Dunfermline (horse)

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Dunfermline (1974–1989) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and later a broodmare. A bay mare bred by and owned by Queen Elizabeth II, she was trained by Major Dick Hern at West Ilsley. Her sire was Royal Palace and her dam Strathcona.

Two-year-old season (1976): She ran three times, finishing without a win but placing in all starts, including second in the May Hill Stakes and second in the Argos Star Fillies Mile.

Three-year-old season (1977): Dunfermline won the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket in April. In June she won the Oaks at Epsom, starting as a 6/1 shot and beating Freeze The Secret. She was third in the Yorkshire Oaks in August. In September she won the St Leger at Doncaster, beating Alleged by one and a half lengths. Alleged later won the Arc, and this was the only defeat Alleged ever suffered. In October she finished fourth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and later ran third in the Prix Royal-Oak.

Four-year-old season (1978): She did not win in three starts and was retired to stud.

Dunfermline earned a Timeform rating of 133 in 1977, making her the top-rated three-year-old filly in Europe that year. She is regarded as a great Oaks winner by historians, with John Randall and Tony Morris placing her among the best British and Irish fillies of the 20th century. She had little impact as a broodmare and died in 1989.