Dark Star (USA)
April 4, 1950 – January 24, 1972
Royal Gem II (AUS) x Isolde (USA), by Bull Dog (USA)
Family 3-n
April 4, 1950 – January 24, 1972
Royal Gem II (AUS) x Isolde (USA), by Bull Dog (USA)
Family 3-n
While Dark Star was the only horse ever to defeat the great Native Dancer, beating the champion by a head in the Kentucky Derby, his full merits as a racehorse are difficult to assess as he bowed a tendon when the two met again in the Preakness Stakes. He did well as a sire without ever reaching the top rank but is mostly remembered today because of the achievements of a few key daughters.
Race record
13 starts, 6 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, US$131,337
1952:
1953:
Assessments
Rated at 113 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1952, 17 pounds below champion Native Dancer.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1953, 8 pounds below champion Native Dancer but tied for second with Level Lea.
As an individual
A brown horse, Dark Star had abundant natural speed and did his best running on the front end.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Dark Star sired 209 winners (67.6%) and 26 stakes winners (8.4%) from 309 named foals.
Notable progeny
Gazala II (FR), Heavenly Body (USA), Hidden Talent (USA), Hidden Treasure (CAN), Iron Peg (USA), My Dad George (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Gonzales (USA), Mississipian (USA), Too Bald (USA), Youth (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Hermitage Farm in Kentucky, Dark Star was bred by Warner L. Jones, Jr., and was owned by Captain Harry Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable after Guggenheim purchased the colt for just US$6,500 from the 1951 Keeneland Summer yearling sale. Dark Star was trained by Moody Jolley at 2 and by Eddie Hayward at 3. Dark Star entered stud in the United States, standing first at Claiborne Farm and then at Spendthrift Farm after Guggenheim moved his horses from Claiborne in 1960 due to a falling-out with Arthur Hancock, Jr. In 1967, Dark Star was sold to the French stud Haras du Bois-Roussel. His last foals were born in 1972, and the French resource France-Galop indicates that he died in January of that year.
Pedigree notes
Dark Star is outcrossed through five generations. A son of the Australian champion Royal Gem II, he is a full brother to Perfect Gem, dam of 1964 Kentucky Oaks winner Blue Norther (by Windy City II). Blue Norther, in turn, produced French Group III winner Beau Buck (by Buckpasser) and multiple stakes producer Miss Blue Norther (by Pronto). Perfect Gem is also the second dam of multiple stakes winner Imasmartee.
Dark Star's dam Isolde is a half sister to Mission Play (by Chance Play), third dam of two-time Mexican champion Congress Flier. She is out of 1934 Kentucky Oaks winner Fiji, also the winner of the 1934 Latonia Derby and Latonia Oaks. A daughter of 1927 Preakness Stakes winner Bostonian, Fiji is out of the Ormondale mare O Girl and is a half sister to stakes winner Alsang (by Kai-Sang). The female line traces back to the important 19th-century matron Castagnette.
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: May 6, 2023
Race record
13 starts, 6 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, US$131,337
1952:
- Won Hialeah Juvenile Stakes (second division) (USA, 3FD, Hialeah)
- 3rd Futurity Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Juvenile Stakes (USA, 5FD, Belmont)
1953:
- Won Derby Trial Stakes (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
Assessments
Rated at 113 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1952, 17 pounds below champion Native Dancer.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1953, 8 pounds below champion Native Dancer but tied for second with Level Lea.
As an individual
A brown horse, Dark Star had abundant natural speed and did his best running on the front end.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Dark Star sired 209 winners (67.6%) and 26 stakes winners (8.4%) from 309 named foals.
Notable progeny
Gazala II (FR), Heavenly Body (USA), Hidden Talent (USA), Hidden Treasure (CAN), Iron Peg (USA), My Dad George (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Gonzales (USA), Mississipian (USA), Too Bald (USA), Youth (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Hermitage Farm in Kentucky, Dark Star was bred by Warner L. Jones, Jr., and was owned by Captain Harry Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable after Guggenheim purchased the colt for just US$6,500 from the 1951 Keeneland Summer yearling sale. Dark Star was trained by Moody Jolley at 2 and by Eddie Hayward at 3. Dark Star entered stud in the United States, standing first at Claiborne Farm and then at Spendthrift Farm after Guggenheim moved his horses from Claiborne in 1960 due to a falling-out with Arthur Hancock, Jr. In 1967, Dark Star was sold to the French stud Haras du Bois-Roussel. His last foals were born in 1972, and the French resource France-Galop indicates that he died in January of that year.
Pedigree notes
Dark Star is outcrossed through five generations. A son of the Australian champion Royal Gem II, he is a full brother to Perfect Gem, dam of 1964 Kentucky Oaks winner Blue Norther (by Windy City II). Blue Norther, in turn, produced French Group III winner Beau Buck (by Buckpasser) and multiple stakes producer Miss Blue Norther (by Pronto). Perfect Gem is also the second dam of multiple stakes winner Imasmartee.
Dark Star's dam Isolde is a half sister to Mission Play (by Chance Play), third dam of two-time Mexican champion Congress Flier. She is out of 1934 Kentucky Oaks winner Fiji, also the winner of the 1934 Latonia Derby and Latonia Oaks. A daughter of 1927 Preakness Stakes winner Bostonian, Fiji is out of the Ormondale mare O Girl and is a half sister to stakes winner Alsang (by Kai-Sang). The female line traces back to the important 19th-century matron Castagnette.
Books and media
- “Defeating the Dancer,” an account of Dark Star's upset Kentucky Derby win, is the sixth chapter of Greatest Kentucky Derby Upsets. Written by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horse, the book was released by Eclipse Press in 2007.
- Dark Star is profiled in Chapter 8 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Dark Star was the first winner and the first stakes winner for his sire, Royal Gem II.
- Dark Star's Kentucky Derby upset of Native Dancer was voted the greatest Kentucky Derby upset of all time in a poll conducted by The Blood-Horse in 2007.
- Dark Star was the last horse entered in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, with the submission of his US$250 entry fee beating the deadline by just 21 minutes.
- The Dark Star Cup is a stakes race for horses 3 years old and up at Canterbury Park. As of 2018, it was carded for 6.5 furlongs on dirt.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: May 6, 2023