Natalma (March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985) was anAmerican-bredThoroughbredracehorse best known as the dam (mother) of the most importantsire, and sire of sires, of the late 20th Century,Northern Dancer. She also established a highly influential female family, which has produced other leading siresMachiavellian andDanehill, plus numerous other stakes winners. Natalma was inducted into theCanadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.

Bred inVirginia by Mrs. E. H. Augustus & Daniel G. Van Clief, Natalma was purchased by Canadian business mogulE. P. Taylor at theSaratoga, New York, yearling sales for $35,000 (equivalent to $380,000 in 2024). This was the second-highest price for a filly at that year's sale, a reflection of Natalma's excellent breeding. Her sire was the greatNative Dancer, and her dam was the highly influentialAlmahmoud. In addition to Natalma, Almahmoud also produced Cosmah, the 1974Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, and Bubbling Beauty. Natalma, Cosmah and Bubbling Beauty all produced leading sires: Northern Dancer,Halo andArctic Tern respectively. The family descends from the excellent racehorse and notable broodmareMother Goose.^[2]

Natalma was trained byHoratio Luro, who would later train Northern Dancer as well. At age two, she won two of her five starts. She also crossed the finish line first in the 1959Spinaway Stakes but swerved when jockey Bobby Ussery hit her with the whip and was disqualified to third place for interference. The experience so soured Natalma on racing that it was several months before Luro was able to return her to the racetrack.^[3]

Natalma made her three-year-old debut on April 9, 1960 atKeeneland where she briefly led but then faded to tenth. Two weeks later, she won in what would prove her final race.^[4] While in training for theKentucky Oaks, she was found to have bone chips in the right knee. She was given some time off to recover, then went back into training for theCoaching Club American Oaks. However, the bone chips recurred, which led to her retirement.^[3]

Although late in the breeding season, she was sent to Taylor'sWindfields Farm inOshawa, Ontario,Canada to be bred toNearctic. Coincidentally, Nearctic had won the Michigan Mile just days before the 1958 Saratoga Sales, and the winnings from this race gave Taylor the funds to pay for Natalma. Natalma was bred to Nearctic on June 28, 1960, as the last mate of his first crop. That late pairing resulted inNorthern Dancer being born on May 27, 1961. As a racehorse, Northern Dancer was a champion in both Canada and the United States whose major wins included theKentucky Derby,Preakness Stakes andQueen's Plate. He achieved even greater fame by becoming aleading sire in both North America and Europe, and went on to become anoutstanding sire of sires.^[2]

Natalma was bred to Nearctic several additional times, producing Arctic Dancer (dam ofLa Prevoyante), Northern Ace, Northern Native, Transatlantic and two unnamed fillies who died before age 2. Additionally, she produced stakes winners Native Victor, Regal Dancer and Born A Lady with other stallions.^[5][2]

Natalma's daughters have further extended her influence on Thoroughbred bloodlines worldwide. Raise the Standard, by Hoist the Flag, founded a strong branch of the family in France, from which descended important sireMachiavellian and classic winners Bluemamba andSenga, among many other stakes winners. Another daughter, Spring Adieu byBuckpasser, was the second dam of nine stakes winners, includingleading sireDanehill. Danehill was inbred to Natalma since he also descended from her through Northern Dancer.^[2][6] Other horses inbred to Natalma include the undefeated championFrankel, Australian champion and World recordholder of the most Group 1 wins (25)Winx and Kentucky Derby winnerStreet Sense.^[4][7][8]

Natalma was humanelyeuthanized on January 29, 1985 at the Windfields Farm satellite operation inMaryland (now theNorthview Stallion Station) after unsuccessful treatment forcolic. She was buried in the farm's equine cemetery.

In 2007, Natalma's contribution to the sport ofThoroughbred horse racing was recognized through her induction in theCanadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.^[4] TheNatalma Stakes for two-year-old fillies, run over the E.P. Taylor turf course atWoodbine, is named in her honour.^[9]

Natalma is inbred 5 × 5 toFair Play, meaning Fair Play appears twice in the fifth generation of her pedigree.^[2][10]

• 1957 racehorse births
• 1985 racehorse deaths
• Racehorses bred in Virginia
• Racehorses trained in Canada
• Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
• Thoroughbred family 2-d

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata