Cheveley Park Stud have announced sad news overnight with the passing of their champion sire Pivotal at age 28.
Bred and raced by Cheveley Park Stud, he was trained by Sir Mark Prescott. A track record breaker as a two year old, he was crowned Champion Sprinter as a three year old, highlighted by a career defining win in the Group I Nunthorpe Stakes at York, when prevailing by the narrowest of margins to become the first Group I winner to be both bred and owned by Cheveley Park Stud.
Also a winner of the Group II King’s Stand Stakes, Pivotal retired to Cheveley Park Stud in 1997.
A grand-son of Nureyev being by his Group I winning son Polar Falcon, Pivotal has sired 157 stakes-winners highlighted by 32 individual Group I winners, including the Classic winners Sariska, Halfway To Heaven, Falco, Buzzword and Saoire, as well as three time Australian Group I winner Avilius and Addeybb, who is well known to Australians for his back to back wins in the Group I ATC Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick when he defeated Australian Horse of the Year Verry Elleegant not once, but twice!
He was also sire of the dam of 127 stakes-winners including champion fillies Magical and Love as well as two time Australian Group I winner Hungry Heart.
Pivotal has made his mark as a sire of sires with seven of his sons having sired Group I winners, most notably the reigning French Champion Sire Siyouni, who has already produced the Champion colts Sottsass and St Mark’s Basilica, the 2021 European Cartier Horse of the Year.
Pivotal retired from stud duties after the 2020 covering season and saw out the rest of his days enjoying a happy retirement at Cheveley Park Stud .
Managing Director, Chris Richardson, said; “The story associated with the ‘Mighty’ Pivotal is truly extraordinary, considering he was the result of the very first covering his sire, Polar Falcon, was given. Thankfully, as a yearling, it was decided to retain him to race, rather than offer him for sale, as we did with the other yearling colts by Polar Falcon that year.
“Whilst in the hands of trainer, Sir Mark Prescott, Pivotal truly put Cheveley Park Stud on the map, giving owners David and Patricia Thompson their first Group 1 winner in the stud’s famous red, white and blue colours.
“Having covered a relatively small book of mares in his first year, his resulting progeny excelled and inspired at all levels, which they have continued to do throughout his career, both domestically and internationally.
“On the world stage, Pivotal has excelled as a sire, a sire of sires and as a broodmare sire, to the highest level and all of us at Cheveley Park Stud have been so blessed to have been part of his life for 28 years.”
