Press release, Sunday, February 12

Refuse To Bend, who was standing at Haras du Logis in France for the first time this season, died of a heart attack on Friday, February 10.

Bred by Moyglare Stud Farm and a half-brother to Melbourne Cup winner Media Puzzle, the beautifully-bred son of Sadler's Wells was trained as a juvenile by Dermot Weld to win the G1 National Stakes, before taking the 2,000 Guineas on only his fourth start.

After contesting Europe and North America’s top races he was purchased privately by Sheikh Mohammed and transferred to Saeed Bin Suroor for his four-year-old campaign, and landed a brace of G1’s in the space of a month including the Queen Anne Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes for Godolphin.

He was retired to Kildangan Stud in 2005 and with only four crops of racing age so far, he has sired one of the finest fillies of our time, Champion three-year-old filly Sarafina, who won the G1 Prix de Diane, Prix Saint-Alary and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. In total he has sired 15 Stakes winners and 23 Stakes horses from his stud careers in Europe and Australia.

Darley’s director of stallions, Sam Bullard, said, “Refuse To Bend’s death will be a significant loss for breeders, Haras du Logis and to Darley. He was a superb racehorse and he had it all ahead of him as a stallion. Refuse To Bend’s progeny had a wonderful 2010 and 2011 and as a result he was proving very popular in France this year.”

For further information please call Sam Bullard on +44 1638 730 070.