Godolphin superstar and dual King George hero Swain dies at the age of 30

Swain was remembered as a “superstar” after one of the early trailblazers for Godolphin was euthanised on Wednesday due to the infirmities of old age. He was 30.

Swain encapsulated the early thrust behind Godolphin, transferring to the operation’s trainer Saeed bin Suroor after initially being trained by Andre Fabre for Sheikh Mohammed.

He went on to excel both domestically and internationally in the all blue, including winning back-to-back runnings of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Bin Suroor said: “He was a superstar horse. Always in the mornings he was very professional, he was relaxed and did everything you wanted him to do. He was one of the best horses to come to Godolphin and one of the best horses to have been in racing, too.

“He gave me many good days and many good memories, especially in the [second] King George. A week before the race we knew he was going to run well but he went there and ran so much better, it was a brilliant day.”

Under Fabre’s guidance, Swain landed the Grand Prix de Deauville, the Prix Foy and the 1996 Coronation Cup as well as being placed in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Swain landed the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in his first season for Suroor as a five-year-old, but it was the following year that he really hit his stride for the operation.

On his first start on dirt, Swain was beaten a short head by the brilliant US star Silver Charm in the Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba before winning his second King George under Frankie Dettori and then the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

Awesome Again (centre) wins the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic from Silver Charm and Swain (left) at Churchill DownsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Bypassing the Arc, Swain was sent to Churchill Downs to contest the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic but went down by a length to Awesome Again and Silver Charm, drifting markedly to his right in the closing stages under a continued left-hand drive from Dettori.

Simon Crisford, who now trains in Newmarket with his son Ed, was racing manager for Godolphin during Swain’s career, and labelled him “a special horse”.

“He was a great champion for Godolphin, but he was also a champion before he came as he had done so well for Andre Fabre and Sheikh Mohammed,” he said. “He had a very good temperament and was very professional, you knew he would do his best on every occasion.

“The race that sticks in my mind most was his first King George win as the rain on the way to Ascot was torrential. It ended up playing to his strengths and he beat some great horses in Helissio and Pilsudski.

“That was a real tough race that day and I thought it was the moment he really stamped himself as a special horse.”

Swain was initially retired to stand at Shadwell Farm in Kentucky before being moved to Canada. He was pensioned back at Shadwell Farm before being transferred to Old Friends retirement farm in the spring following the downsizing of Shadwell’s American operation in the wake of Hamdan Al Maktoum’s death last year.

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