Danzero was a trailblazer for his sire Danehill (USA) in Australia, becoming his first Australian-bred stakes winner when claiming the Listed Maribyrnong Trial on debut in October 1993 and then etching his name as his first Group 1 winner in the world when he won the 1994 Golden Slipper for trainer Lee Freedman and jockey Greg Hall.
He was retired to Arrowfield Stud after his 3-year-old campaign, which included another stakes win in the McNeil S. and became the first son of his sire to stand in Australia.
As a stallion, he would sire 669 winners, 40 of them at stakes level, including the Group 1 winners Niconero, Jymcarew, Danni Martine, Danglissa, Fairway and Dance Hero.
Dance Hero
Dance Hero would not only emulate his sire in winning Australia's richest and most prestigious 2-year-old race, 11 years on, but would also claim the 2-year-old Triple Crown in adding both the G1 Sires' Produce S. and the G1 Champagne S to his Golden Slipper success.
Danzero was at the vanguard of the Danehill-revolution, which saw the bloodlines of his superstar sire become the most dominant in the Australian thoroughbred industry for the past 25 years.
He was bred by Arrowfield Stud from the stakes-placed mare Confidentially (Kaoru Star) and was sold as a yearling for $55,000 to a group of owners including David Kobritz.
The late Danzero at Rosemont Stud earlier this year
He would return to the farm where he was bred, reportedly for nearly 50 times his original price, where he stayed, with the exception of one year at Chatswood Stud in Victoria, before he moved to Rosemont Stud in 2011 to be its foundation stallion.
Crowned Champion First-Season Sire in 1998/99, Danzero finished top five in the Australian Sires Table on two occasions. The first time was in 1999/2000, where his first-crop pair Danglissa and Fairway gave him multiple Group 1 successes, in what was just his second season with runners to the track.
Thanks largely to Dance Hero's heroics, he would finish fourth on the Sires' table in 2003/04. As a measure of the tremendous consistency of his progeny, he had multiple stakes winners for 14 straight seasons.
The late Danzero at Arrowfield Stud in 2009
Danzero also shuttled three seasons to Cheveley Park in Great Britain, with the champion 2-year-old filly Soar (GB), his best horse among 34 winners there. All in all, he had winners in 26 different countries.
“There is no doubt he is one of the finest stallions we have produced,” Arrowfield’s John Messara said when he moved to Rosemont.
"He was bred by us, sold by us, bought back by us and was Danehill’s first Group 1 winner.”
A foundation for Rosemont
Danzero spent three seasons at Rosemont before he retired due to fertility issues.
“He was the first stallion to stand at Rosemont and was in fact the only stallion to stand at our original farm at Ceres,” Rosemont Principal Anthony Mithen said.
“He helped set in motion the stallion business for us and ultimately the purchase of Rosemont Gnarwarre from Tony Santic which is now home to our five-strong stallion roster.” - Anthony Mithen
“He helped set in motion the stallion business for us and ultimately the purchase of Rosemont Gnarwarre from Tony Santic which is now home to our five-strong stallion roster.”
Mithen said the farm would owe a debt of gratitude to Danzero, who changed the nature of the business forever.
The late Danzero enjoying a scratch from a team member at Rosemont Stud
“It is fair to say he changed the course of what we do at Rosemont. We had an itch to scratch and try the stallion game and he got us off the mark. While his fertility let him down, the horse didn’t disappoint us,” he said.
“It was an honour to have him on the farm and he was revered by all that got to lean over his fence and give him a pat. He helped teach us the stallion game and was a true gentleman.
“It was an honour to have him on the farm and he was revered by all that got to lean over his fence and give him a pat." - Anthony Mithen
"He has been in the best health for the nine years he’s been with us. He refused to be boxed at night. We built him his own expensive box before he arrived, only to learn he hated being cooped up and just wanted to spend his days and nights outside - rugged and roaming! I think he spent only three nights in that box ever!
“Our longest serving employee Suzanne Mowat who has looked after him for the best part of a decade found him Sunday morning, resting peacefully. He will now be buried just outside his paddock. May he rest easy.”
Exosphere | Standing at Darley
While his impact as a sire of stallions himself was limited to his sons Masked Assassin and Marechal, he leaves a significant legacy through his daughters, who have produced 31 stakes winners, including Group 1 winners Exosphere, Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), Danzdanzdance (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Julius (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and December Draw (Ire) (Medecis {Ire}).
Along with Darley's Exosphere and Argyle Thoroughbreds Marechal, Kingstar Farm's new stallion Unite And Conquer, a maternal grandson of Danglissa, is the other active sire to carry Danzero's blood in Australia.
