'He got faster and faster' - Sir Mark Prescott remembers sprinting ace Pivotal

Sir Mark Prescott has paid tribute to Pivotal, the "great big lump" who turned into one of the quickest horses he has ever trained.

Cheveley Park Stud's Group 1-winning sprinter and hugely successful sire died this week aged 28.

He won four of his six starts for Prescott, including the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and Nunthorpe Stakes at York under George Duffield in 1996.

'We've been so blessed to have been part of his life' – Pivotal dies aged 28

"What a marvellous horse he was," the trainer said."He was the linchpin to Cheveley Park for goodness knows how many years and it was our good luck to have him when he was two and three.

"He was a great big lump as a yearling and not very attractive. But as soon as we galloped him, which wasn't until late in the year, he could fly. Straight away he was a good horse.

"He broke the all-aged track record at Folkestone in a five-furlong conditions race and for a two-year-old to do that it marks your card that it can go."

Pivotal was the first Group 1 winner to be bred and owned by Cheveley Park and Prescott reflected: "As a three-year-old he was very brave and Duffield was at the height of his powers and he won by a narrow margin at Royal Ascot and York.

"He got faster and faster and he didn't stay six furlongs when we ran him in the July Cup. The three really quick horses I've trained were Hooray, who was champion two-year-old filly, Marsha and Pivotal - I wouldn't like to try to find the winner from those three."

Sir Mark Prescott: 'He got faster and faster and he didn't stay six furlongs when we ran him in the July Cup'Credit: Edward Whitaker

At stud Pivotal was leading British-based sire by individual winners on eight occasions and was twice crowned leading British-based sire by earnings.

"When he went to stud everybody was slightly disappointed with him to start with as people often confuse speed with precocity," Prescott said. "He was very fast but he wasn't precocious. When he went to stud the same thing happened.

"He was much faster than his pedigree, he was bred to get further and at stud those characteristics came through: he was just as capable of siring a mile-and-a-half Group 1 winner as a five-furlong one."

Read more on Pivotal:

One of a kind: the breeding world pays tribute to the mighty Pivotal

Pivotal to Pivotal's success and longevity? Routine, plus a daily dose of honey

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