Ron Turcotte had his doubts.
As a young apprentice jockey in 1963, his first impression of Northern Dancer was that the two-year-old bay horse was too small to be successful in the biggest races. Boy, was he in for the surprise of a lifetime.
“The way he moved, he was kind of dogging it with the other horses and he wasn’t pulling away,” Turcotte, now 83, told the Star in a phone conversation from his home in Grand Falls, N.B., recalling the early days of the legendary Canadian thoroughbred.
“I tapped him and when I did, boy, he just took off like a rocket, and that’s when I was like: yup, that’s a great one. I knew from then on that Northern Dancer was the best horse.”
Northern Dancer went on to not only win several prestigious races, but also establish a legendary pedigree.
According to Jockey Club records, Northern Dancer sired 411 race winners (63.7 per cent) — including 147 stakes champions (22.8 per cent) — among 645 foals.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Northern Dancer winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Queen’s Plate (now the King’s Plate). His impact is still felt today.
The 165th Plate will be run Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack, and all 13 starters are descendants of Northern Dancer. At the Kentucky Derby in May, eight entries had Dancer bloodlines.
We want to launch @WoodbineTB Week with something pretty cool. How about Northern Dancer in the 1964 Queen's Plate? Cool enough for you? Keep your eyes here all week for more great Woodbine memories! https://t.co/8PnyhTKjDN
— HRRN (@HRRN) August 12, 2024
Success on the track didn’t come as a surprise to Turcotte, who rode a two-year-old Northern Dancer in 1963 and won the Coronation Futurity Stakes in New York. (The horse also won Canada’s Summer Stakes and Remsen Stakes that season).
“He didn’t have the size and wasn’t tall (about 157 centimetres), but he was a broad and very powerful horse,” he said.
Born in 1961 and bred at Windfields Farm nursery in Oshawa, Northern Dancer was sired by Nearctic (also a Canadian Hall of Fame thoroughbred) and a direct descendant of the legendary Nearco from Italy (considered one of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century.)
One year after taking top two-year-old colt honours in Canada, Northern Dancer’s best season included victories in the first two jewels of the American thoroughbred Triple Crown (the Derby and Preakness), earning the nod as Canadian horse of the year and top U.S. three-year-old colt. Northern Dancer failed to complete the coveted Triple Crown, running third in the Belmont Stakes, but was celebrated across Canada and owner E.P. Taylor received the key to the city in Toronto.
Tom Cosgrove first met Northern Dancer in 1967, three years after the stallion retired from racing and was put to stud. Cosgrove, then 19, took care of horses and stalls at Windfields Farm.
“The first time I saw him he was actually in the stall. It was a very hot afternoon and they tuck them in the stall just because it’s cooler, and I was just struck by his physical presence,” said Cosgrove.
“He was built like a tank. He wasn’t the biggest horse — he was a very small horse actually — but he had a very wide chest and his muscle tone was unbelievable, like he just stepped out of the equine gym … Knowing who he was and all his resumé of greatness, his whole story (of establishing a legendary lineage) was one of little surprise.”
Cosgrove spent decades taking care of horses and said Northern Dancer benefited from living in a country with plenty of fresh water, which allowed horses to get “exceptional care.” But there was more to it: “Northern Dancer was great because he knew he was great. He was the very first one taken out in the morning to the paddock, and he was the last one to come in.”
The champion thoroughbred also developed a “feisty character,” probably as a result of being small and having to fight for his place in the echelons of horses.
“When his saddle broke, he practically dropped every rider that was on his back,” said Cosgrove.
Northern Dancer was euthanized on Nov. 16, 1990 in Maryland after suffering from heart complications and abdominal pain. He was repatriated and buried at Windfields Farm in Oshawa. But his bloodlines remain strong.
“The tentacles just keep reaching everywhere and they are as vivid today as they were when he first started … His pedigree is six or seven generations. He’s off the page,” said Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Bannon. “He’s a great Canadian sports hero and he far transcends racing. He was in 1964 what Summer McIntosh is currently, and he did it for the next 60 years.”
Cosgrove added that many of Northern Dancer’s sons — including Nijinsky, Storm Bird, Nureyev, Saddler’s Wells and The Minstrel — went on to become successful studs in their own right.
“His legacy will never end … He’s got the entire field.”
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation