Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksideview.com

Reading the recent obituaries at the Daily Racing Form about Storm Bird, 26, and Northern Taste, 33, got me wondering how many Northern Dancers are still alive.

Why Northern Dancer, you ask? There is no question that Northern Dancer was the greatest sire of the 20th century, and some think the greatest sire ever. At one time in the early 1980s, Northern Dancer’s stud fee was $1 million, no guarantee.

Northern Dancer was foaled on May 27, 1961, at E.P. Taylor’s National Stud in Ontario. He was by Nearctic out of the Native Dancer mare, Natalma. Nearctic, whose sire was the Italian-bred Nearco, should have been a huge turf influence on Northern Dancer. But the only grass Northern Dancer got close to was what he ate.

The late foal proved to be a handful for other colts as a 2-year-old when he won seven out of nine starts and finished second in the other two. He was named the 1963 champion 2-year-old male in Canada.

As a 3-year-old, he picked up where he left off winning seven out of nine. Among those wins were the Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Queen’s Plate. He was another who thrilled the racing world for a few weeks with the possibility of being the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948, but he finished third in the Belmont Stakes.

Northern Dancer set the track and stakes record of 2:00 for the Kentucky Derby in 1964. It was broken by Secretariat in 1973 with a time of 1:59.40. Monarchos’ 1:59.97 in 2001 is the only other winning time faster than Northern Dancer’s.

A tendon injury after the Queen’s Plate forced his early retirement, and he returned to stand stud at his birthplace. At season’s end, he was named 1964 champion 3-year-old male.

In 1968, he was moved to Taylor’s Windfields Farm in Maryland where he stood the rest of his career. He was pensioned at age 26 in 1987 and passed away at Windfields in 1990. He was taken back to his birthplace where he is buried.

Between 1967 and 1986 he was known as a “sire of sires.” His offspring are a who’s who of breed influences: Vice Regal, Nijinsky II, Danzig, Lyphard, Nureyev, Sadler’s Wells, Vice Regent, Northern Aspen, Danzatore, Storm Bird, Northern Taste and Semi Northern.

Of this group, only Sadler’s Wells and Lyphard still are alive. Sadler’s Wells, who is 24, stands in England and has sired a dynasty of his own with Galileo, High Chaparral, In the Wings, El Prado, Fort Wood, Salsabil, King of Kings and Northern Spur among others.

Some of Northern Dancer’s other grandsons are: Danehill, Danzig Connection Lure, Belong to Me, Honor Grades, Pine Bluff, Dayjur, Dancing Brave, Ghadeer, Lypheor, Ends Well, Caerleon, Shadeen, Royal Academy, Hostage, Theatrical, Polar Falcon, Deputy Minister, Regal Classic, Personal Hope, Summer Squall, Reraise and Storm Cat, by Storm Bird.

Grandson Storm Cat, at 21, commands the highest stud fee in the United States at $500,000, live foal guaranteed. Storm Cat has been the leading general sire in 1999 and 2000. He was leading juvenile sire in 1992, ’93, ’95, ’98, ’99 and 2002, a record that would make his grandfather proud. In the last 13 years, one of Northern Dancer’s sons, grandsons or great-grandsons has been leading general sire 10 times.

That brings us to Lyphard, who also has the distinction of being, according to the Thoroughbred Times, the oldest notable living thoroughbred. On Jan. 1, he will be 36. Lyphard is pensioned at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Ky.

I contacted Michael Hernon, director of sales at Gainesway, and he said, “Lyphard is holding steady right now. Obviously with an aged horse, it’s day to day.”

Lyphard, as with several other Northern Dancer offspring, returned to the Nearctic-Nearco turf influence and sired many grass runners. Lyphard was leading sire in North American in 1986; leading sire in France in 1978-79; and leading broodmare sire in France in 1985-86.

Some of his turf runners were: Dancing Brave, champion 3-year-old in England and winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1986; Manila, 1986 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, 1986 Eclipse Turf champion and winner of the Arlington Million in 1987; and Three Troikas, horse of the year in France and winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1979.

Additional Lyphard winners were: Reine de Saba, Rainbows For Life, Esprit du Nord and Monteverdi. He also was the broodmare sire of more than 180 stakes winners.

With glory can come disappointment, and that was the case with one Northern Dancer who appeared at the 1983 Keeneland Select Yearling Sale. Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai and Robert Sangster of England got into a spirited bidding duel over the colt until Sheikh Maktoum won with a bid of $10.2 million, the highest priced yearling up to that time.

The colt was named Snaafi Dancer, but he never made it to the track and when pointed to the breeding shed, proved to be sterile.

Tune still playing
During my research of Lyphard, I was surprised to find that another “old guy” is still kicking up his heels.

Several weeks ago I wrote a column about Hall of Fame jockey John Rotz who lives in Warrensburg, and about being one of the few jockeys to beat Secretariat in a race. The race was the 1972 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park and he was aboard Stop the Music.

Guess what? Stop the Music will be 35 on Jan. 1, and he also is pensioned at Gainesway.

Stop the Music is by Hail to Reason and he raced 30 times over a three-year period with 11 wins, 10 seconds and 4 thirds. He took home $449,000 for his efforts. Besides the Champagne, he won the Saratoga Special and Dwyer Handicap. He was second in the Travers Stakes, Withers Stakes, Stuyvesant Handicap and the Vosburg Handicap. He was third in the Whitney Stakes.

Stop the Music sired Temperence Hill who was 3-year-old champion in 1980 and won Jockey Club Gold Cup, Super Derby Invitational, Belmont Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Travers Stakes, Rebel Handicap, Oaklawn Handicap, Suburban Handicap and the Razorback Handicap.