Born in 1983, Dancing Brave grew up in Kentucky and was trained in Britain. As a young horse, Dancing Brave did not particularly stand out. However, when the bay colt went for sale, James Delahooke knew he had a winner. James was one of the most prolific judges of winners at the time, and his opinion was enough to send the market into a spin. In an auction held at the Fasig Tipton Sales, the scout bought the horse when the hammer went down at $200,000. This was by no means considered expensive, and would soon be seen as one of the best bargains of the time. He belonged to Khalid Abdullah.
Career
His two year-old campaign did not exactly take the world by storm. He started out at the Dorking Stakes and then participated in the Soham House Stakes.
A year later, he kicked off his time as a champion by winning the 2000 guineas. Greville Starkey rode him in the 1986, and while Brave ran like the wind, he came in second to Shahrastani. At the King George, Dancing Brave managed to beat Shahrastani to the punch, exacting his revenge in the most spectacular of ways.
In the same year, Brave’s minders gave him some time on the sidelines so he could get ready for Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe . It was not an easy matchup, given that those who were challenging him for the trophy were proven winners and that it was his debut at Paris. His finish was the most spectacular and is considered one of the best sights in flat racing lore.
In the 10 races Brave ran, he managed an incredible 8 wins in quite a short career. At the time he retired, he had made his owners $1,776,723. As a stud, he was estimated at a value of $14 million.
Dancing Brave died in 1999.
