St Nicholas Abbey has died
St Nicholas Abbey — the only racehorse to have won 3 Coronation Cups — has been euthanased following a bout of colic.
He had suffered a series of health problems since surgery for a broken pastern 5 months ago.
Coolmore confirmed in a statement that the 7-year-old stallion was put down this morning.
He suffered the career-ending injury last year (23 July) during a routine gallop at Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle base.
The son of champion sire Montjeu was immediately operated on and his leg was reconstructed using 20 screws and 2 bone plates.
The 6-time Group One winner had a number of setbacks after the operation including a serious bout of colic just 3 days after surgery. He was also suffering from laminitis, but vets were hopeful he would make a full recovery to have a career at stud.
A statement issued by Coolmore Stud read: “Regretfully St Nicholas Abbey has lost his brave battle after suffering a colic this morning. Surgery revealed a severe strangulating colon torsion that was unviable and he had to be euthanased on humane grounds.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“This is extremely unfortunate as St Nicholas Abbey had been in terrific form, the laminitis was resolving very well and the fracture had healed better than expected.
“Coolmore would like to thank the surgeons, the international experts and all the staff at Fethard Equine Hospital who gave him such excellent care 24/7.
“We would also like to thank the multitude of well-wishers for all the cards and messages of support for St Nicholas Abbey. He will be buried in the graveyard here at Coolmore.”
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.