Racehorse TALK

Grand Duke rekindled an old flame

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Having kept a weather eye on but also having been largely divorced from the turf since those heady days as racing editor at Horse & Hound in 1998 and 1999, I nominate Duke Of Marmalade as my horse of the year for reigniting my passion for the sport, writes Paula Lester.

Although I began working as a co-editor on thoroughbredinternet.com at the beginning of August this year, I initially managed to avoid writing a grey panel for fear of not having enough up-to-date knowledge of an industry with which I was once so closely involved. However, by the end of the month, there was no avoiding it any longer and I nervously agreed to write a review of the weekend’s racing in Europe following the Juddmonte International, which had been relocated to Newmarket from a waterlogged Knavesmire.

And that was the first time that I encountered the multiple Group One-winning brilliance of Duke Of Marmalade. As the Newmarket sunshine highlighted the orange sheen on his dark bay coat, I was reminded what horse racing is all about (for me, at any rate): the sheer beauty and presence of finely bred Thoroughbreds who manage to combine such power and grace in their speed of movement. The four-year-old son of Danehill was all muscle and sinew and yet his conker-brown coat tapered down to such delicate black legs.

However, a fracture to one of those dainty pasterns — sustained after finishing runner-up to Strategic Prince in the Victory Stakes at Goodwood as a two-year-old in 2006 — nearly put paid to the Duke’s career before it had really got started.

Back at Aidan O’Brien’s yard in Ireland, the fracture was pinned and fingers crossed that the juvenile would bounce back to build on the three placings achieved in 2006, including a win in the European Breeders’ Fund maiden at the Curragh.

The Duke’s first appointment back on the racecourse in May 2007 was in the 2000 Guineas, when he finished fourth behind Cockney Rebel, Vital Equine and Dutch Art. The Irish equivalent at the Curragh later saw him achieve another fourth place, once again behind Cockney Rebel. After losing out to Excellent Art by a neck in the St James’ Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Duke scored a further fourth when trailing Authorized, Dylan Thomas and Notnowcato in the Juddmonte at York. He followed this up with a second behind Dylan Thomas in a weak renewal of the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, before ending the season with a third after battling it out with Ramonti and Excellent Art in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

Although he had not had a bad year by most horses’ standards, O’Brien knew that his promising charge was not fulfilling his potential. And, over the winter, the Ballydoyle vets looked again at the pins in the Duke’s leg to see if they could ease the horse’s discomfort.

Whatever they did worked, because the start of the 2008 season saw the Duke make toast of his rivals in no less than five consecutive Group One wins. The Iron Duke began with a masterly display over ten-and-a-half furlongs (2100m), when beating Saddex in the Prix Ganay at Longchamp, followed by another win over the same distance at the Curragh, this time over the filly Finsceal Beo, to collect the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

His most impressive victory, however, came in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot when he destroyed a field containing four Group winners, beating Phoenix Tower by four lengths. The Duke returned to Ascot at the end of July when, despite looking beaten, he rallied to take the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes from Papal Bull. In fighting back to win over a mile and a half, Sue Magnier’s aristocratic horse showed that he had the tenacity and stamina to compete with the big boys.

The relocated Juddmonte International at Newmarket at the end of August was to prove the scene of the Duke’s final triumph. Facing the quirky Epsom emperor, New Approach, and his old adversary, Phoenix Tower, Duke Of Marmalade appeared unaffected by a fruitless trip to York before the abandonment just days earlier and stayed on strongly to score a convincing win.

Afterwards, O’Brien enthused: “Is this horse really flesh and blood?” This is one of the all-time greats, and if horses are made of stone or concrete, then the Duke is made of something harder. His constitution is simply amazing, and he has everything; speed, class, a fabulous temperament and a remarkable will to win.” Sadly, after such an exciting summer campaign, the Duke seemed to run out of steam come the autumn, which saw his sparkling career come to a rather lacklustre end. Looking like he had enough, the Duke could only finish seventh behind the brilliant Zarkava in the Arc, and, although he made it to the front in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, he did not have the legs to keep up with Raven’s Pass and his stablemate, Henrythenavigator, eventually finishing down the field in ninth.

Shortly after his return from America, it was announced that the Duke would be retiring to Coolmoore Stud, where he will stand the 2009 season for a fee of €40,000.

His racing days may be over, but the style and class the Duke dished out this summer will live long in the memory, especially in the mind of his trainer, Aidan O’Brien, who said of the Cartier Older Horse of the Year: "He was an amazing horse with a great constitution. A very special horse."

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