Arc hero and Nunnery Stud stalwart Sakhee dies aged 24

Sakhee, hero of the 2001 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a stalwart of Shadwell's Nunnery Stud, has been euthanised at the age of 24 after succumbing to the infirmities of old age.

The Shadwell homebred was born in the US and was a son of Hamdan Al Maktoum's dual Group 1 winner Bahri. He was the third foal produced by his dam, the Ribblesdale Stakes heroine Thawakib, which made Sakhee a sibling to seven winners, notably his Listed-winning half-sister Nasheed.

Sent into training with John Dunlop, Sakhee proved to be a useful juvenile who recorded wins in a Nottingham maiden and a Sandown conditions event. He returned a vastly improved model at three and registered victories in the Sandown Classic Trial and the Dante Stakes to set him on course for a tilt at the Derby.

Sahkee was sent off 4-1 second favourite to Beat Hollow but, despite kicking clear two furlongs out, ultimately had no answer to the finishing effort of Sinndar. He was well fancied to atone for that defeat in the Coral-Eclipse on his next start but could finish only fourth behind Giant's Causeway on what proved to be his final outing at three.

Jockey Richard Hills and Shadwell's Angus Gold in discussion after Sakhee's Dante Stakes successCredit: Edward Whitaker

Switched to the Godolphin ranks and the stable of Saeed bin Suroor, Sakhee resumed at four with an easy Listed success before rattling off back-to-back Group 1 strikes. The first of those came in the Juddmonte International, a race he won by seven lengths and in turn achieved a career-best Racing Post Rating of 135.

His next outing ended in similar fashion as Sakhee bounded six lengths clear of the previously unbeaten Aquarelliste in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with Sagacity, Golan and Milan among those in behind.

Connections then aimed Sakhee at the Breeders' Cup Classic, where he ran a huge race on an unfamiliar dirt surface but was denied by the narrowest of margins after a hammer and tongs battle with Tiznow. None other than Galileo was back in sixth.

Sahkee was kept in training at five and added an eighth career success on the dirt at Nad Al Sheba.

Sakhee retired to the Shadwell stallion roster in 2003 and was introduced at a fee of £20,000. Although unable to match the heights he reached on the racecourse while at stud, he did sire 13 stakes winners over the course of 14 seasons on stallion duty.

This roll of honour is headed by three top-flight winners, namely July Cup hero Sakhee's Secret, who was also a leading first-season sire, the globetrotting Presvis and the Poule d'Essai des Poulains scorer Tin Horse.

He is also the damsire of a handful of stakes performers, and appears as the broodmare sire of Hamish, a leading fancy for Saturday's Ebor Handicap at York.

Sakhee had been living out his retirement at Nunnery Stud having been pensioned from covering duty at the end of 2016.

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