Royal Charger

Royal Charger
Royal Charger
Sire	Nearco
Grandsire	Pharos
Dam	Sun Princess
Damsire	Solario
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1942
Country	Great Britain
Colour	Chestnut
Breeder	Sir John Jarvis
Owner	Sir John Jarvis; Irish National Stud (1946 at stud); George D. Widener, Jr.; (1953 at stud)
Trainer	Jack Jarvis
Record	20: 6-7-2
Earnings	£5,057
Major wins
	Queen Anne Stakes (1946); Challenge Stakes (1946); Ayr Gold Cup (1946)
	Last updated on 23 November 2006

Royal Charger (1942–1961) was a British Thoroughbred that was successful as a racehorse, but much more important as a sire.

Background[]

Royal Charger was a chestnut horse sired by the important stallion Nearco. His dam, Sun Princess, was a descendant of the famous broodmare Mumtaz Mahal. He was owned by Sir John Jarvis and trained by his unrelated namesake Jack Jarvis at Newmarket, Suffolk.^[1]

Racing career[]

Royal Charger failed to win as a two-year-old in 1944, but showed some promise when twice finishing second. As a three-year-old, he finished third in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on 9 May, beaten a neck and two lengths by Court Martial and Dante.^[2] Later that year, he was placed in the Duke of York Stakes and won the Challenge Stakes.

As a four-year-old, Royal Charger won the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Ayr Gold Cup (carrying 133 pounds).^[3]

Stud career[]

Retired after his four-year-old racing season in 1946, Royal Charger was sold to the Irish National Stud for £52,000.^[4] There, he sired a number of important horses before being purchased in 1953 by American George D. Widener, Jr., who brought him to stand at his Old Kenney Farm (now Green Gates Farm) in Lexington, Kentucky. A three-quarters brother to the important sire Nasrullah, which also was brought to Kentucky from England, Royal Charger sired more than 55 stakes winners. Among his Irish progeny was Turn-To, which also was sent to the U.S., where he was the leading juvenile sire in 1958, notably through his colt First Landing. Other offspring included:

Copenhagen, four-time leading sire in New Zealand
Happy Laughter, winner of the 1953 1000 Guineas
Gilles de Retz, winner of the 1956 2000 Guineas
Idun, 1957 U.S. Champion two-year-old filly and the 1958 U.S. Champion three-year-old filly
Mongo, the 1963 U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse
, Phoenix Stakes, Lowther Stakes
, the 1959 U.S. Champion three-year-old filly, 1960 U.S. Champion Handicap Mare
Royal Orbit, Preakness Stakes
, Nunthorpe Stakes
, Nunthorpe Stakes, Hollywood Gold Cup
, Irish 2000 Guineas, Irish St Leger

In addition, Royal Charger was an important broodmare sire of more than 70 stakes winners, including Crowned Prince, the 1971 Champion two-year-old colt in England; the 1969 U.S. Champion two-year-old filly, Tudor Queen; and U.S. Hall of Famer Majestic Prince.

Royal Charger died in November 1961 and was buried at Old Kenney Farm in Lexington.

Pedigree[]

Pedigree of Royal Charger^[5]
Sire Nearco	Pharos	Phalaris	Polymelus
		Phalaris	Bromus
		Scapa Flow	Chaucer
		Scapa Flow	Anchora
		Havresac
		Havresac	Hors Concours
		Catnip	Spearmint
		Catnip	Sibola
Dam Sun Princess	Solario	Gainsborough	Bayardo
		Gainsborough	Rosedrop
		Sun Worship
		Sun Worship	Doctrine
	Mumtaz Begum	Blenheim	Blandford
		Blenheim	Malva
		Mumtaz Mahal	The Tetrarch
		Mumtaz Mahal	Lady Josephine

References[]

^ Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.
^ "Papers Past — Evening Post — 10 May 1945 — ENGLISH CLASSIC". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1945-05-10. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ McLean, Ken (April 2006). Designing Speed in the Racehorse – Ken McLean – Google Books. ISBN 9780929346809. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ "Dáil Éireann – Volume 136 – 10 February, 1953 – Committee on Finance – Adjournment Debate—Purchase of Racehorse". Historical-debates.oireachtas.ie. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
^ http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm?page_state=ORDER_AND_CONFIRM&reference_number=426489&registry=T&horse_name=*Royal%20Charger&dam_name==Sun%20Princess%20(GB)&foaling_year=1942&nicking_stats_indicator=Y

[Mortimer-1] Mortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane’s. ISBN 0-354-08536-0.

[2] "Papers Past — Evening Post — 10 May 1945 — ENGLISH CLASSIC". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1945-05-10. Retrieved 2011-12-09.

[3] McLean, Ken (April 2006). Designing Speed in the Racehorse – Ken McLean – Google Books. ISBN 9780929346809. Retrieved 2011-12-09.

[4] "Dáil Éireann – Volume 136 – 10 February, 1953 – Committee on Finance – Adjournment Debate—Purchase of Racehorse". Historical-debates.oireachtas.ie. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2011-12-09.

[5] ttp://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm?page_state=ORDER_AND_CONFIRM&reference_number=426489&registry=T&horse_name=*Royal%20Charger&dam_name==Sun%20Princess%20(GB)&foaling_year=1942&nicking_stats_indicator=Y

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