In most years, the Class 6 “Goodbye For 2024 From Nottingham Racecourse Handicap” would have little significance beyond acting as the seasonal finale at the Colwick Park venue.
However, things were a little different in 2024. Included amongst the 12 contenders was the final runner to hail from the yard of one of the modern greats of the training game. Could Wanderlust see the spectacular career of Sir Michael Stoute end on a high?
Unfortunately, he could not and, in truth, he could scarcely have failed more spectacularly. Struggling from an early stage, the mount of Richard Kingscote trailed home last, fully 47½ lengths adrift of the winner. A quiet ending, but somehow fitting for a man who often shunned the limelight. Instead, Stoute preferred to do his winning quietly, and he certainly had plenty of practice.
The term “legend” is perhaps bandied around too frequently in the modern age. However, in the case of Stoute, his achievements more than live up to that label.
From Barbados to the Summit of the Racing Game
Born in Barbados in 1945, Stoute’s father was the chief of police on the West Indies island nation. However, Stoute showed little inclination to follow in his father’s footsteps. Showing an interest in racehorses from an early age, 19-year-old Michael upped sticks to take up a role as assistant to Pat Rohan in 1964. By 1972, Stoute had begun training under his own name. The rest, as they say, is history.
A Phenomenal Record of Achievement
Stoute’s powers may have waned in recent seasons as he possibly had half an eye on his pipe and slippers. However, at his peak, it is no exaggeration to say that he was the dominant force on the British training scene. Any doubt regarding the validity of that statement is dispelled when scanning through a selection of his most eye-catching achievements:
- Over 4000 Career Wins
- 120 British Group 1s
- 16 British Classics
- Group/Grade 1 wins in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, UAE, USA, Japan, and Hong Kong
- The only 20th Century trainer to win a British Classic in five successive seasons – Shadeed (1985 2,000 Guineas), Sharastani (1986 Epsom Derby), Unite (1987 Epsom Oaks), Doyoun (1988 2,000 Guineas), Musical Bliss (1989 1,000 Guineas)
- British Champion Trainer on 10 occasions (1981, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009)
- Saddled the 1-2-3 in the 2009 edition of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes
Not content with his exploits on the flat, Stoute also trained Kribensis to land the Triple Crown of Hurdling (the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle) in 1989/90. Away from the training yard, Stoute was a staunch promoter of sports tourism in his birthplace of Barbados. In recognition of those efforts, Michael Stoute became Sir Michael Stoute following the 1998 Birthday Honours.
Sir Michael Stoute: Five of the Best
From saddling Estimate to claim the Gold Cup for The Queen to his final Classic success with Desert Crown in 2022, Sir Michael Stoute leaves the sport with enough memorable moments to produce a feature-length highlights reel. Of course, the horses were the key to it all. Many stars have benefitted from Stoute’s expert care, but we conclude with five of the best to ever hail from Freemason Lodge:
- Shergar – Stoute’s most famous horse and also one of his most talented. Simply sensational during his 1981 three-year-old season, the Aga Khan-owned star won the Irish Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and produced a devastating 10-length romp in the Epsom Derby. Sadly, the Shergar tale had an unhappy ending. Retired to stud in Ireland, he was kidnapped from his stable (allegedly by the IRA) and never seen again
- Harbinger – A Group 3 winner at three, this son of Dansili was one of the finest advertisements of Stoute’s ability with older runners. Unbeaten in four outings at four, he rounded off his career with a scarcely believable 11-length demolition of the 2010 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes field
- Zilzal – Stoute’s greatest miler. Unraced at two, Zilzal was almost perfect during his 1989 three-year-old campaign, picking up scintillating wins in the Sussex Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. His only defeat in six outings came when becoming worked up before the start of the Breeders’ Cup Mile
- Shadeed – A notoriously tricky sort, Stoute worked wonders to get the best out of this supremely talented miler. Successful in the 1985 2,000 Guineas, he then displayed his petulant side when running abysmally in the Derby before succumbing to illness. However, Stoute nursed him back to health to land the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in grand style
- Sharastani – Part of a golden crop of three-year-olds in 1989, Shahrastani may have been the best of the bunch. Becoming the only horse to beat Dancing Brace in the Derby, he completed a Classic double when slamming the Irish Derby field by eight lengths
