Suave Dancer is a French

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...

 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...

 race horse who was the 1991 Champion European Three-Year-Old.

Bred by Lillie F. Webb's Xalapa Farm

Xalapa Farm

Xalapa Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded in 1897 in Paris, Kentucky by Edward Francis Simms.Horses such as Prince Palatine have stood at stud at Xalapa Farm. They have bred notable Graded stakes race winners such as Suave Dancer who in 1991 won the Irish Champion Stakes...

 near Paris, Kentucky

Paris, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...

, Suave Dancer was sired by Green Dancer out of the mare Suavite, both American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 thoroughbreds. A male line descendant 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"....

 through Nijinsky II

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...

, and a female line descendant of Ribot

Ribot (horse)

Ribot was an Italian bay Thoroughbred racehorse, considered the strongest horse of all time.Undefeated in 16 races, he won over distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1m 7f , in three different countries and in all types of track conditions...

 via Tom Rolfe

Tom Rolfe

The racehorse Tom Rolfe was one of the best American sons of the great racehorse and sire Ribot. His dam was Pocahontas, from whom he takes his name...

, Suave Dancer was owned by French

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...

 businessman Henri Chalhoub and trained by Chantilly

Chantilly, Oise

Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...

, 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...

-based Englishman

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...

, John E. Hammond

John E. Hammond

John E. Hammond is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in France.Based in Chantilly, Oise, Hammond has trained numerous Group One winners including Montjeu and Suave Dancer both of whom won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, France's most prestigious horse race...

.

Ridden by American jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 Cash Asmussen

Cash Asmussen

Cash Asmussen is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born Brian Keith Asmussen, in 1977 he legally changed his name to "Cash". From a Texas horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, operate a ranch in Laredo, Texas...

, who actually selected and purchased the horse for the owner, Suave Dancer won the 1991 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...

, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

, was second to Generous

Generous (horse)

Generous is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1991 won both Epsom and Irish Derbys. Sired by Caerleon, his grandsire was Nijinsky...

 in the Irish Derby

Irish Derby Stakes

The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.It is Ireland's equivalent of the Epsom Derby,...

 then came back to win the Irish Champion Stakes

Irish Champion Stakes

The Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1976, and...

. For his performance in 1991, Suave Dancer was voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champion Colt

Cartier Racing Award

The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier jewelers. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by British racing journalists and readers of the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph newspapers.Eight...

.

In 1991 The National Stud

The National Stud

The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare, Ireland...

 at Newmarket bought a half-share in Suave Dancer. Retired to stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

, he was later sent to Eliza Park Stud in Romsey, Victoria

Romsey, Victoria

Romsey is a town in the Local Government Area of the Shire of Macedon Ranges in the state of Victoria, Australia. The town is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Romsey had a population of 4490.-History:...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Suave Dancer was the sire of 11 stkes

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

winners before his untimely death at age ten in December 1998.