From the South China Morning Post.....
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Kingdom's great grandsire dies at age 31
MURRAY BELL
British-bred stallion Star Way - the great grandsire of champion Sacred Kingdom - died at age 31 in New Zealand last Friday at the stud where he had resided for the past 27 years.
The former champion sire had been a leading stallion throughout his career, being Champion Sire of two-year-olds with his first crop and remained in active duty, fertile through to the current season. Members of his final crop will be born in the southern hemisphere spring of 2009.
Star Way won the Dewar stallion award for combined New Zealand and Australian stake earnings in the 1990-91 season. Apart from siring 60 individual stakes winners, of which 18 scored at Group One level, Star Way has also been a tremendous success as a sire of broodmares, with his daughters producing 45 stakes winners headed by Encosta de Lago, the sire of Sacred Kingdom.
However, perhaps his ultimate achievement came in his initial crop, where he equalled the performance of the legendary Northern Dancer, siring five individual Group One winners, a benchmark later equalled by the great Sadler's Wells.
The Star Way story is an amazing one, with the powerful chestnut arriving unheralded at Windsor Park Stud, Cambridge, New Zealand, in 1981 and then playing a major role in pushing the farm and owner Nelson Schick to the forefront of the national industry.
"Star Way was a very special character and his accomplishments at stud have been a life-changing event for those of us here at Windsor Park," Schick said yesterday.
"His contribution to the overall success of our operation cannot be adequately measured. But suffice to say that we owe Star Way the greatest debt of gratitude, as stallions of his standing are virtually irreplaceable."
That famous Star Way first crop included champion two-year-old Star Board, the great galloper Waverley Star, classic winners Shankhill Lass and Starjo and multiple Group One winner Field Dancer.
Star Way later repeated this extraordinary achievement with his fifth crop, which included an astonishing 10 Group winning three-year-olds, five of whom won at Group One level.
Star Way's latest Group winner, Cog Hill, is a member of his 19th crop, while his most recent Group performer, Shining Light, second in the Group Two Hawke's Bay Gold Cup at Hastings on Saturday, is a member of his 22nd crop.
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