Northern Dancer stood at stud initially at Windfields Farm in Oshawa beginning in 1965. Success came early and often for Northern Dancer. From his second crop emerged the Taylor bred, Oshawa born, Nijinsky, a future superstar. He was purchased as a yearling at the Woodbine sales complex by American businessman Charles Engelhard for $84,000. The colt was shipped to Ireland and was developed by celebrated trainer Vincent O’Brien into a champion juvenile. What Nijinsky accomplished as a three-year-old in sweeping the English Triple Crown cast aside any lingering doubts about Northern Dancer’s stamina influence. The ripple effect of Northern Dancer’s potency and influence carried on through Nijinsky who in 1986 sired the Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, and the Epsom Derby winner, Shahrastani.
To gain access to a wider selection of worthy mares Northern Dancer relocated to Windfields’ property in Maryland to begin the 1969 breeding season. However, several of Windfields’ mares bred there to Northern Dancer were then shipped home to Oshawa to foal their Canadian breds. One of those mares, Lady Victoria, foaled from the cover of Northern Dancer a chestnut colt who would be named Northern Taste. He was sold by Taylor the following summer in Saratoga to the Yoshida family of Japan. He raced with distinction in France before relocating to Japan where he became leading sire there for a decade. Another of those mares, Fleur, a close relation of Nijinsky, foaled a flashy chestnut colt by Northern Dancer in Oshawa in 1974. Later named, The Minstrel, he would sell at the Keeneland yearling sale and was purchased for $200,000 by English businessman, Robert Sangster, a pioneer of the Coolmore enterprise, who likewise dispatched him to the care of Vincent O’Brien in Ireland. The Minstrel would become the second of Northern Dancer’s three Epsom Derby winners. A visit to Epsom Downs in 2018 provided the opportunity to walk the famous course and retrace the venerable steps taken by past winners of the Derby. Afterward, a tour guide understandably full of patriotic fervour proudly pointed to a mural featuring Derby winners that legendary English jockey Lester Piggott had assisted in their big moments at Epsom among them Sir Ivor, Roberto, Nijinsky and The Minstrel. When it was pointed out that two of Piggott’s most famous Derby wins had come aboard Canadian breds, the guide was flummoxed. That both Nijinsky and The Minstrel were Canadian imports had escaped detection.
Secreto, a Windfields Maryland bred, was sold by Taylor at the 1982 Keeneland yearling sale. He won the 1984 Epsom Derby in a photo finish over another son of Northern Dancer, El Gran Senor. That unique hat trick of Derby victories solidified Northern Dancer’s reputation as a continuing source of quality and stamina some twenty years after his Kentucky Derby/Queen’s Plate double
Two very important American bred sons of Northern Dancer arrived in his twelfth crop in 1977, French trained, Nureyev, and the undefeated, Danzig. Their impacts were pivotal on the racing and breeding landscapes in England and Ireland, Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States where the inception of Breeders’ Cup races provided an ideal stage to further showcase the Northern Dancer Influence.
Among Nureyev’s key offspring to win at the Breeders’ Cup were Miesque, Theatrical and Spinning World. Nureyev’s son, Peintre Celebre, won not only the 1997 Prix Du Jockey Club at Chantilly but also the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and was voted European Horse of the Year for those exploits. Danzig also exerted significant influence on Breeders’ Cup results. His champion son, Chief’s Crown, won the initial running of the Juvenile. His champion daughter, Dance Smartly won the 1991 Distaff after her sweep of the Canadian Triple Crown and would go on to produce two subsequent Queen’s Plate winners, Scatter the Gold and Dancethruthedawn. Danzig’s athletic son, Lure, won back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Miles in 1992-1993. Another champion son and leading sire, Langfuhr, was responsible for Canadian Triple Crown winner, Wando. Danzig’s American born son, the legendary Danehill, became champion sire in England and Ireland and also France as well as shuttling to Australia where he dominated the sire ranks for an extended period.
Although Sadlers Wells wasn’t by any means one of Northern Dancer’s best champion sons on the race course, he proved a most influential son at stud. The longtime leading sire in England and Ireland, Sadlers Wells stayed pertinent for two decades through a remarkable litany of champion sons and daughters. At the height of his popularity at the turn of the Millennium he was reputed to be the most photographed horse in the world. A trip to Fethard, County Tipperary, in the south of Ireland, to the home of Sadlers Wells at Coolmore confirmed his stardom. The Northern Dancer Influence continued through Sadlers Wells’ champion son Montjeu a winner of both the 1999 Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and he would become the leading sire of France. Another exquisite son of Sadlers Wells who widely expanded Northern Dancer’s dominance was champion, Galileo, a winner of the Epsom Derby in 2001. He rivaled the remarkable longevity of his own sire as top stallion through 2020. Father and son combined for 26 years of dominance as leading sires in England and Ireland and provided their owner John Magnier’s bemouth breeding operation, Coolmore, and the prosperous racing stable with its key partners and longtime Irish champion trainer, Aidan O’Brien, with a firm foothold as the perennial leaders of the game.
Next in Northern Dancer’s extend ancestry came the fabulous, Frankel, the undefeated son of Galileo owned and bred by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah and his renowned Juddmonte Farm. Where Galileo left off as leading sire in 2020, Frankel stepped up in 2021 as top sire in England and Ireland and next took leading sire honours in France in 2022 on the strength of his daughter Alpinista’s dramatic win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The rampage of Frankel Group 1 winners at Royal Ascot 2023 was fascinating to experience. In the opening event, the Queen Anne Stakes, all eyes were on Frankel’s outstanding daughter, Inspiral, advancing on the rail. However, in the final strides Frankel’s son, Triple Time, on the outside stole the event with a late burst. The response from the crowd was subdued disbelief as they had allowed the winner to escape at 33-1. The next day, Mostahdaf, at 10-1 literally flew by the leaders to win easily and Frankel had another longshot Group 1 winner this time in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in front of King Charles III who had earlier held that Royal Title and Queen Camilla. Day three produced another amazing success when Frankel’s, Courage Mon Ami, also outran his odds to win the renowned Ascot Gold Cup at two and half miles. Frankel was again atop the rankings in England and Ireland in 2023. It was a year in which a champion son from his initial crop, Cracksman, sired the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, Ace Impact, beating out two sons of Frankel, Westover and Onesto for the top prize. The Northern Dancer ripple effect remains influential on the race course and importantly in the breeding shed.
A recent foray to meet Frankel at Juddmonte’s Banstead Manor Stud Farm on the eastern outskirts of Newmarket passed right by Beech House Stud, the former home of, Nearco, and his current resting place. Frankel is great-great- great- grandson of Nearco. A multiple Group 1 winning son of Frankel, Moustahdaf, recently took up stud duty at Beech House. For all the worldly influence that was initiated by, Nearco, and propitiously propelled by, Northern Dancer, to have, Frankel, such a potent source of the continuing line sequestered only a few furlongs from where it gathered momentum is truly amazing,
