Life as a racehorse trainer or owner is filled with its ups and downs. June provided yet another example of how swiftly tragedy can follow triumph. Only a few short days after celebrating a record-extending 12th Derby success earlier in the month, Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore team lost one of their much-loved stars on the gallops.
Scheduled to line up in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot almost fortnight ago, The Lion In Winter suffered a fatal injury at the age of four. This marks a tragic end for a star who was one of the most talked about horses in training at the end of his juvenile campaign and had recently returned to winning ways.
Son of Sea The Stars Shines Bright at Two
A son of the brilliant six-time Group 1 winner Sea The Stars, The Lion in Winter made his debut in a Curragh maiden in July 2024. Overlooked by Ryan Moore in favour of stablemate Ides Of March, he started as the third choice of the market. Like many O’Brien runners, it seemed likely that he would improve for his first experience of the racecourse.
Juddmonte Chaldean Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden Result 20th July 2024
| Pos. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lion In Winter | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 11/2 |
| 2 | Currawood | Paddy Twomey | Billy Lee | 7/4 |
| 3 | Ides Of March | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 5/4 Fav |
While much better would follow, The Lion In Winter still proved more than up to the task of winning first time out. A little tapped for two at the 2f pole, he surged home once finding his stride to make up around five lengths on the leaders and score by a widening 2¼l.
Earning a step up in class with his Curragh display, The Lion In Winter was pitched straight into the Group 3 Acomb Stakes on only his second career start. What followed was one of the most impressive juvenile performances of the 2024 season.
Breaking smartly, The Lion In Winter soon grabbed the lead and steadily wound up the pace throughout. Kicking again in the straight, he came home 1¾l clear of a field including subsequent 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court and Royal Lodge Stakes winner Wimbledon Hawkeye. Impressive on the eye, this front-running display was backed up by the clock, with The Lion In Winter breaking the juvenile track record at York.
Without a Win at Three
The Lion In Winter didn’t race again at two but had already done enough to rocket to the head of the market for both the 2,000 Guineas and Derby, with talk of a tilt at the elusive Triple Crown considered a possibility.
The Lion In Winter’s 3YO Campaign
| Date | Race | Course | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15/5/25 | Dante Stakes | York | 6th |
| 7/6/25 | Epsom Derby | Epsom | 14th |
| 6/7/25 | Prix Jean Prat | Deauville | 3rd |
| 17/8/25 | Prix Jacques le Marois | Deauville | 10th |
| 7/9/25 | Prix du Moulin | Longchamp | 3rd |
| 18/10/25 | Queen Elizabeth II Stakes | Ascot | 2nd |
| 1/11/25 | Breeders’ Cup Mile | Del Mar | 3rd |
| 14/12/25 | Hong Kong Mile | Sha Tin | 12th |
Unfortunately, he was unfit to take his place in the 2,000 Guineas, although his form received a nice boost when Ruling Court came home in front. Keen to get a run into his colt before Epsom, O’Brien sent The Lion In Winter to York for the Dante Stakes. Sent off as the 8/11 favourite, he didn’t look like winning at any stage and ultimately finished a never-threatening sixth. A lack of race fitness looked like a legitimate excuse, but much better would be required to strike in Group 1 company.
Despite that disappointment, the good-looking bay took his place in the 2025 Derby line up, starting as a 7/1 chance in a field headed by stablemate Delacroix. Unlike City Of Troy and Auguste Rodin, who both bounced back from a poor display to win the Derby, The Lion In Winter faded in the straight to finish 14th behind the third of the O’Brien runners, Lambourn.
Barring a strange display in the Prix Jacques Le Marois, that Derby performance marked the low point of his Classic campaign. While he didn’t manage to win or truly deliver on his juvenile promise, he ran well to hit the frame in the Group 1 trio of the Prix du Moulin, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Back in the Winners’ Enclosure at Four
Returning to the track as a four-year-old, The Lion In Winter wasted no time in ending an eight-race losing streak which stretched back to that scintillating Acomb display in 2024. Sent off as the 11/10f in the Listed Heritage Stakes at Leopardstown, he raced prominently throughout under Wayne Lordan. Picking up the leader in the straight, he showed plenty of his old zest to move two lengths clear in a matter of strides. While tiring close home, he had enough in the locker to hang on from fast finishing stablemate Expanded.
What would turn out to be his final racecourse appearance came in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury. Attempting similar tactics to that Leopardstown win, he couldn’t repel the closers this time, but finished a respectable fifth behind the impressive winner Notable Speech.
A Tale of Unfulfilled Potential
When looking back on the career of The Lion In Winter, he was never quite the same following the setback which cut short his two-year-old season. However, there were glimmers that he may yet strike at the top level, and he could scarcely have been in better hands to rediscover his peak form.
Sadly, The Lion In Winter’s time on the racing stage has come to an all-too-premature end, as noted by his trainer when announcing the news to the racing public:
“He was obviously a very good two-year-old, and it’s a pity he never really got to fulfil that early potential. On his day, he was very talented.’’