Saudi-owned Dancing Brave, legendary jockey Frankie Dettori inducted into racing hall of fame

LONDON: Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori and Saudi-owned racehorse Dancing Brave were officially inducted into Britain’s flat racing Hall of Fame at Newmarket racecourse on Saturday.

Dancing Brave’s induction coincided with the start of this year’s QIPCO British Champions Series and this Saturday’s running of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, a race he famously won 36 years ago for his owner, the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, during a stellar career.

Simon Mockridge receiving DANCING BRAVE’s QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame medal. @NewmarketRace | #QIPCOGuineas pic.twitter.com/lzzyFIAViN

— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) April 30, 2022

Prince Khalid, who passed away in January last year, had several success stories as the owner of the hugely accomplished Juddmonte Farms breeding operation, but Dancing Brave stands out as one of his finest.

In a career that lasted from the autumn of 1985 to Oct. 1986, he won eight of his 10 races — including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Eclipse Stakes, and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Trained under the modern techniques and watchful eye of trainer Guy Harwood, Dancing Brave also ran to a second-place finish in the Epsom Derby and was named the British Horse of the Year as well as the outstanding European racehorse of 1986.

Of the horse that brought him so much success, Harwood explained what made Dancing Brave stand out from the crowd, often against the odds.

“He obviously had a big heart, and big lungs,” he said. “But he had enormous ability. Everything he did, he did with great ease, he was very easy to train, he ate well, he did well and he was a great pleasure to be around.

“What did he do differently to other horses? He just had