Leading dual hemisphere sire Danehill dies at 17
( Quoted from Thoroughbred Times )
Danehill, second to only Sadler’s Wells with 212 lifetimes stakes winners, died on Tuesday at Coolmore Stud near Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland.
The farm did not immediately reveal the cause of death and Coolmore Manager Christy Grassick would only confirm the stallion’s death, saying the conglomerate would release a statement later in the day.
The 17-year-old son of Danzig sired 13 runners recognized as champions throughout the world from 11 crops of racing age. He sired 134 group/graded stakes winners and through May 12, his 1,406 starters earned $141,081,210.
Danehill’s leading runners include Rock of Gibraltar (Ire), who won a record seven consecutive Group 1 events before finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Arlington Park.
Danehill’s leading earner is two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Fairy King Prawn, an Australian-bred who earned $4,601,520 before his retirement in 2001.
Other major winners sired by Danehill include Fine Motion, Dane Ripper, Banks Hill (GB), Ha Ha, Danewin, Merlene, Catbird, Mozart (Ire), Aquarelliste, Desert King, and Dansili (GB).
Bred in Kentucky by Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, Danehill was out of the His Majesty mare Razyana, who also produced stakes winners Eagle Eyed, Harpia, Shibboleth, and Euphonic. He won four of nine starts, including the 1989 Sprint Stakes (Eng-G1) and placed third in the English Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) while earning $321,064.--- Ed DeRosa