Dark Ronald (1905 – 1928) was an English bred

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 and sire with a global influence on the breeding of Thoroughbreds and

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 ...

s, with many show jumpers tracing back to him.

Breeding

The sire of Dark Ronald,

Bay Ronald Bay Ronald, foaled 3 May 1893, at Leybourne Grange Stud in Kent, England) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that had a huge impact on the breeding of sport horses, mainly through his son Dark Ronald and grandson Teddy, and also carried on his lines in ...

, was a moderate handicap racehorse and a useful sire. He produced two other notable sons:

Bayardo Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) *Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places *Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood *Bayard, Io ...

and

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 ...

. Bayardo went on to be one of the greatest runners of his time, and a sire of two

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

winners. Macdonald II was a very successful runner in France. Bay Ronald also sired the filly Rondeau, the dam of the very significant sire

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 ...

(that sired, among others, Athelstan, Ortello,

Sir Gallahad III Sir Gallahad (1920–1949) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and an extremely important sire in the United States. Racing career Racing at age two in France for his British breeder/owner, Jefferson Davis Cohn, Sir Gallahad earned victory in ...

, Case Ace, and Sun Teddy). His dam, Darkie, was a poor performer on the turf with only two placings, both as a two-year-old. Foaled in 1905, Dark Ronald was purchased at the Doncaster sales as a yearling for 1,300 guineas, by breeder

Sir Abe Bailey Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by birth while his ...

Racing record

At age two, Dark Ronald had two starts, winning his first in the five-furlong Hurst Park Foal Plate, and finishing second in the Lingfield Park Foal Plate. In the latter, he pulled up lame. Both front tendons were fired, and he was rested for two years at Sir Bailey's farm in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Returning to England as a four-year-old, he ran in the Newbury Spring Cup, finishing unplaced. Following this, he had better success, winning the next three races in which he ran: the 10-furlong Durham Plate, the seven-furlong

Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to t ...

, and the 12-furlong

Princess of Wales's Stakes The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlo ...

. He finished third in his next race, the

Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 metr ...

, but yet again came back lame. His owner decided to retire him for breeding. In his seven starts, Dark Ronald had four wins and two places, and earned £8,288Leicester, Sir Charles, ''Bloodstock Breeding'', J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969 (besides landing a huge bet in the Royal Hunt Cup by winning some £100,000 for his owner).

Stud record

Dark Ronald first stood at Tickford Park in 1910 at a stud fee of £98 a mare. His first crop included the great racehorse and sire

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 ...

and

Ambassador IV An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, later sent to the United States, where he had a great influence on the American breeding industry. In his second crop, his get included

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. His final English crop, born after he was shipped overseas, included the great sire, Dark Legend, as well as

Brown Prince II Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

, and

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

, a leading sire in Australia. Dark Ronald's English progeny won more than 70 races and £30,000.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), ''Thoroughbred Breeding of the World'', Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 Dark Ronald was sent to the German National stud in June 1913, having been purchased by Burkhard von Oettingen. The stud was interested not only in producing horses for the racetrack, but also for

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport. ...

breeding. In Germany, Dark Ronald produced the excellent horses

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

, Herold, and

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

. In 1928, he died at the German National Stud, at the age of 23. Dark Ronald was the sire of: *

: sired the racehorses, Beau Pere, Foxlaw, Trimdon, Lady Juror. Very notable in warmblood breeding, his progeny included Maureen, dam of the exceptional

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 ...

. *Ambassador IV: winner of the July Stakes. In America, produced several horses that were successful two-year-olds, including Constancy and St. James (great-grandsire of

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

and To Market). *Brown Prince II: winner of the Cambridgeshire Stakes and Jockey Club Cup. Was exported to America, where he sired Brown Bud, sire of

Cinquepace The ''galliard'' (; french: gaillarde; it, gagliarda) was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Dance fo ...

. Also seen in the pedigree of

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

and

Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire. Background He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced Turn-To out ...

. *Dark Legend: sire of Duplex (winner of the Prix du Jockey Club), Fairy Legend, Mary Legend, Dark Lantern II, Dark Japan,

Galatea II Galatea (also known as Galatea II; 1936–1949) was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, broodmare, best known for winning two British Classic Races, Classics in 1939. The filly won three time ...

, Easton, Legend of France, and Rosy Legend (dam of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

and Sayajirao). *Herold: two-time leader of the sire list. Produced Alchimist and Arjaman (both German Derby winners). *Magpie: placed in the

Two Thousand 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 ...

. Exported to Australia, where he became the leading sire in 1929. *Popingaol: dam to

Pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

(winner of the Oaks), and

Book Law Book Law (1924 – 1944) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. The best female racehorse of her generation in Britain, she was noted for her courage and consistency and in her prime she was described as a "fighting machine". Sh ...

(winner of the St. Leger) *

: winner of Germany's Two Thousand Guineas and St. Leger, five-time leading sire in Germany. Sire of Oleander, who won 22 breeding championships. *

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Bongrace (winner of Doncaster Cup) *Wallenstein: number one on German sire list in 1930.

Influence on warmblood breeding

Dark Ronald was incredibly influential in warmblood breeding, especially in the

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

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 ...

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

, and Langraf I were all linebred to him. Other influential sires with Dark Ronald blood include: *

: (sire of 10 Olympic contenders in the Tokyo Games, and 30 international winners) * Cottage Son: grandson of Dark Ronald and an influential sire in warmblood breeding * Ladykiller xx *

Cor de la Bryère 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 ...

: the great jumping sire, through his sire Rantzau * Langraf I *Beau Pere: exported to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and later to America, he influenced the breeding of racehorses, jumpers, and eventers. Progeny include

Mary Chapot Mary Mairs-Chapot (born June 20, 1944) is an American equestrianism, equestrian. She competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1968 Summer Olympics. References

1944 births Living people American female equestrians Olympic equestrian ...

’s White Lightning, Katie Monahan’s Encore, Kerry Milikin's eventer Landlady, Sundancer (two-time winner of the American Invitational), Easy Doc (a member of the Canadian equestrian team), and Turn on the Sun (part of the British equestrian team). *

Der Löwe Der Löwe (1944–1973) was a successful stallion who had a great impact on the breeding of Warmbloods and is thought by some to be one of the most important post-war stallions to stand at stud. Early life Der Löwe, also spelled Der Loewe, was ...

*Abendfrieden: great-grandson of Dark Ronald, sired 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 ...

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 ...

: dressage stallion, 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 ...

, who sired

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

and was grandsire 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 ...

, foundation sire of a new B-line. *

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, ...

: great racehorse sire, also sired several phenomenal eventers, including Babu Dancer, sire of Bruce Davidson's mount

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 ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Thoroughbred Heritage: Dark Ronald
1905 racehorse births 1928 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Sport horse sires Thoroughbred family 9-b Chefs-de-Race