Mtoto dead at 28

Mtoto dead at 28

MTOTO (Busted), a champion older horse in both England and France, has died

at his home, Aston Upthorpe Stud in England, at the age of 28.

Bought for 110,000 guineas by bloodstock agent David Minton, the dark bay was

campaigned by the late Alec Stewart for Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and

sprang to prominence when upsetting Reference Point in the 1987 Eclipse

(Eng-G1). He went on to record back-to-back successes in the Sandown feature the

following year, when he also captured Ascot's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

S. (Eng-G1) and a second renewal of the Prince of Wales's S. in its former guise

as a Group 2.

Beaten into second after a luckless trip in the 1988 Prix de l'Arc de

Triomphe (Fr-G1) at Longchamp, Mtoto was retired to Darley's Aston Upthorpe Stud

at the end of his stellar racing career in 1989, and had been a stalwart of the

Oxfordshire wing of the operation ever since.

"Mtoto was an exceptional racehorse and he won some of Britain's most famous

races," Dalham Hall's Stud Director Liam O'Rourke commented. "Perhaps his most

memorable performance was in the 1988 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, where he

overcame a wall of horses with his incredible acceleration to be beaten only a

neck. Mtoto was an inspiration to many -- from racing professionals and the

public to the staff at Aston Upthorpe where he will be sadly missed."

Among his most celebrated progeny are the 1996 Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) hero

Shaamit -- who died as an eight-year-old but sired the 2002 St Leger (Eng-G1)

winner Bollin Eric -- and the 1997 Ascot Gold Cup (Eng-G1) winner and champion

stayer Celeric. His son Presenting (GB), who finished third in the 1995 Epsom

Derby, is now one of Europe's dominant national hunt sires. More recently, Mtoto

sired Serious Attitude, who managed to crown his stud career with wins in the

2008 Cheveley Park S (Eng-G1) and 2010 Nearctic S. (Can-G1).

Mtoto's daughter, Sumoto (GB), is responsible for Group 1 winners Compton

Admiral (Suave Dancer) and Summoner (Inchinor [GB]).