Guy Innes-Ker, the 10th Duke of Roxburghe who passed away on Thursday aged 64 after a prolonged battle with cancer, was a popular and highly respected figure who ranked as one of the most successful British breeders of the modern era.
Furthermore, he contributed plenty to the sport, most obviously via his chairmanship of the National Stud and as a Director of Kelso Racecourse.
A statement from his family read, “We are all deeply saddened that the Duke has lost his battle with an illness he fought with great courage and determination. He really was a Corinthian figure who was a great sportsman, a passionate fisherman who made a huge contribution to fisheries management on the river Tweed and a successful businessman who modernised and turned Roxburghe Estates into the successful business it is today. He derived enormous success and enjoyment from racing and the Thoroughbred stud at Floors–including breeding the first double Classic winner Attraction in the early 2000s. We know he will be missed by so many in different spheres in particular by those staff and farm tenants on the Roxburghe Estates.”
Succeeding his father to the title in 1974 when still aged only 19, the Duke completed his education at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied land economy, and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where he was awarded the Sword of Honour before being commissioned into the Blues and Royals. After leaving the army, his life revolved around the family seat, Floors Castle near Kelso in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, which is widely regarded as one of the best-run estates in the country and where he bred several very good horses including the outstanding filly Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) who, trained by Mark Johnston, carried his grey and green silks to victory in four Group 1 races including both the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas in 2004.
Johnston said on Thursday, “We knew this day was coming, because we knew how ill he'd become. We've been in regular contact, and it's a shame we didn't get the chance to see him. Although we knew it was coming, it's still very sad. It's the end of an era for us–he played a huge part of my career.
“I've always said Attraction was the horse I got most pleasure out of training, because there were many stages where we could have called it a day and retired her from racing. I often say the day she ran at Royal Ascot was the most pressure I've ever felt, because I expected her to win. That was just pressure I put on myself, though–it never came from the Duke. Almost from the day she won the Hilary Needler, the Duke's attitude when he was talking to the jockey before the race was 'go out there and enjoy it as everything from now on is a bonus.' She was a tremendous horse to be associated with, and the Duke being her owner was a big part of that.”
Floors Stud had been a successful operation under the auspices of the 9th Duke, who raced the 1966 Northumberland Plate winner Sweet Story (GB) (Zucchero {GB}) before standing him there as a stallion. The 10th Duke operated in an era in which smaller independent stallion studs have become a rarity and consequently he ceased to stand stallions; even so, the significance of Floors Stud continued to grow, not only by breeding a Classic winner but also by enjoying notable success in the sales ring. The stud has sold two seven-figure yearlings at recent editions of Tattersalls' October Sale including a Frankel colt out of Attraction who fetched 1,600,000 guineas in 2016. Bought by Shadwell, the colt was subsequently named Elarqam (GB) and put into training with Mark Johnston, under whose care he has won four black-type races and most recently finished third to Japan and Crystal Ocean in the G1 Juddmonte International at York on Aug. 21.
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