Dibidale was a "strong, shapely, attractive"[1] chestnut filly with a narrow white blaze bred in Ireland by Robert Sangster's Swettenham stud.
Her other foals included Shellshock, who finished third to Waterloo and Jacinth in the 1000 Guineas and Cracaval who won the Chester Vase and defeated Ile de Bourbon in the September Stakes.
[1] On her three-year-old debut Dibidale started favourite for the Steve Donoghue Stakes over a mile at Haydock Park Racecourse in April.
Racing on very firm ground she took the lead in the straight but then hung to the left in the closing stages and was beaten a head into second place by the colt Scientist.
Carson moved the filly into contention a quarter mile from the finish at which point her girth strap became loose, causing her the saddle to slip around under her belly.
[4] At York Racecourse in August, only two fillies, Mil's Bomb and Sea Singer, appeared to challenge Dibidale in the Yorkshire Oaks, and she was made the 1/3 favourite.
In the straight, Mil's Bomb accelerated past the favourite to establish a narrow advantage and looked the likely winner, but Dibidale rallied in the final strides to regain the lead and won by a head.
Dibidale was then scheduled to travel to Longchamp Racecourse, where she would be matched against the leading French fillies Paulista and Comtesse de Loir in the Prix Vermeille on 22 September.
[6] There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1973: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries.