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Sir Michael Stoute has been responsible for some of the greatest horses to have ever graced the sport. We pick out just some of his superstar performers:
Shergar
Shergar’s victory in the Derby is still one of the greatest Classic victories of all-time. His winning margin of 10 lengths is a record and stamped Shergar as a middle-distance horse of the highest quality. At the start of the season, Shergar was 33-1 in the ante-post market for the premier Classic but went off the 10-11 favourite after winning Sandown’s Classic Trial and the Chester Vase very easily. The Derby went to plan in the hands of his young rider Walter Swinburn and the opposition was routed in spectacular fashion. Shergar went on to confirm his class with further impressive victories in the Irish Derby and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes before disappointing in the St Leger. Of course, his on-course brilliance is only one part of the Shergar story. After his retirement, he headed for a stallion career in Ireland, but it was there he was kidnapped from the Aga Khan’s stud, in what was generally accepted to have been the work of the IRA. His remains have never been found.
Conduit
Conduit had the distinction in 2008 of closing out Stoute’s Classic CV. The trainer had endured near-misses in the St Leger at Doncaster, but as Frankie Dettori steered the chestnut to a three-length success, Stoute completed his full house in the landmark British events. That was not the end of his achievements though, with Conduit going on to back-to-back victories in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and triumphing in the King George the following year.
Estimate
The mare’s 2013 Gold Cup success was one of the sweetest for Stoute as Estimate was owned by the late Queen. It gave her one of her best ever moments at her beloved Royal Ascot. If Stoute felt under pressure before the championship staying race, he never showed it. Estimate had won her prep race over two miles at Ascot in early May and was sent off the 7-2 favourite in a field of 14. She had to work hard as Simenon proved a tough challenger, but she gamely kept him at bay by a neck to land the spoils in the hands of Ryan Moore.
Ezzoud
Classic-placed in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Ezzoud proved his Group One worth at four, despite plenty crabbing his high head carriage and slight unpredictability. Stoute did not lose faith and that confidence was rewarded when Ezzoud stunned his rivals in the 1993 Juddmonte International, with further top-level glory coming his way in the 1994 Eclipse at Sandown. A King George run lasted no longer than a few strides as he unshipped his rider and caused plenty of interference running loose in the finish, but a second Juddmonte International win a few weeks later made amends, with Stoute again bringing out the best in a talented but quirky performer.
Harbinger
It was a case of what could have been for effortless 2010 King George winner Harbinger. Stoute’s trademark patience came into play with the son of Dansili who, after a patchy three-year-old campaign, blossomed at four. He won each of his four starts, with two Group Three strikes building to an impressive Hardwicke Stakes success and eventually a virtuoso performance when coasting home by 11 lengths in Ascot’s summer highlight. He subsequently fractured a leg on the gallops when preparing for a trip to York and was retired to stud in Japan, where he has sired a clutch of Group One winners.
Kribensis
Stoute showed his prowess under both codes after saddling the dashing grey Kribensis to two Cheltenham Festival wins. Victorious in the 1988 Triumph Hurdle, he added the Champion Hurdle to his record in 1990 – a campaign which also saw him win the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle for good measure. Retired after finishing down the field in the 1993 Champion Hurdle, Kribensis famously remained at Freemason Lodge, where he was Stoute’s hack before his death at the age of 23 in 2007.
Pilsudski
Pilsudski was one of those late-developing types that Stoute was renowned for. He never rushed his horses and was very often rewarded. Pilsudski was a typical example, only coming into his own late in his four-year-old career when he opened his Group One account in Germany in September 1996 and then finishing second in the Arc and wining the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Woodbine. The globetrotter carried on where he left off in 1997, beating Classic winners Benny The Dip and Bosra Sham to land the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown. He also took the Irish and English Champion Stakes before signing off on a high note in the Japan Cup to earn the title of champion older horse of 1997.
Russian Rhythm
Russian Rhythm only had 10 career starts but Stoute guided her to seven victories and just one unplaced run. He had her primed to perfection to win the 1000 Guineas on her seasonal bow in 2003, with Coronation Stakes and then Nassau glory over 10 furlongs also on her CV that term. Kept in training at four, Stoute again produced her ready for action to win a top-class renewal of the Lockinge Stakes, which included two Classic-winning colts and a host of Group-race victors.
Singspiel
Another Stoute improver, leaving behind a fine three-year-old campaign to excel at four and five. Narrowly beaten in the 1996 Coronation Cup, his season gathered momentum and Canadian International gold was followed by a Breeders’ Cup second to stablemate Pilsudski and a first Japan Cup win for his handler. His globetrotting continued the following year, with Dubai World Cup glory before his British return yielded Coronation Cup and Juddmonte International victories.
Sonic Lady
Stoute trained many brilliant fillies in his career and one at the top of the list was undoubtedly Sonic Lady. She was particularly hard to train but Stoute got the best out of her, in particular in a stellar three-year-old campaign. Sonic Lady had a busy time, running on eight occasions, starting with victory in the Nell Gwyn Stakes. After finishing third in the 1000 Guineas, she made no mistake in the Irish equivalent and went on to take the Coronation Stakes and what is now the Falmouth Stakes before heading to Goodwood for the Sussex Stakes. She put older colts in their place when scoring from Scottish Reel and Pennine Walk before doing the same in the Prix du Moulin.
Workforce
The fifth of six Stoute-trained Derby winners, Workforce gave him his one and only triumph in Europe’s premier middle-distance race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. While his win at Epsom was by a convincing seven lengths, he had to work hard to come out on top in a typically ultra-competitive Arc. He had gone to Longchamp with something to prove after being well-beaten in the King George by his stablemate Harbinger. But in holding Japanese raider Nakayama Festa by a head, Workforce showed he was back to his best, although he could not match those heights at four.
Zilzal
Zilzal enjoyed one glorious season for Stoute in 1989, bowing out with five wins in six starts and the accolade of the campaign’s leading three-year-old. A wide-margin winner at Leicester in May, his rapid ascent through the ranks saw him take the Jersey and Criterion Stakes before graduating to Group One level with an impressive Sussex Stakes triumph. A vintage renewal of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes also went his way, with the only disappointment of his career coming on his final start when sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Ajdal
Can any horse come close to what Ajdal achieved in 1987? Winner of the Dewhurst as a two-year-old, he was fifth in the 2000 Guineas before finishing third in the Irish equivalent (subsequently disqualified after Walter Swinburn failed to weigh in). The Sheikh Mohammed-owned Northern Dancer colt then stepped up in trip for the Derby, where he was ninth to Reference Point. After Epsom, in what proved a masterstroke, Stoute elected to come right back to six furlongs for the July Cup, which he won by a head. He went on to land the William Hill Sprint Championship (now the Nunthorpe) at York and then the Vernons Sprint Cup at Haydock.
