Sire of The Tatling and Harchibald died suddenly in December

Perugino, a half-brother to Sadler's Wells who sired several noteworthy offspring, died suddenly at Longford House Stud in County Tipperary in December.

The son of Danzig, who had been retired from covering duty for several years, was 25.

Bred and owned by Robert Sangster, Perugino was the final foal produced by matriarch Fairy Bridge, the dam of breed-shaping stallion Sadler's Wells, another champion progenitor in Fairy King and Group 1 sire Tate Gallery.

He raced only once for trainer Vincent O'Brien, when he was partnered by Lester Piggott to score in a Leopardstown 6f maiden by a head from the Gulch mare Market Slide, who later found fame as the dam of triple Group 1 winner Refuse To Bend and Melbourne Cup hero Media Puzzle.

Injury prevented him from running again but due to the success of the Fairy Bridge clan at stud he was granted a position on the Coolmore roster as a budget alternative to his brothers.

Although Perugino did not supply high-class horses with consistency, several of his best runners achieved fame with widely varying achievements.

His best-known runner on the Flat is The Tatling, the durable sprinter who won the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot aged seven and was a winner on his 176th start aged 14. He was also responsible for It's Gino, a Group 2 winner in Germany who finished third to Zarkava in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and Next Gina, triumphant in the German Oaks and granddam of high-class Hong Kong performer Pakistan Star.

Perugino also sired the brilliant but mercurial hurdler Harchibald, a five-time Grade 1 winner whose failure to pass Hardy Eustace despite apparently cruising in the final stages of the 2005 Champion Hurdle has gone down in Cheltenham Festival legend. Useful chasers Endless Power and Gino Trail are also by the sire.

In his first season shuttling to Australia, Perugino left six-time Group 1 winner Testa Rossa – who would go on to sire Nunthorpe Stakes winner Ortensia – and Sudurka, successful in two top-level sprints, the Salinger Stakes and Oakleigh Plate.

Perugino later stood at Collingrove Stud in Victoria and he was in the spotlight again in 2015 when Ruby Walsh partnered his son Bashboy to win a third Australian Grand National at Ballarat.

Perugino also had spells at stud in Japan and Germany before being sold to Bracklynn Stud, from where he moved to his final home of Longford House Stud.

He has made his mark as a broodmare sire, with his daughters having produced Happy Trails, three times a winner at the highest level in Australia, and Gitano Hernando, who landed the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes in the US and the Singapore Cup.