Photo credit: David Betts.
Twelve-year-old multiple Group 1 winner Gordon Lord Byron, who won over €2m in prize money, died suddenly following routine exercise this morning.
The winner of 16 races from 108 starts, the Tom Hogan-trained horse won at the highest level throughout the world and still had a rating of 105 at the age of 12.
At home in Ireland he won both The Minstrel Stakes and The Greenlands Stakes at The Curragh, but had notable globe-trotting successes, becoming a winner of three Group 1s in three different countries and on two continents.
The Cahalan family-owned horse cost just €2,000, but suffered a fractured pelvis when leaving the stalls on his racecourse debut at Dundalk. Following a full recovery and an outstanding career, the son of Byron went on to win over €2m in prize money.
The gelding’s first Group 1 victory came in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp under William Buick in 2012, before Johnny Murtagh guided him to victory in the Sprint Cup at Haydock in 2013.
The following year he won the George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill in Australia, under jockey Craig Williams, while he also won the 2014 British Champions Sprint at Ascot.
