Royal Charger (GB)
1942 – November 26, 1961
Nearco (ITY) x Sun Princess (GB), by Solario (GB)
Family 9-c
1942 – November 26, 1961
Nearco (ITY) x Sun Princess (GB), by Solario (GB)
Family 9-c
A bad-legged horse with something of the same temperament that marked his close relative Nasrullah, Royal Charger was far from a top horse on the race course and was packed off to stud with relatively modest expectations. He soon proved that in his case, his royal bloodlines trumped his individual performance. A high-class sire on both sides of the Atlantic, he succeeded in establishing his own branch of the Nearco sire line.
Race record
21 starts, 6 wins, 8 seconds, 2 thirds, £5057
1945:
1946:
Assessments
Rated at 7 stone 9 pounds (107 pounds) on the Free Handicap for English juveniles of 1944.
Ranked 10th among English 3-year-old males of 1945 according to the Free Handicap, 11 pounds below champion Dante.
As an individual
A aristocratic-looking chestnut with a handsome, muscular body, Royal Charger stood 16.1 hands. His splendid appearance was marred by forelegs that were over at the knees and a bit upright in the pasterns. He could be obstinate and willful. Like his close relative Nasrullah, Royal Charger had to be kept back until the last possible second to make his run, or else he would pull himself up on making the lead.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Royal Charger sired 232 winners (62.5%) and 52 stakes winners (14.0%) from 371 named foals, while Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard and Rogers) shows him as having sired 57 stakes winners. Royal Charger sired stock that often stayed better than he did but frequently passed on his faulty forelegs. He is a Brilliant chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
Per The Blood-Horse:
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Notable progeny
Copenhagen (GB), Francis S. (USA), Gay Hostess (USA), Gilles de Retz (GB), Happy Laughter (GB), Idun (USA), Knight's Romance (IRE), Mongo (USA), Pride of Kildare (IRE), Royal Native (USA), Royal Orbit (USA), Royal Serenade (IRE), Sea Charger (IRE), Turn-to (IRE)
Notable progeny of daughters
Crowned Prince (USA), Majestic Prince (USA), Pinjara (USA), Tudor Queen (USA)
Connections
Royal Charger was bred and owned by Sir John Jarvis. He was trained by Jack Jarvis. He entered stud at the Irish National Stud in 1946. He was imported to the USA in 1953 by Neil McCarthy at a reported price of US$300,000 and then syndicated. He stood at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky for the remainder of his stud career, dying there in November 1961, and was buried on land that is now part of Green Gates Farm.
Pedigree notes
Royal Charger is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to the good English juvenile filly Tessa Gillian, dam of the good English juveniles Test Case (by Supreme Court) and Gentle Art (by Whistler) and second dam of French Group 3 winner D'Urberville. He is also a half brother to English stakes winners Lucky Bag (by Windsor Slipper), Alassio (by Dante; dam of stakes winner Italian Riviera, by Honeyway), Flaneur II (by Prince Chevalier) and Royal Justice (by Supreme Court).
Royal Charger's dam Sun Princess is a half sister to the great sire Nasrullah, the good juvenile filly Rivaz (dam of the brilliantly fast filly Palariva and 1963 Mother Goose Stakes winner Spicy Living) and the minor stakes winners Nizami II and Malindi (dam of two-time French leading sire Prince Taj), all by Nearco. She is also a half sister to Dodoma II (by Dastur), dam of 1949 English champion 2-year-old filly Diableretta (by Dante) and three other stakes winners, and to Bibibeg (by Bahram), dam of three stakes winners. The dam of Sun Princess, Mumtaz Begum, is a Blenheim II half sister to Mah Mahal (by Gainsborough), dam of 1936 Derby Stakes winner Mahmoud, and to Rustom Mahal (by Rustom Pasha), dam of the brilliant English sprinter Abernant (by Owen Tudor). The third dam of Royal Charger is the “Flying Filly,” English champion 2-year-old filly Mumtaz Mahal (by The Tetrarch), who became a great foundation mare for the Aga Khan.
Books and media
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: November 14, 2024
Race record
21 starts, 6 wins, 8 seconds, 2 thirds, £5057
1945:
- Won Challenge Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- Won Teversham Handicap (ENG, 6FD, Newmarket)
- Won Tees Plate (ENG, 8FT, Stockton)
- 2nd Duke of York Stakes (ENG, 8FT, York)
- 3rd Two Thousand Guineas (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
1946:
- Won Queen Anne Stakes (ENG, 8FT, Ascot)
- Won Ayr Gold Cup (ENG, 6FT, Ayr)
- Won Coronation Plate (ENG, Chester; walked over)
- 2nd Challenge Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- 2nd Bretby Handicap (ENG, 6FD, Newmarket)
- 2nd July Handicap (ENG, 6FD, Newmarket)
- 2nd Stewards' Cup Handicap (ENG, 6FT, Goodwood)
- 3rd King's Stand Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Ascot)
Assessments
Rated at 7 stone 9 pounds (107 pounds) on the Free Handicap for English juveniles of 1944.
Ranked 10th among English 3-year-old males of 1945 according to the Free Handicap, 11 pounds below champion Dante.
As an individual
A aristocratic-looking chestnut with a handsome, muscular body, Royal Charger stood 16.1 hands. His splendid appearance was marred by forelegs that were over at the knees and a bit upright in the pasterns. He could be obstinate and willful. Like his close relative Nasrullah, Royal Charger had to be kept back until the last possible second to make his run, or else he would pull himself up on making the lead.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Royal Charger sired 232 winners (62.5%) and 52 stakes winners (14.0%) from 371 named foals, while Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard and Rogers) shows him as having sired 57 stakes winners. Royal Charger sired stock that often stayed better than he did but frequently passed on his faulty forelegs. He is a Brilliant chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
- 4th on the American general sire list in 1959 and 1962; 5th in 1960 and 1964; 8th in 1963; 9th in 1958.
- 5th on the American broodmare sire list in 1969.
Per The Blood-Horse:
- 4th on the American general sire list in 1959 and 1962; 5th in 1960 and 1964; 8th in 1963; 9th in 1958.
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 4th on the American general sire list in 1959 and 1962; 5th in 1960 and 1964; 8th in 1963; 9th in 1958.
- 5th on the American broodmare sire list in 1960.
- 3rd on the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1953; 7th in 1952.
Notable progeny
Copenhagen (GB), Francis S. (USA), Gay Hostess (USA), Gilles de Retz (GB), Happy Laughter (GB), Idun (USA), Knight's Romance (IRE), Mongo (USA), Pride of Kildare (IRE), Royal Native (USA), Royal Orbit (USA), Royal Serenade (IRE), Sea Charger (IRE), Turn-to (IRE)
Notable progeny of daughters
Crowned Prince (USA), Majestic Prince (USA), Pinjara (USA), Tudor Queen (USA)
Connections
Royal Charger was bred and owned by Sir John Jarvis. He was trained by Jack Jarvis. He entered stud at the Irish National Stud in 1946. He was imported to the USA in 1953 by Neil McCarthy at a reported price of US$300,000 and then syndicated. He stood at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky for the remainder of his stud career, dying there in November 1961, and was buried on land that is now part of Green Gates Farm.
Pedigree notes
Royal Charger is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to the good English juvenile filly Tessa Gillian, dam of the good English juveniles Test Case (by Supreme Court) and Gentle Art (by Whistler) and second dam of French Group 3 winner D'Urberville. He is also a half brother to English stakes winners Lucky Bag (by Windsor Slipper), Alassio (by Dante; dam of stakes winner Italian Riviera, by Honeyway), Flaneur II (by Prince Chevalier) and Royal Justice (by Supreme Court).
Royal Charger's dam Sun Princess is a half sister to the great sire Nasrullah, the good juvenile filly Rivaz (dam of the brilliantly fast filly Palariva and 1963 Mother Goose Stakes winner Spicy Living) and the minor stakes winners Nizami II and Malindi (dam of two-time French leading sire Prince Taj), all by Nearco. She is also a half sister to Dodoma II (by Dastur), dam of 1949 English champion 2-year-old filly Diableretta (by Dante) and three other stakes winners, and to Bibibeg (by Bahram), dam of three stakes winners. The dam of Sun Princess, Mumtaz Begum, is a Blenheim II half sister to Mah Mahal (by Gainsborough), dam of 1936 Derby Stakes winner Mahmoud, and to Rustom Mahal (by Rustom Pasha), dam of the brilliant English sprinter Abernant (by Owen Tudor). The third dam of Royal Charger is the “Flying Filly,” English champion 2-year-old filly Mumtaz Mahal (by The Tetrarch), who became a great foundation mare for the Aga Khan.
Books and media
- Royal Charger is profiled in Chapter 24 of Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and reprinted by Eclipse Press in 2006).
- Royal Charger is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the collection of Quarter Horse Record (Susan Larkin); used by permission.
Last updated: November 14, 2024