Natalma (USA)
March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985
Native Dancer (USA) x Almahmoud (USA), by Mahmoud (FR)
Family 2-d
"GENETIC GEM"
March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985
Native Dancer (USA) x Almahmoud (USA), by Mahmoud (FR)
Family 2-d
"GENETIC GEM"
Natalma showed top-class talent as a juvenile but did not get to keep her victory in the Spinaway Stakes, as she was disqualified after ducking from jockey Bobby Ussery's whip and causing interference. The filly encountered further bad luck at 3, as she was training brilliantly for the Kentucky Oaks when she developed a knee chip. After weighing the alternatives, owner E. P. Taylor decided to breed her to his young stallion Nearctic with the idea that, if Natalma failed to conceive, she could undergo knee surgery and try for a racing comeback. She conceived, and history was made as the foal she produced was Northern Dancer, the world's most influential sire of the second half of the 20th century. Natalma went on to produce three other stakes winners as well as several important daughters, establishing her place as a great modern foundation mare.
Race record
7 starts, 3 wins, 0 seconds, 2 thirds, US$16,015
1959:
Honors
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007 based on her accomplishments as a broodmare)
As an individual
A medium-sized bay mare, Natalma was smoothly made and refined. She was slightly back at the knee.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Natalma produced 14 named foals, of which 11 started and nine were winners. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Virginia, Natalma was bred by Danny Van Clief and his aunt, Mrs. E. H. Augustus. She was owned by E. P. Taylor, who purchased the filly for US$35,000 (the second-highest price for a filly) at the 1958 Saratoga yearling sale. She was trained by Horatio Luro. After her racing career, Natalma spent her entire producing life as a broodmare for Taylor's Windfields Farm. She died of colic in 1985 and was buried at Windfields Farm's Maryland division on land that later became part of Winbak Farm.
Pedigree notes
Natalma is inbred 5x5 to three-time American champion sire Fair Play. She is a full sister to Folk Dancer, a stakes winner in Canada as a juvenile. She is also a half sister to 1955 Astarita Stakes winner Cosmah (by Cosmic Bomb), the 1974 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, whose foals include three-time American champion filly Tosmah (by Tim Tam) and two-time American champion sire Halo (by Hail to Reason). In addition, Natalma is a half sister to Bubbling Beauty (by Hasty Road), whose son Arctic Tern (by Sea-Bird) won the 1977 Prix Ganay (FR-G1) and was the French champion sire of 1986.
Natalma was produced from 1950 Vineland Handicap winner Almahmoud, a full sister to 1954 Test Stakes winner Dispute and 1946 Will Rogers Stakes winner Burra Sahib. Almahmoud is also a full sister to Avatara, second dam of 1974 Jersey Derby (USA-G1) winner Better Arbitor.
Almahmoud and her siblings were produced from Arbitrator, an unraced daughter of 1934 Belmont Stakes winner Peace Chance and 1924 Futurity Stakes winner Mother Goose (by Chicle). Mother Goose, generally considered the American co-champion 2-year-old filly of 1924 and the namesake for the modern Grade 2 race, also produced the St. Germans filly Gosling, a minor stakes winner as a juvenile; Gooseflesh (by Mad Hatter), second dam of 1953 Comely Handicap winner Home-Made; and Wes (by Mad Hatter), second dam of 1961 Dixie Handicap winner Hunter's Rock (by Hunter's Moon IV).
Fun facts
Last updated: November 23, 2024
Race record
7 starts, 3 wins, 0 seconds, 2 thirds, US$16,015
1959:
- 3rd Spinaway Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga; disqualified from first)
Honors
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007 based on her accomplishments as a broodmare)
As an individual
A medium-sized bay mare, Natalma was smoothly made and refined. She was slightly back at the knee.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Natalma produced 14 named foals, of which 11 started and nine were winners. Her important foals are as follow:
- Northern Dancer (1961, by Nearctic) was the 1963 Canadian champion 2-year-old male, the 1964 American and Canadian champion 3-year-old male and the 1964 Canadian Horse of the Year. A breed-shaping sire whose legacy is still unfolding, he led the English/Irish general sire list three times and was the American champion sire of 1977 if international earnings are taken into account (Dr. Fager was the champion by North American earnings). He also led the American broodmare sire list in 1991.
- Native Victor (1962, by Victoria Park; a gelding) was a Canadian stakes winner at ages 3, 4 and 5.
- Arctic Dancer (1963, by Nearctic) was stakes-placed as a juvenile. She is the dam of La Prevoyante (by Buckpasser), who was the 1972 American and Canadian champion 2-year-old filly and the 1972 Canadian Horse of the Year; she was also the Canadian champion older female of 1974. Arctic Dancer is the second dam of Grade 2 winner Drapeau Tricolore and French Group 3 winner Dampierre and the third dam of Grade 2 winner Proud Citizen and Canadian Grade 3 winner Northern Lance.
- Regal Dancer (1964, by Grey Monarch; a gelding) won the 1970 Jacques Cartier Stakes.
- Native Era (1969, by Victorian Era) is the second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Sky Trist and the third dam of 1994 Blue Riband Duet Indian Oaks winner Thanksgiving.
- Spring Adieu (1974, by Buckpasser) is the second dam of nine stakes winners including 1989 Ladbroke Sprint Cup (ENG-G1) winner Danehill, who won a total of 14 general sire championships in Australia (9), England/Ireland (3) and France (2); Grade 2 winner Eagle Eyed; and Grade/Group 3 winners Harpia and Shibboleth. Spring Adieu is also the third dam of multiple Australian Group 1 winner Diatribe, multiple South African Group 3 winner Queen's Bay, and Group 3 winners Al Samer and Dundonnell.
- Raise the Standard (1978, by Hoist the Flag) is the dam of 1984 Prix d'Aumale (FR-G3) winner Coup de Folie (by Halo). Coup de Folie, in turn, is the dam of 1989 French champion 2-year-old male and important sire Machiavellian (by Mr. Prospector), 1993 French champion 2-year-old filly Coup de Genie (by Mr. Prospector), 1992 Prix Jacques Le Marois (FR-G1) winner Exit to Nowhere (by Irish River), French Group 2 winner Hydro Calido (by Nureyev), and 1999 French Group 3 winner Ocean of Wisdom (by Mr. Prospector). Raise the Standard is also the second dam of 1998 Prix Morny (FR-G1) winner and Argentine champion sire Orpen and of Grade 3 winner and Brazilian champion sire Jules. In addition, she is the third dam of 1998 French champion 2-year-old male Way of Light, 2003 French champion 2-year-old filly Denebola, and 2000 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas, FR-G1) winner Bluemamba.
- Born a Lady (1981, by Tentam) won the restricted Pearl Necklace Stakes at Laurel in 1984. She is the dam of Grade 2-placed multiple stakes winner Arrowtown (by Mr. Prospector), the second dam of Japanese Group 3 winner Antonio Barows and the third dam of Grade 2 winner Blacktype and Japanese Group 3 winner Tagano Azaghal. Her more distant descendants include Street Rapper (by Street Boss), who raced in Hong Kong under the name of "Rapper Dragon" and was Hong King's Horse of the Year in 2017.
Connections
Foaled in Virginia, Natalma was bred by Danny Van Clief and his aunt, Mrs. E. H. Augustus. She was owned by E. P. Taylor, who purchased the filly for US$35,000 (the second-highest price for a filly) at the 1958 Saratoga yearling sale. She was trained by Horatio Luro. After her racing career, Natalma spent her entire producing life as a broodmare for Taylor's Windfields Farm. She died of colic in 1985 and was buried at Windfields Farm's Maryland division on land that later became part of Winbak Farm.
Pedigree notes
Natalma is inbred 5x5 to three-time American champion sire Fair Play. She is a full sister to Folk Dancer, a stakes winner in Canada as a juvenile. She is also a half sister to 1955 Astarita Stakes winner Cosmah (by Cosmic Bomb), the 1974 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, whose foals include three-time American champion filly Tosmah (by Tim Tam) and two-time American champion sire Halo (by Hail to Reason). In addition, Natalma is a half sister to Bubbling Beauty (by Hasty Road), whose son Arctic Tern (by Sea-Bird) won the 1977 Prix Ganay (FR-G1) and was the French champion sire of 1986.
Natalma was produced from 1950 Vineland Handicap winner Almahmoud, a full sister to 1954 Test Stakes winner Dispute and 1946 Will Rogers Stakes winner Burra Sahib. Almahmoud is also a full sister to Avatara, second dam of 1974 Jersey Derby (USA-G1) winner Better Arbitor.
Almahmoud and her siblings were produced from Arbitrator, an unraced daughter of 1934 Belmont Stakes winner Peace Chance and 1924 Futurity Stakes winner Mother Goose (by Chicle). Mother Goose, generally considered the American co-champion 2-year-old filly of 1924 and the namesake for the modern Grade 2 race, also produced the St. Germans filly Gosling, a minor stakes winner as a juvenile; Gooseflesh (by Mad Hatter), second dam of 1953 Comely Handicap winner Home-Made; and Wes (by Mad Hatter), second dam of 1961 Dixie Handicap winner Hunter's Rock (by Hunter's Moon IV).
Fun facts
- Nearctic, Natalma's most famous mate, may have been indirectly responsible for her purchase by E. P. Taylor as he won the Michigan Mile just prior to the 1958 Saratoga yearling sale. His purse of US$40,746.55—the largest won by a Canadian-bred up to that time—gave Taylor some extra cash on hand for shopping for a potential foundation mare for his Windfields Farm.
- Natalma was the last mare bred to Nearctic in 1960, and was not covered until June 28.
- The Natalma Stakes is a Grade 1 one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies contested at Woodbine. It is a "Win and You're In" race in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, with the winner getting a guaranteed berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf (USA-G1).
Last updated: November 23, 2024