BRILLIANT racemare and exceptional producer Immortal Verse has sadly passed away at Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud at the age of 18.

Hailing from the famed Kilfrush family of Last Tycoon, the daughter of Pivotal was bred and owned by Richard Strauss and sent into training with Robert Collet.

After showing early promise at two, Immortal Verse announced herself on the world stage during a sensational three-year-old campaign. Displaying her trademark electrifying turn of foot, she overcame a slow start to storm clear in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. She proved that performance was no fluke on her very next start in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, where she unleashed a devastating burst of speed to defeat four-time champion Goldikova and a stellar field boasting six individual Group 1 winners.

Consigned by Mount Coote Stud on behalf of her new owners, Merriebelle Stable, at the 2013 Tattersalls December Sale with her first foal by Dansili in utero, Immortal Verse was purchased by the Coolmore partners for 4,700,000 guineas, a new European record price for a broodmare.

To say she exceeded expectations would be a considerable understatement. From seven foals she produced six winners, including a pair of dual Group/Grade 1 winners, an unbeaten Group 2-winning two-year-old, and another highly exciting two-year-old this season.

These four were all trained by Aidan O’Brien: Wootton Bassett’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and record-breaking French 2,000 Guineas hero Henri Matisse; Caravaggio’s Cheveley Park Stakes and Prix Jean Prat winner Tenebrism; and Justify’s unbeaten juvenile Statuette and highly promising Aix La Chapelle. The latter is entered in both top-level two-year-old races on Irish Champions Weekend.

Immortal Verse was one of the finest racemares of her generation and has established herself as one of the outstanding broodmares of the modern era. She will be sadly missed by those who cared for her during her time at Coolmore.