Dark Ronald
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Dark Ronald (1905 – 1928) was an English bred
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse and sire with a global influence on the breeding of Thoroughbreds and sport horses, with many show jumpers tracing back to him.


Breeding

The sire of Dark Ronald,
Bay Ronald Bay Ronald (foaled 3 May 1893) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that had a huge impact on the breeding of sport horses, mainly through his son Dark Ronald and grandson Teddy, and also carried on his lines in the Thoroughbred racing world, through h ...
, was a moderate handicap racehorse and a useful sire. He produced two other notable sons:
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and Macdonald II. Bayardo went on to be one of the greatest runners of his time, and a sire of two English Triple Crown winners. Macdonald II was a very successful runner in France. Bay Ronald also sired the filly Rondeau, the dam of the very significant sire Teddy (that sired, among others, Athelstan, Ortello,
Sir Gallahad III Sir Gallahad (1920–1949) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and an important sire in the United States. Racing career Racing at age two in France for his British breeder/owner, Jefferson Davis Cohn, Sir Gallahad earned victory in three of hi ...
, Case Ace, and Sun Teddy). His dam, Darkie, was a poor performer on the turf with only two placings, both as a two-year-old. Foaled in 1905, Dark Ronald was purchased at the Doncaster sales as a yearling for 1,300 guineas, by breeder
Sir Abe Bailey Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African diamond and gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by bi ...
.


Racing record

At age two, Dark Ronald had two starts, winning his first in the five-furlong Hurst Park Foal Plate, and finishing second in the Lingfield Park Foal Plate. In the latter, he pulled up lame. Both front tendons were fired, and he was rested for two years at Sir Bailey's farm in
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. Returning to England as a four-year-old, he ran in the Newbury Spring Cup, finishing unplaced. Following this, he had better success, winning the next three races in which he ran: the 10-furlong Durham Plate, the seven-furlong
Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...
, and the 12-furlong
Princess of Wales's Stakes The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Thoroughbred horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Cour ...
. He finished third in his next race, the
Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 m ...
, but yet again came back lame. His owner decided to retire him for breeding. In his seven starts, Dark Ronald had four wins and two places, and earned £8,288Leicester, Sir Charles, ''Bloodstock Breeding'', J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969 (besides landing a huge bet in the Royal Hunt Cup by winning some £100,000 for his owner).


Stud record

Dark Ronald first stood at Tickford Park in 1910 at a stud fee of £98 a mare. His first crop included the great racehorse and sire
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and Ambassador IV, later sent to the United States, where he had a great influence on the American breeding industry. In his second crop, his get included
Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.
. However, his foals were not promising, and when the German National Stud at Graditz offered the great sum of £25,000 for the stallion, his owner was happy to sell him. His final English crop, born after he was shipped overseas, included the great sire, Dark Legend, as well as Brown Prince II, and
Magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...
, a leading sire in Australia. Dark Ronald's English progeny won more than 70 races and £30,000.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), ''Thoroughbred Breeding of the World'', Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 Dark Ronald was sent to the German National stud in June 1913, having been purchased by Burkhard von Oettingen. The stud was interested not only in producing horses for the racetrack, but also for
warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sp ...
breeding. In Germany, Dark Ronald produced the excellent horses
Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...
, Herold, and
Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...
. In 1928, he died at the German National Stud, at the age of 23. Dark Ronald was the sire of: *
Son-in-Law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in th ...
: sired the racehorses, Beau Pere, Foxlaw, Trimdon, Lady Juror. Very notable in warmblood breeding, his progeny included Maureen, dam of the exceptional Furioso. *Ambassador IV: winner of the July Stakes. In America, produced several horses that were successful two-year-olds, including Constancy and St. James (great-grandsire of Nashua and To Market). *Brown Prince II: winner of the Cambridgeshire Stakes and Jockey Club Cup. Was exported to America, where he sired Brown Bud, sire of Cinquepace. Also seen in the pedigree of
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...
and
Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – May 10, 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire. Background He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced Turn ...
. *Dark Legend: sire of Duplex (winner of the Prix du Jockey Club), Fairy Legend, Mary Legend, Dark Lantern II, Dark Japan, Galatea II, Easton, Legend of France, and Rosy Legend (dam of
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and Sayajirao). *Herold: two-time leader of the sire list. Produced Alchimist and Arjaman (both German Derby winners). *Magpie: placed in the Two Thousand Guineas. Exported to Australia, where he became the leading sire in 1929. *Popingaol: dam to
Pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
(winner of the Oaks), and Book Law (winner of the St. Leger) *
Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...
: winner of Germany's Two Thousand Guineas and St. Leger, five-time leading sire in Germany. Sire of Oleander, who won 22 breeding championships. *
Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.
: winner of the One Thousand Guineas, dam of Bongrace (winner of Doncaster Cup) *Wallenstein: number one on German sire list in 1930.


Influence on warmblood breeding

Dark Ronald was incredibly influential in warmblood breeding, especially in the
Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
breed. Cor de la Bryere,
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
, and Langraf I were all linebred to him. Other influential sires with Dark Ronald blood include: * Furioso: (sire of 10 Olympic contenders in the Tokyo Games, and 30 international winners) * Cottage Son: grandson of Dark Ronald and an influential sire in warmblood breeding * Ladykiller xx * Cor de la Bryère: the great jumping sire, through his sire Rantzau * Langraf I *Beau Pere: exported to
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and later to America, he influenced the breeding of racehorses, jumpers, and eventers. Progeny include
Mary Chapot Mary Mairs Chapot (born June 20, 1944) is an American equestrianism, equestrian. She competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics. References

1944 births Living people American female equestrians Olympic equestrian ...
’s White Lightning, Katie Monahan’s Encore, Kerry Milikin's eventer Landlady, Sundancer (two-time winner of the American Invitational), Easy Doc (a member of the Canadian equestrian team), and Turn on the Sun (part of the British equestrian team). *
Der Löwe Der Löwe (1944–1973) was a successful stallion who had a great impact on the breeding of Warmbloods and is thought by some to be one of the most important post-war stallions to stand at stud. Early life Der Löwe, also spelled Der Loewe, was f ...
*Abendfrieden: great-grandson of Dark Ronald, sired the great
Pik As Pik As (Ace of Spades) was a Thoroughbred stallion who was a very influential sport horse sire, especially in show jumping. Pik As was most known for his ability as a sire, passing on his beautiful movement and a great jumping ability. Pik As ...
*
Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
: dressage stallion, sire of
Brentano II Brentano II is an influential stallion who has sired several dressage horses. His offspring include the Olympic medalist Brentina, and now-deceased Poetin. Breeding Brentano II is by the stallion Bolero, who was a very successful dressage h ...
, who sired
Brentina Brentina (May 29, 1991 – April 22, 2021) was an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She was owned by E. Parry Thomas.Poetin Poetin (1997 - December 2005) was a world-class dressage horse that was the 2003 World Young Dressage Horse Champion in the six-year-old division, and sold for a record amount at the PSI Auction in Germany. Breeding Poetin was of excellent bloo ...
, foundation sire of a new B-line. * My Babu: great racehorse sire, also sired several phenomenal eventers, including Babu Dancer, sire of Bruce Davidson's mount
JJ Babu JJ Babu was a Thoroughbred gelding that excelled in the sport of eventing, under American rider Bruce Davidson. JJ Babu was bred in Maryland. He was purchased by Davidson as a yearling. He was not only a good-looking horse, but was well-tempere ...


Pedigree


References

{{Reflist


External links


Thoroughbred Heritage: Dark Ronald
1905 racehorse births 1928 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Sport horse sires Thoroughbred family 9-b Chefs-de-Race