Grade 1 winner Joyeux Danseur dies

Joyeux Danseur, winner of the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in 1998 and the sire of 65 winners, died Tuesday from a ruptured cecum at Wattle Brae Stud in Australia. A 12-year-old son of Nureyev out of the Le Fabuleux mare Fabuleux Jane, Joyeux Danseur served three seasons at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky before moving to California and then Arkansas, after which he was sent to Australia in 2004.

The winner of 8 of 14 lifetime starts for earnings of $645,228, Joyeux Danseur also included the Fair Grounds 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 Explosive Bid Handicap among his victories.