THE death has taken place of leading owner and breeder Bert Firestone. He was 89.

Bertram R. and Diana Johnson Firestone celebrated their first classic success half a century ago when King’s Company won the 1971 Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. They made a deep impact on both racing and breeding through their ownership of Gilltown and Sallymount Studs in Ireland, Catoctin Farm in Virginia, and latterly Newstead Farm.

Fifty years ago they acquired their Irish farms, had horses in training with Dermot Weld, and jointly were masters of the Kildare Foxhounds. Their racing business interests included ownership of Gulfstream Park and Calder racecourses.

An early racing success with Weld was Red Alert, winner of the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot. Further success at the royal meeting came with Ribblesdale Stakes winner Nanticious, and Day Is Done in the Norfolk Stakes.

Blue Wind went to Epsom and landed the Oaks by seven lengths, giving Weld his first classic success, later adding the Irish equivalent. Another Irish classic success was that of Flash Of Steel, while others to emerge from Rosewell House were Theatrical and Gaily Gaily. A huge first for Weld was winning the Melbourne Cup with the Firestone-bred Vintage Crop, a horse, just as the Galway Plate winner General Idea, he bought from the Firestones for Michael Smurfit.

The Firestones were among the elite owners in America, being honoured with an Eclipse Award as leading owners. They have a footnote in the annals of the turf for their ownership of the Kentucky Derby winning filly, Genuine Risk, the second of just three fillies to achieve the feat. She was inducted into the US Racing Hall of Fame, and was runner-up in the other legs of the Triple Crown.

The Firestones bred and raced Travers Stakes winner General Assembly and Cure The Blues, standing both at Gilltown. They raced a number of champions, notably Honest Pleasure, the brilliant two-year-old Eclipse Award winner, in the same year that Optimistic Gal was the best juvenile filly. The last major winner to race for the Firestones was Winchester, a Grade 1 winner in the USA for Weld before transferring to Christophe Clement and adding three more.

Eternal optimists

Fiona Craig last year spoke to The Irish Field about the couple. She said: “Bert and Diana Firestone are the best of people; so kind and so generous of their life, their home and themselves. Both are eternal optimists about their horses and that is so infectious. Maybe that is why they did so well; there are no barriers or preconceived notions. They were both excellent horsemen in their own right, but also people who have actually been there and done it. A rare breed.

“I asked Bert to talk about his time in racing, and in typical Bert style he described the last 50 years as ‘a really good run, a lot of fun along the way, and great memories’. He also added that if he had the opportunity ‘I would do it in exactly the same way, wouldn’t change a thing’.

“They are the best type of owners in that they had racehorses for the sheer love of the sport. Of course, they loved winning as much as the next man, but none of it was about money, it was all about breeding or buying horses that could compete at the top. The Kentucky Derby or a European classic was the dream. For sure they captured more than a few of those dreams along the way.”

Bert Firestone is survived by Diana, children Matt, Greg, Ted, Alison and stepchildren Lorna, Chris and Cricket.