Following the celebrated trainer’s retirement in 2024, Steve Dennis selects the ten best horses to have passed through his hands during a glorious career spanning more than 50 years
Compiling a list of the best horses trained by Sir Michael Stoute is a thankless task, with an enviable list of ‘discards’ any one of whom might be the crowning glory of another yard. His A-list ensemble cast from a career that spanned six decades has therefore needed to be distilled again and again, until it contains not the usual 40 per cent but an intoxicating 100 per cent proof of the genius of one of Europe’s greatest trainers.
READ: Sir Michael Stoute – career appreciation by Steve Dennis
1. Shergar
foaled 1978, by Great Nephew
owner HH Aga Khan; jockeys Walter Swinburn, Lester Piggott
8 races, 6 wins including 3 G1s
Stoute’s most famous horse was also his most infamous, as Shergar was kidnapped from stud by members of the IRA in February 1983 and killed shortly afterwards. Let not his end obscure his dazzling brilliance; he was the perfect racehorse on Derby day in 1981, when he crushed his rivals by an eased-down ten lengths, the widest winning margin in the race’s long history. His summer of greatness was sustained through cantering victories in the Irish Derby (four lengths) and the King George (again by four), and a leaden fourth place in the St Leger on his final start should not be allowed to diminish his legacy.
2. Zilzal
foaled 1986, by Nureyev
owner Mana Al Maktoum; jockey Walter Swinburn
6 races, 5 wins including 2 G1s
Short but very sweet. Zilzal’s time on the track spanned just over five months, but such was his pyrotechnic prowess that he was crowned champion three-year-old ahead of the top-class Old Vic and Nashwan. He habitually put his rivals to the sword, winning the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot by four lengths on his second start before continuing in the same vein at the highest level. He cruised to victory in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood by three lengths and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot by the same margin – but fireworks must eventually fade, and he gave up his unbeaten record when sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
3. Pilsudski
foaled 1992, by Polish Precedent
owner Lord Weinstock; jockeys Walter Swinburn, Mick Kinane
22 races, 10 wins including 6 G1s
The archetypal Stoute success story, showcasing his trainer’s patience and vision with the late-maturing horse alongside his equally stellar contemporary Singspiel. Pilsudski was a handicapper at three but blossomed at four, when he was runner-up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe before becoming Stoute’s first winner (of eight) at the Breeders’ Cup by outrunning Singspiel in the Turf at Woodbine. He was even better at five, winning the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown (by 4½ lengths), the Champion Stakes at Newmarket and finally, gloriously, the Japan Cup. He was also runner-up in the King George and the Arc (again).
4. Singspiel
foaled 1992, by In The Wings
owner Sheikh Mohammed; jockeys Frankie Dettori, Mick Kinane
20 races, 9 wins including 4 G1s
The yin to Pilsudski’s yang, Singspiel made a faster start than his stablemate – runner-up in the Eclipse at three – and progressed equally strongly as a four- and five-year-old in similarly world-beating fashion. He made his top-level breakthrough in the Canadian International, gave best to Pilsudski in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and then preceded that horse on the Japan Cup roll of honour with the gamest of victories. From Tokyo he went to Nad Al Sheba, becoming the first European winner of the Dubai World Cup, and then added convincing scores in the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the Juddmonte International at York to a glittering résumé.
5. Workforce
foaled 2007, by King’s Best
owner Khalid Abdullah; jockey Ryan Moore
9 races, 4 wins including 2 G1s
He missed more than he hit at the top level but Workforce got it right on the two most important occasions, pulling off the rare double of Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. At Epsom, he became Stoute’s fifth Derby winner (of six) and Ryan Moore’s first when clearing right away to win by seven lengths, evoking memories of Shergar’s demolition job. That was followed by a comprehensive defeat in the King George behind stablemate Harbinger, but Stoute let him down and built him back up to run the race of his life in very different style at Longchamp, where he fought doggedly to prevail in a thrilling finish.
6. Conduit
foaled 2005, by Dalakhani
owner Ballymacoll Stud; jockey Ryan Moore
15 races, 7 wins including 4 G1s
Another exemplary expression of Stoute’s approach in that Conduit was given all the time he needed, moving steadily through handicaps before flourishing at the top level, taking a special place in the trainer’s affections when giving him his first and only success in the St Leger, thus completing his full set of British Classics. Next time out he graduated to the international scene with victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, and at four he landed the King George at Ascot before securing back-to-back wins in the BC Turf, again at Santa Anita, providing Stoute’s fourth Turf win following the exploits of Pilsudski and Kalanisi.
7. Marwell
foaled 1978, by Habitat
owner Edmund Loder; jockeys Lester Piggott, Walter Swinburn
13 races, 10 wins including 4 G1s
A champion at two and three, Marwell was the best sprinter Stoute trained, ranking above Ajdal and Green Desert. Unbeaten in five races as a juvenile, including the Cheveley Park Stakes, she translated much of that dominance to her sophomore campaign after finding the mile of the 1,000 Guineas too far, finishing fourth. She was never out of the first two again, winning the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket, taking second place in the William Hill Sprint Championship and the Vernons Sprint Cup, and closing out her career with victory in the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp.
8. Shahrastani
foaled 1983, by Nijinsky
owner HH Aga Khan; jockey Walter Swinburn
7 races, 4 wins including 2 G1s
Shahrastani did not gain sufficient credit for his most important success, as his gallant victory in the Derby was overshadowed by the perceived misfortunes of the runner-up Dancing Brave, who was the better horse but not on the day that mattered most. On his next start Shahrastani underlined his wealth of talent when streaking clear to win the Irish Derby by eight lengths, but in two subsequent appearances was put in his place by the all-timer Dancing Brave, finishing fourth behind the paragon in the King George and then filling the same position in one of the classiest editions of the Arc on record.
9. Ajdal
foaled 1984, by Northern Dancer
owner Sheikh Mohammed; jockey Walter Swinburn
11 races, 7 wins including 3 G1s
Stoute’s most transformative training performance was one he graced with the words “the biggest cock-up of my career”. A high-class two-year-old, Ajdal was reckoned a miler but was beaten in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and at The Curragh, before stepping up in trip for the Derby, in which he patently failed to stay. Stoute reconsidered; five weeks later Ajdal dropped back to six furlongs to win the July Cup at Newmarket, before proving himself the year’s champion sprinter with victories in the William Hill Sprint Championship (now the Nunthorpe) at York and the Vernons Sprint Cup at Haydock. Would that all cock-ups led to such unbridled success.
10. Sonic Lady
foaled 1983, by Nureyev
owner Sheikh Mohammed; jockey Walter Swinburn
13 races, 8 wins including 3 G1s
Her volatile nature may have got the better of Sonic Lady on occasion but there weren’t many horses who could do the same. A seven-length winner on her only start at two, she swept almost all before her on the way to acclaim as champion three-year-old filly, harvesting the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot against her own sex before beating colts in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp. She was not as potent at four, saving her best until last when third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Hollywood Park behind the majestic Miesque.
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