Dermot Weld has paid tribute to the "extremely talented and courageous" Rite of Passage after the Irish National Stud announced the death of the 2010 Ascot Gold Cup (G1) hero at the age of 19.
Trained by Weld for Dr. Ronan Lambe, Rite of Passage ran only 12 times but made an impact on the flat and over jumps, placing at two Cheltenham Festivals before his career highlight at Royal Ascot.
A fragile horse, his last start came when winning the Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October 2012, an excellent training performance by Weld given he was returning from a 510-day absence.
He had been an intended runner in the next year's Ascot Gold Cup, but he was declared a non-runner due to the ground and never raced again. He ended his racing life with a record of eight wins, never finishing worse than fourth.
Rite of Passage took up residence at the Irish National Stud in 2015 and Weld said: "He was difficult to keep sound, but he was an extremely talented and courageous racehorse. His performance in the Gold Cup was one of the best for many decades.
"He had a wonderful retirement, he looked magnificent, and his fabulous care is a great credit to the team at the National Stud. When I went to see him recently, he came straight over to me and reminded me of what an outstanding individual he was."
Although his biggest achievement was holding off the challenge of Age of Aquarius by a neck to win the Gold Cup under Pat Smullen, Rite of Passage was a smart bumper horse and novice hurdler.
He finished third to Dunguib in the 2009 Champion Bumper, again under Smullen, and returned a year later to fill the same position behind Peddlers Cross in the Neptune Novices' Hurdle under Robbie McNamara.
Cathal Beale, the chief executive of the Irish National Stud, said Rite of Passage would be deeply missed. He said: "Coming on the back of the recent loss of Kicking King, it is a sad day to report the passing of Rite of Passage. He was a lovely, gentle horse who lived out his days receiving the greatest of care from all the team here.
"I would like to thank his connections for entrusting him to us and pay special tribute once again to Leona Harmon, who cares for all our horses with such great affection. He will be deeply missed by all of us."
