| Norcliffe | |
|---|---|
 Norcliffe, oil on canvas painted byBob Demuyser (1920-2003) | |
| Sire | Buckpasser |
| Grandsire | Tom Fool |
| Dam | Drama School |
| Damsire | Northern Dancer |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1973 |
| Country | Canada |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | E. P. Taylor |
| Owner | Norcliffe Stable (Charles F. Baker) |
| Trainer | Roger Attfield |
| Record | 33: 14-8-3 |
| Earnings | $434,066 |
| Major wins | |
| Coronation Futurity Stakes (1975) Plate Trial Stakes (1976) Carling O'Keefe Invitational Handicap (1976, 1977) Colonel R. S. McLaughlin Handicap (1976) Canadian Maturity Stakes (1977) Canadian Triple Crown series: | |
| Awards | |
| Canadian Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1976) Canadian Horse of the Year (1976) Canadian Champion Older Male Horse (1977) | |
| Honours | |
| Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (2005) | |
| Last updated on September 17, 2006 | |
Norcliffe (1973–1984) was a CanadianHall of FameThoroughbredracehorse. He was sired byU.S. Hall of Fame ChampionBuckpasser out of the mare Drama School byNorthern Dancer.
Owned by the Norcliffe Stable ofCharles F. Baker, Chairman of the Board of theOntario Jockey Club, Norcliffe was trained byRoger Attfield.[1] Ridden by jockeyJeffrey Fell, Norcliffe won two of the first three legs of the 1976Canadian Triple Crown races on dirt atWoodbine Racetrack, capturing theQueen's Plate and thePrince of Wales Stakes. TheBreeders' Stakes, the final leg, is a race run on thegrass course atFort Erie Race Track and Norcliffe finished fifth.[2] Norcliffe earned1976 Horse of the Year honours inCanada.[3] In 1977 he earned aSovereign Award as top older horse and was elected to theCanadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2005.[3][4]
Retired tostud at the end of the 1977 racing season, Norcliffe wasNorth America's leading juvenile sire by number of wins and second in earnings in 1981.[4] He siredGroovy who was voted the 1987Eclipse Award forAmerican Champion Sprint Horse and who was a Texas State Champion twice.[5]
Another successful son of Norcliffe wasAt the Threshold, a 1981 foal out of the mare Winver. She was a daughter of Vertex, a multiple winner of top level stakes and the sire of1965 Kentucky Derby winnerLucky Debonair and 1968U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt,Top Knight. At the Threshold's wins include the Grade 1American Derby andArlington Classic Stakes, the Grade 2Ohio Derby and he ran third in the1984 Kentucky Derby. He also was the sire of1992 Kentucky Derby winnerLil E. Tee.[6][7]
| Sire Buckpasser | Tom Fool | Menow | Pharamond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcibiades | |||
| Gaga | Bull Dog | ||
| Alpoise | |||
| Busanda | War Admiral | Man o' War | |
| Brushup | |||
| Businesslike | Blue Larkspur | ||
| La Troienne | |||
| Dam Drama School | Northern Dancer | Nearctic | Nearco |
| Lady Angela | |||
| Natalma | Native Dancer | ||
| Almahmoud | |||
| Stalina | Stalino | Stardust | |
| Inkling | |||
| Boscabell | Fairford | ||
| Hellenize (family: 10-d) |