Darebin (AUS)
1878 – September 1904
The Peer (GB) x Lurline (NZ), by Traducer (GB)
Family 14-e
1878 – September 1904
The Peer (GB) x Lurline (NZ), by Traducer (GB)
Family 14-e
Big, powerful, and masculine, Darebin was too coarse to meet most people’s standards of ideal equine beauty but was a very good racehorse in his native Australia. The sire of a Classic winner before export from his native land, he did fairly well at stud in America but is remembered primarily for three daughters: Emma, the dam of two-time American Horse of the Year and important sire Commando; Afric Queen, the dam of 1903 American champion 3-year-old male Africander; Fine Lady, the ancestress of four-timer American champion broodmare sire Double Jay; and Kildeer, the ancestress of champions Classy ‘n Smart, Dance Smartly, Dancethruthedawn, Discovery, Grey Classic, I’ll Have Another, Regal Classic, and Sky Classic and of two-time American champion sire Smart Strike.
Race record
Complete record unknown.
1881:
1882:
1883:
As an individual
A brown horse of great power and substance with deep shoulder and a large, coarse head, Darebin was a notoriously hard puller as a racehorse. He was said to have stood over 16.2 hands.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan’s Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 (Vol. II) credits Darebin with seven stakes winners in the United States; he also sired the 1887 Victoria Derby winner The Australian Peer while standing in Australia.
Notable progeny
The Australian Peer (AUS)
Connections
Foaled at Bundoora Stud Farm in the state of Victoria, Australia, Darebin was bred by Mr. Sam Gardiner, who sold him as a yearling for 350 guineas. He raced for a number of owners during his career including Mr. W. A. Guesdon, Mr. W. E. Dakin, and Mr. R. G. Talbot, and won the 1881 Victoria Derby in the name and colors of his trainer, Mr. F. F. Dakins, though he may actually have been owned by Guesdon at the time. He was sold to Mr. E. K. Cox for 1,550 guineas at the Newmarket sale in 1882 and won the Sydney Cup in Mr. Cox’s colors, under the training of Tom Lamond. Following Mr. Cox’s death, he stood briefly at Mr. Alex Gordon’s The Grange Stud, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. When The Grange Stud broke up, the stallion was purchased by Mr. W. H. Kent, but in 1886, Darebin was purchased for 1,750 guineas by James Ben Ali Haggin on the advice of Bruce Lowe (the originator of the Bruce Lowe family numbering system) and was imported to the United States to stand at Haggin’s Rancho del Paso. He was euthanized in September 1904 due to the infirmities of old age.
Pedigree notes
Sired by The Peer (a son of two-time English champion sire Melbourne), Darebin is inbred 3x5 to 1834 St. Leger Stakes winner and four-time English champion sire Touchstone. He is inbred 4x5 to Camel and Banter through Touchstone and his full sister Pasquinade. A half brother to the Australian stakes winner Prometheus, he is out of the New Zealand-bred mare Lurline, the winner of a number of important Cup races and considered one of the best race mares in New Zealand history through the 19th century. She in turn was out of the English import Mermaid (by two-time English champion sire King Tom), whose dam Water Witch (by 1849 Derby Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner The Flying Dutchman) was out of the Touchstone mare Evening Star.
Fun facts
Last updated: June 23, 2023
Race record
Complete record unknown.
1881:
- Won VRC Victoria Derby (AUS, 12FT, Flemington)
- Won Mares' Produce Stakes (AUS, 10FT, Flemington)
- 3rd VRC Ascot Vale Stakes (AUS, Flemington)
1882:
- Won VRC Melbourne Stakes (AUS, 10FT, Flemington)
- Won ARC Queen's Birthday Cup (AUS, 14FT, Morphettville)
- Won ARC Adelaide St. Leger (AUS, 14F+132yT, Morphettville)
- Won VRC Royal Park Stakes (AUS, 16FT, Flemington)
- 2nd Canterbury Plate (AUS, 18FT, Flemington)
- 2nd Yarraville Stakes (AUS, Flemington)
- 2nd Grand Stand Stakes (AUS)
- 3rd VRC St. Leger Stakes (AUS, 14F+132yT, Flemington)
1883:
- Won AJC Sydney Cup (AUS, 16FT, Randwick)
- 3rd AJC Autumn Stakes (AUS, 12FT, Randwick)
As an individual
A brown horse of great power and substance with deep shoulder and a large, coarse head, Darebin was a notoriously hard puller as a racehorse. He was said to have stood over 16.2 hands.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan’s Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 (Vol. II) credits Darebin with seven stakes winners in the United States; he also sired the 1887 Victoria Derby winner The Australian Peer while standing in Australia.
Notable progeny
The Australian Peer (AUS)
Connections
Foaled at Bundoora Stud Farm in the state of Victoria, Australia, Darebin was bred by Mr. Sam Gardiner, who sold him as a yearling for 350 guineas. He raced for a number of owners during his career including Mr. W. A. Guesdon, Mr. W. E. Dakin, and Mr. R. G. Talbot, and won the 1881 Victoria Derby in the name and colors of his trainer, Mr. F. F. Dakins, though he may actually have been owned by Guesdon at the time. He was sold to Mr. E. K. Cox for 1,550 guineas at the Newmarket sale in 1882 and won the Sydney Cup in Mr. Cox’s colors, under the training of Tom Lamond. Following Mr. Cox’s death, he stood briefly at Mr. Alex Gordon’s The Grange Stud, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. When The Grange Stud broke up, the stallion was purchased by Mr. W. H. Kent, but in 1886, Darebin was purchased for 1,750 guineas by James Ben Ali Haggin on the advice of Bruce Lowe (the originator of the Bruce Lowe family numbering system) and was imported to the United States to stand at Haggin’s Rancho del Paso. He was euthanized in September 1904 due to the infirmities of old age.
Pedigree notes
Sired by The Peer (a son of two-time English champion sire Melbourne), Darebin is inbred 3x5 to 1834 St. Leger Stakes winner and four-time English champion sire Touchstone. He is inbred 4x5 to Camel and Banter through Touchstone and his full sister Pasquinade. A half brother to the Australian stakes winner Prometheus, he is out of the New Zealand-bred mare Lurline, the winner of a number of important Cup races and considered one of the best race mares in New Zealand history through the 19th century. She in turn was out of the English import Mermaid (by two-time English champion sire King Tom), whose dam Water Witch (by 1849 Derby Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner The Flying Dutchman) was out of the Touchstone mare Evening Star.
Fun facts
- Darebin is the name of a local government area in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Last updated: June 23, 2023