Champion Sire Giant’s Causeway Dead at 21

Tara Madgwick - Wednesday April 18
Coolmore have announced the sad passing of Giant's Causeway, who died last night aged 21 at his Kentucky birthplace Ashford Stud, after a brief illness.

Giant's CausewayTrained by Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle, and widely regarded as the best son of Storm Cat, Giant's Causeway was an unbeaten Group I winner at two and earned himself the moniker "The Iron Horse" following five straight Group I wins in Europe as a 3YO.

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 thirteen racecourse starts.

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

He made an immediate impact with that first crop which included Europe Champion 2YO and top 3YO Shamardal, unbeaten 2000 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand, Coronation Stakes winner Maids Causeway and North American Grade 1 winners Aragorn and My Typhoon. This spectacular 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 eighteen years at stud, Giant's Causeway sired an incredible 31 G1 winners worldwide, and will leave behind a long-lasting legacy as a successful sire of sires and top broodmare sire.

Giant's Causeway shuttled to Australia for three seasons at the start of his career standing his first season here in 2002 at a fee of $137,500. He left several Australian stakes-winners including the Group I winner Juste Momente.

"To foal, raise and race a horse of Giant's Causeway's caliber 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."


Advertisment
More Reading...
Melbourne Cup Tips – Tara Talks Racing
Tara Talks Racing is now online having had a Sunday arvo drink or two as we go through the Cup horses, so what do Clocker and I like for this year’s Melbourne Cup?
Zoustar 6YO Stepping up to 2000m
Pre-post favourite Habana will head into unfamiliar territory at Ellerslie, but there is confidence in his camp that it will be a smooth transition.
Will it be a fairytale finish for Tasmanian-bred mare The Map?
Fresh from sweeping the sire awards at the 2024 Tasmanian Racing Awards this season, the Armidale Stud team is in line for another significant achievement with The Map (Alpine Eagle x This Moment) flying the flag for resident stallion Alpine Eagle in the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5 November.
Sires With Winners - Monday November 4
Here is the full list of 21 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Te Akau Chasing Another Cup Day Success
Last year’s Melbourne Cup Day concluded in success for Mark Walker in the Gr.3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m), a race he will chase back-to-back crowns in on Tuesday with Kiwi mare Quintessa.
Giant Causeway's Bricks And Mortar Honoured as US Horse Of The Year
Preparing to get to work at Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm in Japan, Bricks and Mortar had been named 2019 Horse of the Year at the 49th annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park.
Bellatrix Star May Back Up in G1 Champions Sprint
Te Akau and Fortuna Racing’s filly Bellatrix Star proved she is among Australia’s top sprinting three-year-olds last Saturday at Flemington, finishing second in the A$2 million Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).
Antrim Coast to Fly Flag for The Oaks Stud
The well-renowned colours of The Oaks Stud will feature across two feature Trans-Tasman meetings this week, kicking off with Antrim Coast lining up in the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
Two heats at the Rosehill trials on Monday morning over 900m and the quickest of those was won by an expensive son of Golden Slipper winning first season sire Farnan.
Kiwi Longshot Hope for Cup
Grant Cooksley came tantalisingly close to getting his hands on the Melbourne Cup as a jockey, and he is hoping to rectify that on Tuesday as a trainer when he lines-up Trust In You in the two-mile feature.