COOLMORE Stud has reported the death of Giant's Causeway. Aged 21, the stallion passed away at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky after a brief illness.

When trained by Aidan O’Brien, the son of Storm Cat was an unbeaten Group 1 winner at two years and was labelled as 'The Iron Horse' following five straight Group 1 wins in Europe as a three-year-old.

His final start, and only one on dirt, came in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs where he again showed his never say die attitude in a marvellous tussle with Tiznow, ending his career having never finished outside of the first two in his 13 racecourse starts.

The main yard at Ballydoyle was subsequently named 'The Iron Horse Yard' in his honour.

Giant’s Causeway stood one season at Coolmore in Tipperary before unprecedented demand from US breeders saw him relocate to Ashford.

He made an immediate impact with that first crop which included Europe champion two-year-old and top three-year-old Shamardal, unbeaten 2000 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand, Coronation Stakes winner Maids Causeway and North American Grade 1 winners Aragorn and My Typhoon.

This success continued with his Ashford crops, resulting in him becoming the first horse since Danzig to top the General Sires’ list on three occasions.

Throughout his 18 years at stud, Giant’s Causeway sired an incredible 31 Group 1 winners worldwide, and will leave behind a long-lasting legacy as a successful sire of sires and top broodmare sire.

“To foal, raise and race a horse of Giant’s Causeway’s calibre is every owner/breeder’s dream, so for him to stand as a stallion at his birthplace, and go on to be a three-time champion sire is nothing short of sensational,” commented Coolmore America manager Dermot Ryan.

"Giant’s Causeway was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, and I would like to thank the owners, the Magnier and Tabor families, for entrusting us with his stud career. I would also like to extend my gratitude to all of the stallion handlers at Ashford past and present for providing the highest level of care for Giant, in particular Blaise Benjamin and Richard Barry. He will be a huge loss not just to us, but to the industry as a whole.”

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