Nice Dancer (1969–1997) was a Canadian

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. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

Background

He was from the last Canadian-sired crop of

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canadi ...

before the International champion sire was relocated to

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

American subsidiary in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. Owned by Tom Morton and Dick Bonnycastle's Harlequin Ranches, Nice Dancer was trained by Jerry Lavigne.

Racing career

In his three-year-old season, the colt was ridden primarily by future Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame jockey,

Sandy Hawley Desmond Sandford "Sandy" Hawley, (born April 16, 1949 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey. Sandy Hawley decided to be a jockey when he was a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking, grooming and excise horses at a Woodbine racetrack in Tor ...

. In addition to important stakes races including the

Manitoba Derby The Manitoba Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the beginning of August at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from ...

Assiniboia Downs Assiniboia Downs is a Canadian horse race track on of land located in the Winnipeg suburb of St. James-Assiniboia. It is operated by the Manitoba Jockey Club and is the site of the annual Manitoba Derby. The track is located on the western edge ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, Nice Dancer set a new Woodbine track record for a mile and three sixteenths in winning the inaugural running of the Col. R. S. McLaughlin Handicap. He won the third leg of the 1972 Canadian Triple Crown series, the

Breeders' Stakes The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in August at Woodbine Racetrack in To ...

, a race run on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

at a distance of 1½ miles (12 furlongs). In the pre

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the ...

era, Nice Dancer is historically viewed as the Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse of 1972. At age four, Nice Dancer won the

Dominion Day Handicap The Dominion Day Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually in July at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Grade III event currently offering a purse of CAD$150,000 +, it is open to horses aged three years and up. The race ...

and the

Canadian Maturity Stakes The Canadian Maturity Stakes was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late November at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Inaugurated in 1953, the race was restricted to four-year-old horses bred in Canada. It was contested on ...

before being retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

duty.

Stud record

He stood in Canada from 1974 to 1978 during which time he sired seventy-six foals out of which nine became stakes winners. His most notable offspring was Fiddle Dancer Boy, winner of the 1981

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

. Sent to a breeding farm in Japan, Nice Dancer sired nine more stakes winners before his death at age twenty-eight in 1997. He is the damsire of

Glide Path Instrument landing system glide path, commonly referred to as a glide path (G/P) or glide slope (G/S), is "a system of vertical guidance embodied in the instrument landing system which indicates the vertical deviation of the aircraft from its o ...

, winner of the 1995

Stockholm Cup International The Stockholm Cup International is a Group 3 flat horse race in Sweden open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Bro Park over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in Septem ...

, Sweden's most important race.

Pedigree

{{Pedigree , name =Nice Dancer, bay stallion, 1969 , f =

, m = Nice Princess , ff =

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

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Natalma Natalma (March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam (mother) of the most important sire, and sire of sires, of the late 20th Century, Northern Dancer. She also established a highly in ...

, mf = Le Beau Prince , mm = Happy Knight , fff =

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

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Lady Angela Lady Angela (1944–1966) was a British-bred Thoroughbred who became the foundation mare of E.P. Taylor's Windfields Farm in Canada. She was the dam of Nearctic, the Canadian Horse of the Year in 1958 and seven-time leading sire in Canada. Among ...

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Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. ...

, fmm =

Almahmoud Almahmoud (1947–1971) was an American Thoroughbred racemare that was best known as an influential broodmare who produced Natalma and Cosmah. She was sired by the 1936 Epsom Derby winner Mahmoud, who was imported to the United States in 1940 ...

, mff = Fontenay , mfm = Quillerie , mmf = Alizier , mmm = Happy Grace , ffff =

Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...

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Nogara Nogara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about south of Verona. Nogara borders the following municipalities: Erbè, Gazzo Veronese, Isola della Scala, S ...

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Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

, ffmm = Sister Sarah , fmff = Polynesian , fmfm = Geisha , fmmf =

Mahmoud Mahmud is a Romanization of Arabic, transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad (name), Muhammad''. ...

, fmmm = Arbitrator , mfff = Tornado , mffm = Flying Colours , mfmf = Sultan Mahomed , mfmm = Hotep Heres , mmff = Teleferique , mmfm = Alizarine , mmmf = His Grace , mmmm = Happy Morn (family: 1-h)

References

Nice Dancer's pedigree and partial racing stats
1969 racehorse births 1997 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Canada Racehorses trained in Canada Horse racing track record setters Canadian Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 1-e