Royal Gem

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Royal Gem was a notable Australian thoroughbred race horse. He was a brown son of Dhoti from the mare French Gem, herself a winner of the 1938 VRC Oaks.

Often asked to carry big weights by the handicappers, he raced for five seasons starting 51 times for 23 wins and collecting £27,630 in prize money.

His biggest win was the 1946 Caulfield Cup with 57kg (nine stone). However, this win was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the defeat of the champion Bernborough who had won his previous 15 races but finished fifth in this race. Jockey Athol Mulley was blamed,^{[citation needed]} either rightly or wrongly, for his ride on the big horse. It was reported that Royal Gem’s owner G.W.Badman won £30,000 by backing his horse to win the race.

Other prominent wins included the Caulfield Guineas, Goodwood Handicap, Futurity Stakes and the Newmarket Handicap plus many weight-for-age races. The fact Royal Gem won the Futurity Stakes over 1400m (seven furlongs) and Newmarket over 1200m (six furlongs) after his Caulfield Cup 2400m (l-1/2 miles) win proved his versatility.

Following his six-year-old season he was sold to America for a reported US$100,000. There he sired a great number of winners including the 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star.