THE Group 1 stallion Zoffany has died at Castlehyde Stud from liver failure. Aged just 13, he has sired a long list of top-class racehorses, most recently the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes winner Thunder Moon.

Bred by Denis Brosnan, the son of Dansili won the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes as a two-year-old and is probably best remembered for giving Frankel the fright of his racing life in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He also won the Group 3 Tyros Stakes and finished third in the Group 1 National Stakes.

Retired to stud for the 2012 season, his starting fee was €7,500. His stallion career got off to the best possible start when three members of his first crop (Illuminate, Washington DC and Waterloo Bridge) won at Royal Ascot in 2015.

His stud fee rose to €45,000 after that but had been eased back to €20,000 this year and he was regarded as good value.

Other notable winners by Zoffany include Albigna (Prix Marcel Boussac), Fleeting (May Hill Stakes), Ventura Storm (Gran Premio del Jockey Club) and Who’s Steph (Munster Oaks).

“Zoffany was a great servant and he’ll be a big loss”, said Coolmore’s David O’Loughlin.

10-PAGE ITM IRISH STALLION SHOWCASE FEATURE IN THE IRISH FIELD THIS WEEKEND