'If every stallion was as easy to deal with, life would be very simple' - James Hannon on the late Sholokhov

Sholokhov, sire of champions including Cheltenham heroes Don Cossack and Shishkin, has been described as 'a Christian' by James Hannon of the Old Road Stud in County Waterford, where the 25-year-old son of Sadler's Wells stood for the final breeding season of his career until his death late last month.

"He died two Mondays ago from old age," confirmed Hannon on Tuesday.

"He was a great stallion who bred a Gold Cup winner and is still getting good winners. He'd been here only since around Christmas time but he was an absolute gentleman. 

"If every stallion was as easy to deal with as Sholokhov was, then life would be very simple. He was a Christian to do anything with."

Sholokhov moved from Glenview Stud, where he had spent 12 seasons, to the Hannons' farm in neighbouring Waterford and it was Waterford vet Walter Connors who first spotted the potential of Sholokhov as a National Hunt sire at Gestut Etzean.

Connors explained: "We were drawn to him initially because of his racecourse performance; even though he was used as a pacemaker, especially for Hawk Wing on a number of occasions, he was a Group 1 winner at two and was placed in the Irish Derby, Eclipse and National Stakes. 

"He was tough, sound and consistent, and those are the attributes you want in a National Hunt stallion and what drew us to Germany in the first place."

From those first purchases emerged the six-time Grade 1 winner Don Cossack, whose career culminated with triumph in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, for which he earned a Racing Post Rating of 182, the highest attained by any of Sholokhov's brilliant progeny including the late Shishkin. 

Don Cossack was bred by Gestut Etzean and from the same crop – but bred by Gestut Kussaburg – was Grade 3 winner Kruzhlinin. Connors' faith in Sholokhov was repaid by the number of high-class performers the vet produced by the almost black stallion.

"Naturally you go back to the well with the best water and he served us well," said Connors. "Don Cossack was the first big flagbearer for our operation and Sholokhov was a big part of that."

Don Cossack: the Gold cup hero was the first son of Sholokhov to make his name

In addition to Don Cossack and Kruzhlinin, Connors' sourced the ill-fated Graded performer Nambour from Etzean and more recently the Henry de Bromhead-trained Amirite, bred by Victor Connolly of Burgage Stud.

Connors added: "He was a very lucky stallion for us, the percentage of black-type horses we had by him out of not a huge number was quite high, so we look back on him fondly."

Plenty of people have reason to recall the late Sholokhov in that way. As well as the exceptional Shishkin and Don Cossack, he was also sire of the top-class Bob Olinger, also among seven of his progeny to have attained an RPR in excess of 150. Sholokhov's son Timos is the sire of dual Gold Cup victor Galopin Des Champs.

On the Flat he is the sire of Group 1 Preis der Diana and Grosser Preis von Berlin winner Night Magic, who was purchased by the Yoshidas to be a broodmare in Japan and is the dam of Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun fourth Great Magician.

His best result as a broodmare sire is the John Gosden-trained Preis der Diana winner Miss Yoda, by Sea The Stars.

Sholokhov moved to the Cashman family's Glenview Stud ahead of the 2013 season having stood at Gestut Etzean since his stallion career commenced in 2004. 

Trained by Aidan O'Brien for the Coolmore partners, he raced in the silks of Sue Magnier and won the Group 1 Gran Criterium at the San Siro under Mick Kinane.

He was acquired by Gary Tanaka at the end of his three-year-old season and switched to Newmarket and the yard of Michael Jarvis, for whom he made one start at Sandown in the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes, ridden by Frankie Dettori.

David Casey's daughter Grace congratulates Galopin Des Champs, a grandson of Sholokhov Credit: Patrick McCann

The son of Sadler's Wells was bred by an icon of global racing and breeding, Jim Bolger, out of the Listed-winning Lord Gayle mare La Meilleure. He was a half-brother to Debutante Stakes winner Affianced, best known as the dam of Irish Derby and Coronation Cup winner Soldier Of Fortune, who has carved out his own successful stallion career under the auspices of Coolmore.

Sholokhov's family is one that continues to be successful and produce top-class performers. His Kahyasi half-sister Zavaleta won Leopardstown's Listed 1,000 Guineas Trial and is the third dam of 2023 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi and second dam of 2008 Dewhurst winner Intense Focus. 

Zavaleta's Group 1-winning descendants also include Justify's first-crop Belmont Oaks winner Aspen Grove and Scat Daddy filly Skitter Scatter, victorious in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

Aspiration, a Sadler's Wells full-sister to Sholokhov, is the third dam of Gold Cup and Prix Royal-Oak winner Subjectivist, who is standing his first season at Alne Park Stud.

Hannon said: "He has left his mark on the racetrack; Don Cossack was a right good horse and Sholokhov was a good servant to everybody — owners, breeders, trainers, the sales companies."

With more than 50 horses in both his two- and three-year-old crops, and having covered 45 mares in his final two years at Glenview, Sholokhov's name is likely to be to the fore at festivals for years to come. It's a thought with which Connors agrees.

"He covered good mares in Glenview and there will be more to come from his final crops, there'll be another good one before he's finished," he said.

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