Stefan the Great (IRE)
1916 – 1935
The Tetrarch (IRE) x Perfect Peach (GB), by Persimmon (GB)
Family 2-e
1916 – 1935
The Tetrarch (IRE) x Perfect Peach (GB), by Persimmon (GB)
Family 2-e
Like his sire, Stefan the Great was an undefeated juvenile who failed to repeat his form at 3 due to injury. Although he sired a high percentage of stakes winners, his stock were not particularly noted for class. Nonetheless, Stefan the Great made some significant contributions to Thoroughbred breeding through his daughters, including Fancy Free (dam of 1939 English champion 3-year-old male and 1954 English champion broodmare sire Blue Peter and of two-time Argentine champion sire Full Sail), Stephanie (second dam of Count Fleet) and Silver Beauty (ancestress of Relaunch, Rubiano, Summer Bird and Tapit).
Race record
3 starts, 2 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, £3,585
1918:
Assessments
Regarded by many English turf writers as near the best if not the best English-based juvenile male of 1918.
As an individual
A handsome, smoothly made gray with a good shoulder, strong hindquarters and plenty of substance, Stefan the Great could be faulted for short, upright pasterns. He wrenched a fetlock during the running of the 1919 Two Thousand Guineas, in which he finished unplaced, and could not be gotten sound enough to race again although he remained in training through his 4-year-old season.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Stefan the Great sired 72 winners (51.4%) and 20 stakes winners (14.3%) from 140 named foals. Sires and Dams of Stakes Winners 1925-1985 credits Stefan the Great with 27 stakes winners; however, most of his stakes winners scored in lesser events or in steeplechases.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
Notable progeny
Bushranger (USA), Fancy Free (GB), King Kong (GB), Valenciennes (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Blue Peter (GB), Boojiana (USA), Crisa (FR), Full Sail (GB), Pactole (FR), Peace Chance (USA), Stefanita (USA), War Beauty (USA)
Connections
Stefan the Great was bred and owned by Lionel Robinson and William Clark in partnership. He entered stud in England in 1921 and was imported to the United States in late 1923 following Robinson's death. While in America, he stood at Joseph E. Widener's Elmendorf Stud. He was repatriated to England following the 1929 breeding season and died there of a kidney tumor in 1935.
Pedigree notes
Stefan the Great is outcrossed within five generations but is the produce of two inbred parents. His sire, The Tetrarch, is inbred 4x4 to 1873 Derby Stakes winner Doncaster, to 1868 Goodwood Cup winner Speculum, and to Rouge Rose, assuming that she is the actual dam of Bend Or (see The Mystery of Bend Or); if Bend Or was actually produced from Clemence, as modern mtDNA evidence indicates, then The Tetrarch is inbred 4x4 to Clemence. Stefan the Great's dam Perfect Peach is even more closely inbred as she is 2x3 to nine-time English champion sire St. Simon, 3x3 to 1887 English champion sire Hampton and 4x4 to two-time English champion sire King Tom.
Perfect Peach, dam of Stefan the Great, failed to win but to further covers by The Tetrarch also produced Sarchedon, a high-class juvenile whose wins included the 1919 July Stakes and Coventry Stakes, and Ishtar, also a juvenile stakes winner and second dam of the fine sprinter Preciptic. Perfect Produce was out of 1899 Coronation Stakes winner Fascination, whose dam Charm (by St. Simon) also produced the influential stallion Captivation (by Cyllene) and was herself a full sister to 1894 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes winner Amiable. The next dam in the tail-female line, Tact, was a full sister to Gravity, dam of 1902 Ascot Gold Cup winner William the Third, and to 1884 Cambridgeshire Stakes winner Florence, second dam of 1906 Jockey Club Stakes winner Beppo.
Fun facts
Last updated: September 4, 2024
Race record
3 starts, 2 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, £3,585
1918:
- Won Middle Park Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Newmarket)
- Won Triennial Produce Stakes (ENG, Newmarket)
Assessments
Regarded by many English turf writers as near the best if not the best English-based juvenile male of 1918.
As an individual
A handsome, smoothly made gray with a good shoulder, strong hindquarters and plenty of substance, Stefan the Great could be faulted for short, upright pasterns. He wrenched a fetlock during the running of the 1919 Two Thousand Guineas, in which he finished unplaced, and could not be gotten sound enough to race again although he remained in training through his 4-year-old season.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Stefan the Great sired 72 winners (51.4%) and 20 stakes winners (14.3%) from 140 named foals. Sires and Dams of Stakes Winners 1925-1985 credits Stefan the Great with 27 stakes winners; however, most of his stakes winners scored in lesser events or in steeplechases.
Sire rankings
Per The Blood-Horse:
- Led the American juvenile sire list in 1929
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- Led the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1939
Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):
- Led the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1939
Notable progeny
Bushranger (USA), Fancy Free (GB), King Kong (GB), Valenciennes (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Blue Peter (GB), Boojiana (USA), Crisa (FR), Full Sail (GB), Pactole (FR), Peace Chance (USA), Stefanita (USA), War Beauty (USA)
Connections
Stefan the Great was bred and owned by Lionel Robinson and William Clark in partnership. He entered stud in England in 1921 and was imported to the United States in late 1923 following Robinson's death. While in America, he stood at Joseph E. Widener's Elmendorf Stud. He was repatriated to England following the 1929 breeding season and died there of a kidney tumor in 1935.
Pedigree notes
Stefan the Great is outcrossed within five generations but is the produce of two inbred parents. His sire, The Tetrarch, is inbred 4x4 to 1873 Derby Stakes winner Doncaster, to 1868 Goodwood Cup winner Speculum, and to Rouge Rose, assuming that she is the actual dam of Bend Or (see The Mystery of Bend Or); if Bend Or was actually produced from Clemence, as modern mtDNA evidence indicates, then The Tetrarch is inbred 4x4 to Clemence. Stefan the Great's dam Perfect Peach is even more closely inbred as she is 2x3 to nine-time English champion sire St. Simon, 3x3 to 1887 English champion sire Hampton and 4x4 to two-time English champion sire King Tom.
Perfect Peach, dam of Stefan the Great, failed to win but to further covers by The Tetrarch also produced Sarchedon, a high-class juvenile whose wins included the 1919 July Stakes and Coventry Stakes, and Ishtar, also a juvenile stakes winner and second dam of the fine sprinter Preciptic. Perfect Produce was out of 1899 Coronation Stakes winner Fascination, whose dam Charm (by St. Simon) also produced the influential stallion Captivation (by Cyllene) and was herself a full sister to 1894 One Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes winner Amiable. The next dam in the tail-female line, Tact, was a full sister to Gravity, dam of 1902 Ascot Gold Cup winner William the Third, and to 1884 Cambridgeshire Stakes winner Florence, second dam of 1906 Jockey Club Stakes winner Beppo.
Fun facts
- In history, Stefan (more commonly spelled Stephan or Stephen) the Great was a 15th-century ruler of Moldavia, a principality which later became part of the nation of Romania. Stefan's military prowess (he won 46 of his 48 battles) maintained Moldavian independence against threats from the Ottoman Empire, Hungary and Poland. He was also known for his piety and was canonized as a saint in 1992 by the Romanian Orthodox Church.
- Noted trainer Henry McDaniel referred to Stefan the Great as “Stoppin' the Great,” though whether this was an honest mispronunciation or a comment on the horse's tendency to sire runners with a lack of heart is open to question.
Last updated: September 4, 2024