Bay Ronald, foaled 3 May 1893, at Leybourne Grange Stud in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse that had a huge impact on the breeding of sport horses, mainly through his son

Dark Ronald Dark Ronald was an English bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire with a global influence on the breeding of Thoroughbreds and sport horses, with many show jumpers tracing back to him. Breeding The sire of Dark Ronald, Bay Ronald, was a moderate ...

and grandson

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Tedd ...

, and also carried on his lines in theThoroughbred racing world, through his son Bayardo. He appears in the pedigrees of many

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

, and

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

horses today.

Breeding

The sire of Bay Ronald, Hampton, also sired four classic winners:

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Merry Hampton Merry Hampton (foaled 1884) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1887 to 1888 he ran four times and won once in a career that was restricted by injuries and training difficulties. His sole victory came on h ...

, Reve d'Or, and Ladas (who won The Derby). His dam Black Duchess only won one small race, but she did produce Black Cherry who was the dam of Cherry Lass (

1,000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

and

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

), Blanche (the dam of

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and i ...

) and Jean's Folly (dam of Night Hawk, winner of the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

).Leicester, Sir Charles, ''Bloodstock Breeding'', J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969 Bay Ronald's dam-sire, Galliard, won the

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

Racing career

As a two-year-old, Bay Ronald started five times, finishing third in one race. As a three-year-old, he started eight times, winning two races: the Limekiln Stakes (one mile) and the

Lowther Stakes The Lowther Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old fillies. It is run at York over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each ...

(1½ miles) held at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. He finished fifth behind

Persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...

in The Derby after disputing the lead until the last two furlongs. At four, he had one win out of six starts, at the 1½ mile

Hardwicke Stakes The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and ...

. He also placed second at the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

, and third in the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

. As a five-year-old he improved slightly, winning two out of seven starts: the

City and Suburban Handicap The City and Suburban Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) at Epsom in April duri ...

(1¼ miles) and the Epsom Gold Cup, carrying 132 pounds. Urged by thus success, his owner decided to enter him in the 2½ mile

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

. However, the distance was too great, and he did not finish well. Despite this, Bay Ronald came out the next day to place second in the Hardwicke Stakes. The 1889 season was to be his last on the track. Bay Ronald had a moderate racing career. In his 26 starts he won five times and placed three times. He was retired to stud having won £6,443.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), ''Thoroughbred Breeding of the World'', Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970

Stud record

Bay Ronald first stood at Preston Farm in 1899. Due to his rather unimpressive record, his stud fee for the first season was 25 guineas, and free to mares who had already produced winners. During his time at stud in England, he bred few mares—less than 20 each year—and they were generally of poor quality. Later, his stud fee would reach 100 guineas. Five of his first crop of foals went on to win as two-year-olds. His second crop included the Rous Memorial Stakes winner, Wild Oats, and six other winners. One of these winners was MacDonald II, a colt out of a French mare, who went on to be quite successful. Bay Ronald's third crop, who began racing in 1905, were less impressive. However, it was at this time that his son, MacDonald II, began to show his talent. He left behind his fourth crop, including then-yearling

, and fifth crop, which produced his son, Bayardo, when he left for Cheri Halbronn's stud. Bay Ronald was placed second and third on the sires list before being sold for £5,000 to France. In France, Bay Ronald produced some good horses, including Combourg, Greffulhe, Fidia and also Rondeau, the dam of the influential

. Bay Ronald tended to pass on his stoutness. He was the most influential of the Hampton sons, and his offspring continued the Hampton sire line.

Progeny

* Bayardo: 22 wins out of 25 starts, including the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

, Limekiln Stakes and

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...

. Sired the filly

Bayuda The Bayuda Desert, located at , is in the eastern region of the Sahara Desert, spanning approximately 100,000 km2 of northeast Sudan north of Omdurman and south of Korti, embraced by the great bend of the Nile in the north, east and south a ...

(winner of The Oaks), and sires ''two'' English triple crown winners:

Gay Crusader Gay Crusader (1914–1932) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won a wartime version of the English Triple Crown in 1917. In a career which lasted from September 1916 and October 1917 he ran ten times and won eight races, includ ...

and

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

. *Combourg: won the Prix Royal-Oak and the

Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to take ...

: a very influential son of Bay Ronald, sire of

Son-In-Law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this count ...

, who is found in the pedigrees of many top sport horses in the world today. *Fidia: won the

Gran Premio di Milano The Gran Premio di Milano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June. The event w ...

(Italy) * Greffulhe: won the

Prix Noailles The Prix Noailles is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlon ...

Macdonald II Macdonald, MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: Organisations * McDonald's, a chain of fast food restaurants * McDonald & Co., a former investment firm * MacDonald Motorsports, a NASCAR team * Macdonald Realty, a Canadian real estate brokerage f ...

: winner of the Prix de Sablonville, the

Prix du Conseil Municipal The Prix du Conseil de Paris is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles), and it is sche ...

, the

Prix Royal-Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), and ...

, the

Fürstenberg-Rennen The Fürstenberg-Rennen is a Group 3 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at a variety of German racecourses, over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in Au ...

(Germany), and two-time winner of the Prix Boiard. Finished second in the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

. Sired As d'Atout (winner of the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it ...

). * Rondeau: dam of the stallion

, who was very influential in Germany, France, Britain, the US, and Italy. *Many other fillies by Dark Ronald went on to notable success.

Sport horse breeding

Bay Ronald had the greatest influence on the

sport horse A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...

breeding industry through his son Dark Ronald and grandson Teddy. Overall, the number of top sport horses who feature him in their lineage is spectacular. He is especially prominent in sport horses of

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

breeding, such as many of the top eventers. Teddy is seen in the pedigrees of Matcho AA, and eventers Dr. Peaches, and

The Gray Goose The Gray Goose was a horse ridden by American eventer Kim Walnes. At one point, the pair was ranked third in the world. Kim Walnes first met The Gray Goose at a local riding stable in Ireland, when he was a three-year-old. They were separated f ...

. Dark Ronald is seen in the pedigrees of World Cup I, and his brothers, the Hanoverian Werther (in which Dark Ronald appears twice), the great

Pik As Pik As (Ace of Spades) was a Thoroughbred stallion who was a very influential sport horse sire, especially in show jumping. Pik As was most known for his ability as a sire, passing on his beautiful movement and a great jumping ability. Pik As s ...

, Valentino xx, Waidmannsdank xx, Lord,

Son-in-Law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this count ...

(great grand-sire to Cottage Son), and Ladykiller xx (who has had a fantastic influence on the Holstein breed).

Cor de la Bryere Cor de la Bryère (23 April 1968 – 27 April 2000), nicknamed "Corde", is one of the most influential sires in modern warmblood breeding. He is known as the "Reserve Stallion of the Century", second only to Landgraf I. He stood . Pedigree Cor d ...

and Landgraf I were also linebred to him. Dark Ronald is also featured in the pedigrees of

Furioso Furioso may refer to: Horses * Furioso, a Hungarian Thoroughbred stallion foaled in 1836, foundation stallion of the ** Furioso or Furioso-North Star horse breed of Hungary * Furioso (horse), a British Thoroughbred stallion foaled in 1939 * Furi ...

, Beau Pere (progeny include international jumpers White Lightning and Encore (winner of the Grand Prix at Fontainebleau and a USET team member), eventer Landlady, two-time American invitational winner Sundancer, Canadian equestrian team member Easy Doc, and British equestrian team member Turn on the Sun), Der Loewe (in the pedigree of such horses as

Salinero IPS Salinero (formerly ''Keltec'' Salinero and ''Gestion'' Salinero; 6 May 1994 – December 2022) was a horse ridden by the Dutch equestrian Anky van Grunsven in the sport of dressage. When Sjef Janssen noticed the potential the hors ...

, Arko, and

Brentina Brentina (foaled May 29, 1991) was an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She was owned by E. Parry Thomas.

), and dressage stallion

Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

(sire of

Brentano II Brentano II is an influential stallion who has sired several dressage horses. His offspring include the Olympic medalist Brentina, and now-deceased Poetin. Breeding Brentano II is by the stallion Bolero, who was a very successful dressage h ...

, grand-sire of

Poetin Poetin (1997 - December 2005) was a world-class dressage horse that was the 2003 World Young Dressage Horse Champion in the six-year-old division, and sold for a record amount at the PSI Auction in Germany. Breeding Poetin was of excellent blo ...

and Brentina). Top eventers with Dark Ronald include Shear Leau and Bally Cor (both through Son-in-Law). Through his son Bayardo, Bay Ronald also had an influence on sport horse breeding. Bayardo produced English Triple Crown winner

, who sired the small colt Hyperion. Hyperion is found in the pedigrees of many sport horses, including the show jumpers Carling King, Jet Run, Pan American silver medalist A Little Bit, Encore (who also went back to Bay Ronald through Dark Ronald), Canadian equestrian team horse Stoic,

Anne Kursinski Anne Kindig Kursinski (born April 16, 1959) is an American showjumper and two-time Olympic silver medalist in team jumping, at Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Representing the United States, she was a member of five Olympic teams, forty-seven Nat ...

's jumper Eros, and USET jumper Aberali. Hyperion's dressage offspring include Pion, and the influential sire Lauries Crusador (who produced 2000 World Young Dressage Horse Champion Laurentianer, and Londonderry, winner of the jumping class for 4-year-olds at the 1999 at the Bundeschampionate). He is also in the pedigree of eventers

Charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

Winsome Adante Winsome Andante (April 6, 1993 - September 25, 2019) was an English imported crossbred eventer (84.5% Thoroughbred, 9.5% Arabian, and 6% Irish) who competed successfully to the highest levels of the sport of eventing. His rider, Kimberl ...

Eagle Lion Eagle Lion 1985-2013 was an event horse that has competed at the highest level of the sport with great success. He stood 16.1 hh (169 cm). Eagle Lion was out of the famous mare Stream Lion, a producer of excellent event horses, incl ...

, Biko, and Sandrift, and the great sire of eventers Ben Faerie (sire of Priceless and Walk on Star, dam-sire of

Primmore's Pride Primmore's Pride was a 7/8 Thoroughbred gelding. He was foaled in 1993, the offspring of Mayhill (sire) and Primmore Hill (dam). He was owned by Denise & Roger Lincoln and ridden by Pippa Funnell, who achieved the Grand Slam of eventing in 200 ...

). Both Bayardo and Teddy are seen in the pedigrees of many horses, many times through the stallion

Djebel : ''For mountains or other uses, see: Jabal.'' Djebel (1937–1958) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse, who won 15 of 22 races during 1939–1942 including the Prix d'Essai, 2000 Guineas and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was later a leading s ...

. These horses include Bolero (sire of Brentano II, Brentina, and many others) and

My Babu My Babu (1945–1970) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most influential sires in American breeding of show jumpers, eventers and hunters. His descendants include Bruce Davidson's former eventing mount JJ Babu, ...

(grandsire of eventer

JJ Babu JJ Babu was a Thoroughbred gelding that excelled in the sport of eventing, under American rider Bruce Davidson (equestrian), Bruce Davidson. JJ Babu was purchased by Davidson as a yearling. He was not only a good-looking horse, but was well-temp ...

and many others). Bayardo and Teddy are also seen in the pedigree of

Might Tango Might Tango (1971 - 1995) was a top eventing horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. ...

. Both Dark Ronald and Teddy are seen in the pedigree of Donnerwetter (the sire of the enormously influential

Donnerhall Donnerhall (May 31, 1981 – January 14, 2002) was a dressage stallion who was known not only for having a successful career as a sport horse, but also passing on his abilities to his offspring to become an influential sire. Pedigree Donnerhall w ...

) as well as the influential stallion Rantzau. All three are seen in the pedigree of the great eventer Prince Panache (through Son-in-Law and My Babu), and the pedigree of

Tamarillo The tamarillo (''Solanum betaceum'') is a small tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Solanaceae (the nightshade family). It is best known as the species that bears the tamarillo, an egg-shaped edible fruit. It is also known as the tree ...

has Bay Ronald featured almost 30 times, mostly through Bayardo and Teddy, but also through Dark Ronald and Macdonald.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist
Complete profile for Bay Ronald at Thoroughbred Heritage
1893 racehorse births 1907 racehorse deaths Sport horse sires Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 3-o