By Tom Hall
On Aug. 9, 1978, a Pennsylvania-bred Northern Dancer colt stepped into the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale ring. Some $310,000 later he became the property of Henryk de Kwiatkowski, who at that moment could not possibly have fathomed the impact this powerfully built bay would have on the Thoroughbred world. De Kwiatkowski, honoring his homeland, named him after the Polish city of Danzig. Turned over to Woody Stephens, he won all three of his starts before injury ended his career. Danzig had a solid pedigree but lacked the primetime performances to dazzle as a stallion prospect. Stephens, impressed by the hints of promise and not dissuaded by the lack of fulfillment, persuaded a skeptical Seth Hancock to stand Danzig at Claiborne. It was the best favor Hancock ever did, for this good deed went unpunished. In the forge of the Claiborne breeding shed, Danzig shaped the breed. He was a three-time leading sire of 202 stakes winners (18% from foals) and emerged as an international sire of sires. BH