Dancer ran second in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris
. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/39735/seattle-dancer-record-priced-yearling-dead
in 1988. He first stood at Coolmore's Ashford Stud
in Kentucky then at their facility in Ireland. In 1997, he was sent to stand at East Stud in Japan
and for his last five years, served stallion duty in Germany
. During his career, Seattle Dancer sired 37 stakes race winners including:
Seattle Dancer suffered a heart attack and died at age twenty-three on June 2, 2007 at Gestut Auenquelle in Rödinghausen, Germany
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who is the most expensive yearling
Yearling (horse)
A yearling is a young horse of either sex that is between one and two years old. Yearlings are comparable in development to a very early adolescent, they are not fully mature physically, and while they may be in the earliest stages of sexual maturity, they are considered too young to be breeding...
ever sold at public auction.
Breeding
Seattle Dancer was bred in KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
by Warner L. Jones, William S. Farish III, and William S. Kilroy. The partnership owned his important dam, My Charmer
My Charmer
My Charmer was an American Thoroughbred filly racehorse best known as an outstanding broodmare. Bred by Ben Castleman in Kentucky, she was sired by Bowling Green Handicap winner Poker, a son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Round Table...
. My Charmer was the dam of 1977 U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
winner, Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977, the tenth of eleven horses to accomplish the feat. He remains the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S...
. Seattle Dancer's sire was the 1971 British Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
winner and Champion sire, Nijinsky
Nijinsky II
The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...
, who was a son of Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
, whom the National Thoroughbred Racing Association
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic...
calls "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history". http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=3407
In July of 1985, the regally bred Seattle Dancer was sent to the Keenland selected yearling sale
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
where intense bidding on behalf of major breeders such as Allen Paulson
Allen E. Paulson
Allen Eugene Paulson was an American aviation entrepreneur, philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner, and a self-made multi-millionaire.-Business career in aviation:Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E...
and Sheikh Mohammed
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...
drove his selling price to a World record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
13.1 million. Seattle Dancer's new owners were
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...
(Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), Susan Magnier and her father, Vincent O'Brien
Vincent O'Brien
Dr. Michael Vincent O'Brien was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history, according to a worldwide vote hosted by the Racing Post newspaper...
(Ireland), Robert Sangster
Robert Sangster
Robert Edmund Sangster was a British businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. He was British flat racing Champion Owner five times and his horses won many major races, including two Epsom Derbys, four Irish Derbys, two French Derbys, three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes and a Melbourne...
(England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
), and a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
businessman, Daniel Schwartz.
Brought to Ballydoyle Stable
Ballydoyle
Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier...
in Ireland, a virus swept through the stables that kept a weakened Seattle Dancer out of racing as a two-year-old. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=srkTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XpADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2060,292601&dq=seattle-dancer&hl=en. Conditioned by Vincent O'Brien
Vincent O'Brien
Dr. Michael Vincent O'Brien was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history, according to a worldwide vote hosted by the Racing Post newspaper...
, and raced in the colors of Stavros Niarchos, in his April 1987 debut Seattle Dancer finished third in a race at the Curragh Racecourse
Curragh Racecourse
The Curragh Racecourse, usually abbreviated to The Curragh, is Ireland's most important Thoroughbred race track. It is situated on the Curragh plain near Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.- History :...
in Ireland. He then won the Group 3
Conditions races
Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...
Gallinule Stakes
Gallinule Stakes
The Gallinule Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....
at the Curragh and the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial
Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial
The Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.-History:...
at Leopardstown Racecourse
Leopardstown Racecourse
Leopardstown Racecourse is an Irish horse-racing venue. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Located in Leopardstown, County Dublin, 8km south of the Dublin city centre. The course was built by Captain George Quin and modeled on Sandown Park Racecourse...
. In his next start, at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he finished sixth in the Group 1
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
Prix du Jockey Club
Prix du Jockey Club
The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a7oTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4970,5759381&dq=seattle-dancer+prix+du+jockey+club&hl=en At the same racecourse, in what would prove to be his final race, Seattle Dancer ran second in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris
Grand Prix de Paris
The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...
. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/39735/seattle-dancer-record-priced-yearling-dead
At stud
Seattle Dancer entered studStud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
in 1988. He first stood at Coolmore's Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky is the American arm of the international commercial Thoroughbred horse breeding operation Coolmore Stud of County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland.Twelve stallions will stand at Ashford Stud in 2011....
in Kentucky then at their facility in Ireland. In 1997, he was sent to stand at East Stud in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and for his last five years, served stallion duty in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. During his career, Seattle Dancer sired 37 stakes race winners including:
- Seattle Rhyme - won the 1991 Racing Post TrophyRacing Post TrophyThe Racing Post Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October....
- Pike Place Dancer - winner of the 1996 Kentucky OaksKentucky OaksThe Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1⅛ miles at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year...
- Que Belle - Champion filly in Germany, won 1997 Classics Preis der DianaPreis der DianaThe Preis der Diana, sometimes referred to as the German Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early August.The event was...
(German Oaks) and the Henkel-RennenGerman 1,000 GuineasThe German 1,000 Guineas is a Group 2 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.... - Caffe Latte - won California's 2000 Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara HandicapThe Santa Barbara Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade II event open to fillies and mares, age four and older, it is contested of turf over a distance of one and a quarter miles.Inaugurated in 1935, through...
and Ramona HandicapsJohn C. Mabee HandicapThe John C. Mabee Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race contested in early August at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. It is run on the turf for fillies and mares, age three or older, at a distance of one and one-eighth miles. Downgraded to a Grade II stakes in 2010, the...
Seattle Dancer suffered a heart attack and died at age twenty-three on June 2, 2007 at Gestut Auenquelle in Rödinghausen, Germany
Rödinghausen
Rödinghausen is a municipality in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Rödinghausen is situated on the southern slope of the Wiehengebirge, approx...
.