The 13-year-old Coolmore stallion Zoffany was euthanised on Friday due to liver failure.
“Zoffany was a great servant and he’ll be a big loss”, said Coolmore’s David O’Loughlin.
The son of Dansili, bred by Croom House Stud, won the Gr1 Phoenix Stakes as a juvenile and ran a career best when runner-up to Frankel, beaten just three quarters of a length, in the Gr1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
His first crop conceived at €7,500 included three juvenile Group/Stakes winners at Royal Ascot namely Waterloo Bridge in the Gr2 Norfolk Stakes, Illuminate in the Gr3 Albany Stakes and Washington DC in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes.
This initial crop also included Gr1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club winner and Gr1 St Leger Stakes runner-up Ventura Storm.
Off the back of this early success, Zoffany attracted several high-quality books of mares which resulted in him siring some top-notch performers. In 2019 his daughter Albigna, owned and bred by the Niarchos Family, proved herself one of the best fillies in Europe when winning the Gr1 Prix Marcel Boussac.
In the latest season Zoffany was sire of three Group-winning juveniles in the shape of Gr1 National Stakes-winner Thunder Moon, Gr3 Naas Juvenile Sprint Stakes winner and Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf-runner-up Mother Earth and Gr3 Marble Hill Stakes winner Minaun.
Zoffany’s 2020 yearlings sold for up to 580,000gns.
