World champion 3-year-old of 2002 Rock of Gibraltar passed away last night due to heart failure at the age of 23.
“He was healthy and looking great right up to the end,” said Castlehyde manager Paddy Fleming. “He was a fantastic racehorse and a very good sire who will be missed by all the staff here.”
The son of Danehill, bred by the late Joe Crowley and Anne-Marie and Aidan O'Brien, was the first horse ever to win seven consecutive Group 1 races in the Northern Hemisphere breaking Mill Reef's 30-year-old record.
He finished up his 2-year-old season with wins in the Grand Criterium and the Dewhurst and as a 3-year-old he added the 2,000 Guineas, Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and Prix du Moulin.
At stud, he sired a total of 16 Group 1 or Grade 1 winners in Britain, Ireland, France, U.S., Hong Kong, Australia etc. headed by Criterium International and Eclipse Stakes winner Mount Nelson, Golden Jubilee Stakes and Haydock Sprint Cup winner Society Rock along with Irish 1,000 Guineas and Garden City Stakes heroine Samitar.
A notable broodmare sire, Rock Of Gibraltar's daughters produced two recent 2,000 Guineas winners in the shape of Kameko and Poetic Flare.
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