Ask (GB) (Sadler's Wells–Request {GB}, by Rainbow Quest), who was a dual Group 1 winner for Sir Michael Stoute and became a prolific National Hunt stallion, has died at the age of 21, Willow Wood Farm announced on Tuesday.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Willow Wood Farm said, “Sadly we have had to say goodbye to Ask. He achieved a lot in his lifetime and we were very proud to have him and have a lot to thank him for. He has bred plenty of winners and we hope he lives on in the progeny he has left.”
Bred by Side Hill Stud, Ask was unraced as a juvenile but proved himself a smart three-year-old for the Duke of Devonshire and Sue Magnier, notably finishing fourth in the G1 St Leger when it was run at York. He returned the following season in the ownership of Patrick Fahey and went on to six Group races in the space of three years. At four he won the G3 Ormonde S. and G3 Cumberland Lodge S., while at five he won the G3 Gordon Richards S. However, it wasn't until his six-year-old campaign that he made the breakthrough in Group 1 company with victories in the Coronation Cup and Prix Royal-Oak, in addition to the G2 Yorkshire Cup.
Ask joined Coolmore's National Hunt roster at The Beeches Stud in 2011 and was there until 2019 when he moved to Dunraven Stud. He spent three seasons at Dunraven before joining the team at Willow Wood Farm in 2022.
As recently as March this year Ask was very nearly represented by his first Cheltenham Festival winner when The Jukebox Man (Ire) was beaten just a head in the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. The Jukebox Man also filled the runner-up spot on his next start in the G1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree, proving himself one of the best performers to date by Ask, along with Lookaway (Ire), a Grade 2 scorer both in bumpers and as a novice hurdler, and the three-time winner Ask Dillon (Ire).
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