Dark-horse meaning

One who achieves unexpected support and success as a political candidate, typically during a party's convention.
noun
0
0
A little-known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in a horserace.
noun
0
0
An unexpected winner in a horse race, thought beforehand to have very little chance.
noun
0
0
An almost unknown contestant regarded by few as a likely winner.
noun
0
0
A person who gets or may get the nomination unexpectedly, often by a compromise.
noun
0
0
Advertisement
(idiomatic, politics) A candidate who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice.
noun
0
0
(rare) An unexpected success.

Everyone was expecting the red team to win, but the greens were the dark horse in the event.

noun
0
0

Origin of dark-horse

Originally an allusion to an unknown horse winning a race, as used in an 1831 novel The Young Duke by Benjamin Disraeli.