Guineas second and top broodmare Jacqueline Quest dies aged 15

Triermore Stud has paid tribute to Jacqueline Quest, the mare who lost the 1,000 Guineas in the stewards’ room but became a Group 1 producer, after her recent death aged 15.

The most momentous day for the daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar came in the Newmarket Classic of 2010, when she passed the post first but was placed second behind Special Duty as a result of interference.

It was a moment of unexpected poignance, such was the feeling of goodwill towards her owner, Noel Martin, a quadriplegic after a neo-Nazi attack for whom the racehorse named after his late wife Jacqueline had been a beacon of light in a difficult existence.

At the end of her racing career, Jacqueline Quest was sold for 600,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale. She joined Triermore, the County Meath operation of Major Christopher Hanbury, who died earlier this month.

All of her six foals to have raced have been winners and three have achieved black type, headed by Godolphin’s Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Line Of Duty, who was twice Group 1 placed at three. Onassis landed the Sandringham at Royal Ascot and two more Listed races while her Dubawi full-brother Secret State has looked progressive for Godolphin this season and seemingly bound for a step up in class.

Triermore is now being overseen by Hanbury’s widow, Bridget, and son, Charlie, who said: "She was an important mare for us and she’ll be missed by everyone, especially our stud manager Paul McDonnell and his team that look after the horses on a day-to-day basis.

"My father bought her in 2011 and it was really to put some more life back into the stud, as a lot of the mares we had before were either ones we’d bred or ex-racehorses that we’d kept, and she turned out to definitely be our top mare.

Royal Ascot winner Onassis will carry on the family lineCredit: Edward Whitaker

"She would always pair up with one of the other mares and they would stick together, she was very quiet and easy to deal with."

Jacqueline Quest died following complications from giving birth to a Wootton Bassett foal, who has survived, and Charlie Hanbury explained that there are other members to continue her legacy.

"Fortunately we have Onassis at the stud and she’s in foal to Frankel, which is very exciting. There is Jacqueline Quest’s yearling filly by Galileo, which we will have to decide if we keep or send to Book 1.

"We’ve also have her Galileo two-year-old filly in training with Aidan O’Brien, called Jackie Oh. We share her with Coolmore but she’ll run in Triermore colours and hopefully come back as a broodmare afterwards."

Jacqueline Quest was bought for €60,000 at the 2008 Goffs Millions Sale and is out Coquette Rouge, who has been a fine producer for Roundhill Stud.

She won a Chester maiden and was well beaten in the Nell Gwyn before Sir Henry Cecil produced her to vastly outrun odds of 66-1 in the Guineas. A third in the Coronation Stakes followed and she was to suffer another narrow defeat in the Group 3 Supreme Stakes as a four-year-old.

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