Echo Of Light dies in paddock accident

The handsome son of Dubai Millennium had just turned ten, while his promising first runners are now three-year-olds.

Echo Of Light was touted as an outstanding prospect long before he first saw a racecourse. From the one and only crop of Sheikh Mohammed's short-lived Dubai World Cup winner, he was bred by Pat O'Kelly's Kilcarn Stud out of an own-sister to the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and Irish Derby winner Salsabil. Echo Of Light was bought by Sheikh Mohammed for €1.2million at Goffs as a yearling and, after the three-time G1 winner Dubawi, he became the best racehorse by Dubai Millennium. Trained throughout his career by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin, Echo Of Light was a late-maturing sort. Wide-margin victories as a three-year-old preceded a four-year-old season when, dropped to racing over a mile, he won the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein on Arc weekend and the G3 Summer Mile, run on the Lingfield Polytrack, his trademark front-running style bringing back memories of his great sire. He also won the G3 Strensall Stakes twice, as a five-year-old breaking York's nine-furlong track-record, and stretched his speed to take the 10f G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville.

He retired to Dalham Hall Stud in 2008 and switched to Kildangan Stud for his third season. His first winners include the Listed-placed Sound Advice, plus the promising Godolphin colt Counterpunch (one of four Derby entrants by Echo Of Light), the John Gosden-trained Electrician and Mark Johnston's last-time-out winner Kinloch Castle – all three already rated in the 90s by Timeform. Sam Bullard, Darley's director of stallions, said, 'Only time will tell how much of a loss Echo Of Light will be as a stallion, but to us at Darley he was a powerful reminder of his awesome sire.'