Dactylographer (21 April 1975 – 31 October 1996) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. From the first crop of the foals sired by Secretariat, he showed great promise as a two-year-old when he won two of his three races including the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

William Hill Futurity The Vertem Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), ...

. In the following year he finished third in the Derby Trial Stakes but finished unplaced in his three subsequent races. He later stood as a breeding stallion in Florida with limited success.

Background

Dactylographer was a bay horse with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and white markings on his hind feet, bred in Kentucky by the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos. He was from the first crop of foals sired by the 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. His dam, Artists Proof was a high class racemare who won the

Pocahontas Stakes The Pocahontas Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies over a distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. History The race was first held on Th ...

and finished third in the Kentucky Oaks. She was descended from the broodmare

Lalun Lalun (1952 – 1977) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful broodmare. Owned and bred by Harry Guggenheim, she was trained by Loyd Gentry, Jr. and under jockey Henry Moreno notably won the 1955 Kentucky Oaks and Beldame Stakes. ...

who won the Kentucky Oaks and produced both

Never Bend Never Bend (1960–1977) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1962 American Champion Two-Year-Old and later became a leading sire in England. Racing Career 1962: Two-year-old season Foaled at Claiborne Farm for owner/bre ...

and Bold Reason. Artists Proof was in foal (pregnant) to Secretariat when she was offered at the

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

Fall Breeding Stock Sale in November 1974 and was bought for $385,000 by Niarchos: Dactylographer was born the following April. The colt was sent to race in Europe and was trained throughout his racing career by Peter Walwyn at Lambourn.

Racing career

1977: two-year-old season

Dactylographer never contested a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

and began his racing career in the Philips Electrical Stakes over seven

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

at Ascot Racecourse in late September. He started slowly but finished well to take second place behind the

Jeremy Tree Arthur Jeremy Tree (21 December 1925 – 7 March 1993) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Background Born into a prominent London family, Tree was always known by his middle name, Jeremy. His father was Ronald Tree, an American-born ...

-trained Home Run, with the future

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

winner M-Lolshan in third. Fifteen days later he started favourite in a thirteen-runner field for the Sandwich Stakes over the same course and distance. After taking the lead a furlong and a half from the finish he drew away in the closing stages to win by four

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

from Valour, a colt who went on to win the Grosser Preis von Baden. His win was the first for Secretariat in Europe. At the end of October, Dactylographer was moved up in class for the

William Hill Futurity over one mile at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

. Ridden by

Pat Eddery Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...

, he started 100/30 second favourite behind Home Run in a twelve-runner field which also included

Ile de Bourbon Ile de Bourbon (1975–1997) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1977 until October 1979 he ran twelve times and won five races. His most important success came in July 1978 wh ...

Hawaiian Sound Hawaiian Sound (foaled 7 April 1975) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a fifteen-race career he won five times, including the Group One Benson and Hedges Gold Cup in 1978. The horse was also placed in seve ...

, Julio Mariner, Orange Marmelade (runner-up in the

Prix Saint-Roman The Prix Saint-Roman was a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. For much of its history it was run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles), and it was scheduled to take place each year in l ...

) and Whitstead (later to win the Great Voltigeur Stakes). Dactylographer took the lead three furlongs out, got the better of a sustained struggle with Home Run and held off the late challenge of Julio Mariner to win by a neck.

1978: three-year-old season

Dactylographer began his second season in the Derby Trial Stakes over one and a half miles on heavy ground at Lingfield Park in May and finished third behind Whitstead and Son Fils. At

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

in June he contested the King Edward VII Stakes and finished fifth behind

. He recorded his only success of the season in a minor race at Lingfield in August, winning by four lengths from the five-year-old Dutch Treat. On his final appearance he was moved up to one and three quarter miles for the

March Stakes The March Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

and finished fourth of the five runners behind

Le Moss Le Moss (3 April 1975 – 17 August 2000) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist stayer, he excelled at distances of two miles and beyond, winning eleven times from fifteen races between 1977 and 1980. He showed good form ...

Assessment

There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1977: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland, and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries. In the British Free Handicap, Sporting Yankee was given top-weight of 120 pounds, thirteen pounds behind the top-rated

Try My Best Try My Best (1975–1993) was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A son of Northern Dancer, he won the Dewhurst Stakes in 1978 and was the top-rated two-year-old in Britain and Ireland that year. Background Try M ...

. The independent Timeform organisation gave him a rating of 119, making him eleven pounds inferior Try My Best. In their annual ''Racehorses of 1977'' Timeform described him as a "tall, rather lightly made" juvenile who was likely make a good stayer. Timeform gave him a rating of 115 in 1978.

Stud record

After his retirement from racing, Dactylographer returned to the United States to become a breeding stallion and was based at Comfort Acre Farm in Florida. He later moved to the nearby Flying "M" Acres, where his handler described him as being "crazier than a bedbug". The most successful of his offspring was Ronbra whose 19 wins included the Grade III Pennsylvania Governors Cup. Dactylographer died at South Star Ranch in Texas on 31 October 1996 at the age of twenty-one.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1975 racehorse births 1996 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 19-b