Golden oldies: five Group 1 winners who proved age is just a number

Having struggled to compete at the very best level, Defoe found necessary improvement as a five-year-old to land his first Group 1 success in the Coronation Cup before following up in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. Here are five more older horses who proved age is just a number.

Postponed

In the yellow and black silks of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid and under the guidance of Roger Varian, it is natural to draw comparisons between Postponed and his old stablemate Defoe.

Postponed joined Varian from Luca Cumani’s yard as a five-year-old, having nosed his way to victory in the King George the previous year, but it was from this point that the son of Dubawi really began to show his best form.

Postponed (left): won the King George in 2015Credit: Edward Whitaker

Starting with a three-length success in the City of Gold at Meydan, Postponed went on to secure a hat-trick of Group 1s in the Sheema Classic, Coronation Cup – which Defoe won this year – and the Juddmonte International Stakes.

Solow

The best way to sum up Freddy Head’s superstar is by saying the older he got, the better he was.

Solow progressed nicely in the back-end of his four-year-old season but became unstoppable the following year, particularly after he was gelded following a first Group 1 victory in the Dubai Turf.

From that point, no racehorse came close to matching the regular mount of Maxime Guyon, who in 2015 won the Prix d'Ispahan, Queen Anne, Sussex Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Having won just one of his first five starts, Solow ended his career unbeaten in ten.

Lightning Spear

From the moment he joined David Simcock's yard as a five-year-old, Lightning Spear began to show marked improvement.

On his seasonal and yard debut he finished third in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, and would go on to win back-to-back Celebration Miles at Goodwood.

Lightning Spear: won his first Group 1 as a seven-year-oldCredit: Getty Images

Lightning Spear soon garnered a reputation of being a 'nearly horse', finishing in the first three in six Group 1s without winning.

However, that tag was extinguished last year at his favourite track, where as a seven-year-old he won the Sussex Stakes under Oisin Murphy.

Opera House

Sir Michael Stoute is renowned for his magic touch when it comes to training older horses, and Opera House is a true testament to that.

The son of Sadler's Wells had gone close to winning the Eclipse and King George as a four-year-old in 1992, placing on both occasions, but proved a different beast the following season.

He missed out on Prix Ganay glory by a short neck at Longchamp on his seasonal debut, but from there was an unstoppable middle-distance performer, scooping the Coronation Cup before righting the wrongs of the previous season in the Eclipse and King George.

Pilsudski

Another of Stoute’s nineties heroes, Pilsudski landed top level successes in Germany and Canada before returning to scoop the top prizes in Britain and Ireland as a five-year-old.

The son of Polish Precedent landed the Eclipse but lost out by a length in the King George to dual winner Swain.

From there, Stoute’s superstar kicked on to win both Champions Stakes at Leopardstown and Newmarket, and was all out inside the final furlong to win the Japan Cup in Tokyo to bring the curtain down on a stellar career.

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