Captain Chris: the Arkle winner is by the late sire King's Theatre
PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)Tributes paid to King's Theatre after colic death
BALLYLINCH Stud manager John O'Connor on Friday paid tribute to leading jumps sire King's Theatre, who has died from complications due to colic at the age of 20.
"King's Theatre's death has left everyone at Ballylinch with a great sense of loss. He was first and foremost a great character and a lovely gentle horse with a great constitution," O'Connor said of the son of Sadler's Wells, who finished third in the 2010/2011 jumps sires championship, behind Presenting and Oscar. Both those sires were represented by at least 130 more runners than King's Theatre.
He added: "King's Theatre suffered a severe colic on June 6. After initial treatment on the farm he was transferred to Troytown Equine Hospital where he immediately underwent abdominal surgery. He was found to have a strangulating lipoma (a benign fatty tumour) which although not harmful in itself, formed an adhesion which caused a constriction of blood supply to his small intestine. This necessitated the removal of a significant portion of his small intestine.
"King's Theatre recovered well from his surgery and although he initially made good progress his gut did not regain its normal motility and his condition deteriorated. He underwent further surgery on June 13 but his intestine was found to be beyond repair and he was humanely put to sleep."
O'Connor said that King's Theatre, who was looked after by Ray Doyle since his arrival at Ballylinch in 1997, "was truly versatile, siring top flight runners both on the flat and under National Hunt rules and in both hemispheres. His
record with colts and fillies was equally impressive.
"In recent years his record as a National Hunt sire placed him among the elite sires in that sphere. His strike rate was well in advance of the other leading sires and he is proof that you can be a leading sire without very large numbers of runners. His record at Cheltenham was particularly good with winners in most of the championship races there (including with Captain Chris and Menorah).
"We at Ballylinch would like to thank all the breeders who supported King's Theatre, some of them from his very first season, and the surgeons and staff at Troytown Hospital who tried so hard to save him."
A full assessment of King's Theatre will appear in Saturday's Racing Post - download the digital newspaper from 3am or buy it as a PDF from 9am
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