Sovereign Dancer (January 24, 1975 – December 25, 1993) was an American

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 ...

best known as a sire of two

American Classic Race In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

winners.

Background

Bred by

Ogden Mills Phipps Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps (September 18, 1940 – April 6, 2016) was an American financier, Thoroughbred racehorse industry executive, and horse breeder. Widely known by the nickname "Dinny," he was chairman of the family's Bessemer Trust unt ...

, he was a son of the most important sire of the 20th Century,

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 ...

and from the mare Bold Princess, a daughter of the eight-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based i ...

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign that included wins in the Preakness Stakes and Trenton Handicap, in whic ...

Racing career

At age four Sovereign Dancer was sold to Alec Head's

Haras du Quesnay Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in France about four miles (6 km) outside the city of Deauville on 3 km². Early years The stud was established in 1907 by wealthy American sportsman William Kissam ...

near

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...

in the

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departme ...

region of France where he compiled a record of two wins, three seconds, and a third in ten starts on grass for trainer

Criquette Head-Maarek Christiane "Criquette" Head (born 6 November 1948 at Marly-le-Roi, near Maisons-Laffitte, France) is a retired French racehorse trainer. Known as Criquette, she was born into the Thoroughbred horse racing business. Her great grandfather was a ...

. Sovereign Dancer won his debut in France in April 1979 at

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a turf horse racing facility and track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Oller, inventor of ...

and won in his fourth start at the

Evry Racecourse EVRY A/S was a Norwegian information technology company that supplies services relating to computing, including operation, outsourcing, and online banking. The company is headquartered in Oslo. It was established through a merger between EDB Bu ...

. His best result in a

Conditions race Conditions races are horse races in which 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 ...

was a second in the Group 3

Grand Prix de Vichy The Grand Prix de Vichy is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Vichy over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to t ...

Stud record

Retired from racing after the 1979 season, Sovereign Dancer returned to stand at

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 ...

in the United States. A successful sire, some of his important sons include: * Gate Dancer (b. 1981), won 1984

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs ...

Itsallgreektome {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Itsallgreektome , image = , caption = , sire = Sovereign Dancer , grandsire = Northern Dancer , dam = Sans Supplement , damsire = Grey Dawn , sex = Gelding , foaled = 1987 , country = United States , ...

(b. 1987), the 1990

American Champion Male Turf Horse The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The award originated in 1953 when the ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) named Iceberg II their champion. The Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) added the ca ...

* Priolo (b. 1987), winner of three

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern race system introduce ...

races in France * Louis Quatorze (b. 1993), equalled race record time in winning the 1996 Preakness Stakes * Double Orphan (b. 1994), 2000 Champion Older Male Horse in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

* Moment of Glory (b. 1994), Champion Stayer in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Damsire: * Disturbingthepeace (b. 1998), multiple stakes winner

External links

Sovereign Dancer: Stallion Dynasties

References

Sovereign Dancer's pedigree and partial racing stats
* Bowen, Edward L. '' Legacies of the Turf'' (2003)

Eclipse Press Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Public ...

{{ISBN, 978-1-58150-102-5 1975 racehorse births 1993 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 5-f