Dust Commander (February 8, 1967 – October 7, 1991) was an American Thoroughbred race horse .
21-619: The name "Dust Commander" is derived from his dam, Dust Storm, and his sire, Bold Commander. A descendant of Nearco , Dust Commander was bred by the Pullen brothers. He was owned by Robert E. Lehmann and trained by Don Combs. His dam Dust Storm was descended from the American broodmare Laughing Queen (foaled 1929) who was also the female-line ancestor of Tom Fool . In a 3-year racing career, Dust Commander had 8 wins, 5 places and 4 shows in 42 starts. He finished his career with $ 215,012 in winnings. Some of
42-562: A sire, first in England and then in America. Nasrullah's important sire sons include: Royal Charger's most important son was Turn-To , whose most important sire sons were Halo and Roberto . Halo was the sire of dual classic winner Sunday Silence , who then became the leading sire in Japan from 1995 through 2007. Sunday Silence is the sire of numerous Japanese champions including Deep Impact , and
63-578: Is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2022) champion is Dubawi, who earned his first title after finishing runner-up multiple times. Unlike the similar title for leading sire in North America , the stallion in question does not need to have resided in Great Britain or Ireland during his stud career, although
84-557: Is the grandsire of the top-rated horse of 2014 Just A Way . Nearctic is principally known as the sire of Northern Dancer , who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before becoming one of the dominant sires of the late 20th century. Northern Dancer sired numerable sons who themselves went on to become outstanding sires, principally Nijinsky , Lyphard , Nureyev , Storm Bird , Danzig and Sadler's Wells . The Northern Dancer sire line accounts for hundreds of major winners from around
105-501: The Epsom Derby winners Arctic Prince (1948) and Tulyar (1952). Nearco died from cancer on 27 June 1957, and was buried at Beech House Stud. Nearco's legacy primarily comes from three of his sons, Nasrullah, Royal Charger and Nearctic, although several other sons also sired important winners. In all, more than 100 of Nearco's sons have stood at stud around the world. Nasrullah was the first son of Nearco to distinguish himself as
126-469: The colt would not have enough stamina to last the classic distances. Tesio later wrote in his stud book, "Not a true stayer, though he won up to 3,000 meters... He won these longer races by his superb class and brilliant speed." In 1938, Nearco again won all seven starts and was named Italian champion three-year-old and Horse of the Year. His races were as follows: Nearco retired undefeated after 14 races. With
147-422: The distaff side, Mr. Prospector's dam Gold Digger is a great-granddaughter of Nearco through Nasrullah and Nashua, Sweet Tooth a great-granddaughter through Nasrullah and On-and-On, and Fairy Bridge a great-great-great-granddaughter through Royal Charger, Turn-To, Hail to Reason, and Bold Reason(and her dam also has a maternal line to Nearco). Fairway and Pharos were full brothers by leading sire Phalaris out of
168-411: The first nine horses to earn over $ 10,000,000 in stakes wins. These horses are Deep Impact , Makybe Diva , Narita Brian , Sunline , Symboli Kris S , T M Opera O , Viva Pataca , and Vodka . According to France Galop , from 1985 through to 2010, every Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner can trace a bloodline back to Nearco, through his son Nasrullah and / or his grandson Northern Dancer. Including
189-613: The great broodmare Scapa Flow. Fairway was the more successful racehorse, whose wins included the St Leger and Eclipse Stakes, and also initially was the more successful sire, leading the sire list in Great Britain four times. Pharos was a solid racehorse, winning multiple stakes races and finishing second in the Derby. Pharos also proved himself as a sire, leading the British sire list in 1931. Tesio originally wished to breed his mare Nogara to Fairway, but
210-624: The greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 1000m (5 furlongs) to 3000m (1 mile 7 furlongs), including the Derby Italiano and Grand Prix de Paris. He was then sold for a record amount to Martin H. Benson and stood stud in England, where he became the patriarch of several of the most dominant sire lines in Thoroughbred history. Nearco
231-591: The highlights of his career include winning as a 2-year-old the City of Miami Beach Handicap and as a 3-year-old the Blue Grass Stakes , a Kentucky Derby prep race. On May 2, 1970, with Mike Manganello aboard, Dust Commander won the 96th running of the Kentucky Derby in 2:03.4 ahead of My Dad George and High Echelon. Hunter S. Thompson 's seminal 1970 essay " The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved " detailed
SECTION 10
#1733093416492252-822: The influence of the daughters from his sire line, it is increasingly rare to find a Thoroughbred without some trace of Nearco in its pedigree. For example, while 2023 Preakness Stakes winner National Treasure comes from the rival Mr. Prospector sire line, in the fifth generation of National Treasure's pedigree Mr. Prospector's sire Raise a Native appears twice, while Secretariat (great-grandson of Nearco through Nasrullah and Bold Ruler) and Sir Ivor (great-great-grandson through Royal Charger, Turn-To, and Sir Gaylord) both appear twice and Northern Dancer (grandson through Nearctic) appears three times. Nijinsky (a son of Northern Dancer), Red God (a son of Nasrullah), Bold Bidder (a son of Bold Ruler), and Rich Gift (great-grandson of Nearco through Nasrullah and Princely Gift) each appear once. On
273-534: The political turmoil and the possibility of war caused by Benito Mussolini aligning Italy with Nazi Germany , Federico Tesio sold Nearco in 1938 to Martin H. Benson of Beech House Stud in Newmarket , England , for £60,000 (a world record for a sire in those days; equivalent to £4,839,000 in 2023). The potential importance of Nearco's progeny was forecast in the provision of a bomb shelter to ensure his survival should Newmarket be subject to an air raid. Nearco
294-549: The running of the Derby won by Dust Commander. Standing at stud , Dust Commander sired the 1975 Preakness Stakes winner, Master Derby . In 2006, the family of the late Robert E. Lehmann donated Dust Commander's Kentucky Derby Trophy to the Kentucky Derby Museum . Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown winners, ♥ = Filly Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian -bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of
315-399: The vast majority have done so. Northern Dancer is the most notable example of a North American-based stallion who won this title. The Northern Dancer sire line has dominated the list for the last several decades, mostly through his son Sadler's Wells (14 titles) and grandson Galileo (12 titles). Most championships: Excluding any championships by the foundation stallions themselves,
336-1032: The world, particularly in Europe. His modern descendants include Justify , Galileo , Ouija Board , Sea the Stars , Black Caviar , Frankel and Treve . Several of Nearco's male-line descendants were ranked among the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse : #2 Secretariat , #9 Seattle Slew , #10 Spectacular Bid , #18 Cigar , #19 Bold Ruler , #24 Nashua , #31 Sunday Silence , #35 Ruffian , #43 Northern Dancer , #57 Riva Ridge , #58 Slew o' Gold , #69 Noor , #70 Shuvee , #72 Go For Wand , #76 Lady's Secret , #82 Miesque , #85 Lure , #86 Fort Marcy , #90 Davona Dale , #95 Bayakoa and #97 Foolish Pleasure . Other notable male-line descendants were Ballymoss , Arkle , Never Say Die , Royal Palace , Better Loosen Up , Sir Ivor , Invasor , Wise Dan , and Summer Breeze. Sireline descendants of Nearco include eight of
357-544: Was a "weedy" foal by Epsom Derby winner Spearmint. Purchased by Tesio at the Newmarket sales for just 75 guineas, Catnip went on to produce multiple stakes winners and stakes producers. Nearco was inbred 5 x 4 x 4 x 5 to St. Simon , meaning St. Simon appears twice in the fourth generation and twice again in the fifth generation of his pedigree. Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland
378-655: Was bred in Italy by Federico Tesio , who also bred several other champions including the undefeated Ribot . His dam was the excellent racemare Nogara, who had won the Italian 1000 and 2000 guineas and was Italian champion filly at ages two and three. In 1934, Tesio wished to breed Nogara to the leading English sire Fairway , but was unable to obtain a nomination. Therefore, Tesio chose to breed Nogara to Fairway's full brother, Pharos . Nearco stood just over 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) and had nearly perfect conformation. He
399-513: Was known for his fiery temperament and explosive turn of foot, traits he passed on to many of his descendants. After retiring to stud, Nearco could only be handled by his groom Ernie Lee. In 1937, Nearco won all seven of his starts on his way to being named Italian champion two-year-old. His races were as follows: In his 1986 book Makers of the Modern Thoroughbred , Peter Willett wrote that Tesio tried to sell Nearco at two, believing that
420-448: Was one of the top 10 sires in England for 15 years. He was the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1947 and, depending on the source, either 1948 or 1949 or both. From 482 named foals, he sired 273 winners (56.6%) and 87 stakes winners (18.0%). His major stakes winners include: Nearco was also the damsire of the French multiple Group One winner Charlottesville , and damsire of
441-439: Was unable to obtain a nomination so bred her to Pharos instead. Nearco's dam Nogara was only 15.1 hands (61 inches, 155 cm) but became a champion on the racetrack and then an outstanding broodmare. In addition to Nearco, she produced seven other winners, including Derby Italiano winner Niccolo dell'Arca, Oaks d'Italia winner Nervesa, and stakes winners Nakamuro, Naucide and Niccolo d'Arezzo. Nogara's dam Catnip
SECTION 20
#1733093416492#491508