Dark Star (horse)
| Dark Star | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Royal Gem |
| Grandsire | Dhoti |
| Dam | Isolde |
| Damsire | Bull Dog |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1950 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Brown |
| Breeder | Warner L. Jones, Jr. |
| Owner | Cain Hoy Stable |
| Trainer |
Moody Jolley Eddie Hayward (at age 3) |
| Record | 13: 6-2-2 |
| Earnings | $131,337 |
| Major wins | |
|
Derby Trial (1953) Kentucky Derby (1953) |
|
| Last updated on December 16, 2006 | |
Dark Star (April 4, 1950 - October 21, 1972) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. During his racing career he won six races, most notably the 1953 Kentucky Derby, in which he defeated Native Dancer.
Dark Star was sired by Royal Gem (also known as Royal Gem II), an Australian stallion who was imported to the United States to stand at Hermitage Stud in Kentucky. As a yearling, Dark Star was consigned to the Keeneland sales, where he was bought for $6,500 by Harry Frank Guggenheim. He raced in the colors of Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable.
As a two-year-old, Dark Star worked impressively but seemed unable to reproduce his form on the track. He started his racing career early, running at Hialeah February and winning a three-furlong race there in early March. In his biggest test, he finished third to Native Dancer in the Belmont Futurity in September and ran unplaced in the Champagne Stakes.
In February 1953, Dark Star won a sprint race at Hialeah, then lost to Money Broker in the Florida Derby in March. On the Tuesday before the Kentucky Derby, Dark Star reversed his earlier form by beating Money Broker by four lengths in the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs. He covered the one mile distance in a near-record time of 1:36.00 to confirm his place in the Derby field.
In the Derby on May 2, Dark Star started at odds of 25/1, with Native Dancer, unbeaten in eleven races, going off the 3/5 favourite. Apart from the crowd at the track, the race attracted a huge television audience, with three-quarters of American viewers tuning in to the coverage. Dark Star broke quickly from a wide draw and was sent into the lead at the first turn by his twenty-three-year-old jockey Hank Moreno, staying clear of the "bumping and pushing" further back in the field, in which the favorite was badly affected. As the field turned into the straight, Dark Star broke away from his nearest challenger, the Eddie Arcaro-ridden Correspondent, to open a clear lead. Native Dancer produced a powerful late run, but Dark Star held on to win by a head. The winning time was 2:02.0. After the race, Moreno confessed to being surprised by Dark Star's effort, saying that he had "hoped to run third".
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