In a week lit up by the English and Irish versions of the St Leger, last Wednesday afternoon brought the sad news that the most successful horse in Irish St Leger history had passed away.
Over six seasons between 2000 and 2005, the Dermot Weld-trained Vinnie Roe cut a swathe through the staying division, winning 13 of 29 starts, including four consecutive editions of the Irish St Leger between 2001 and 2004. To put that phenomenal achievement in perspective, no other horse has claimed the 1m6f Group 1 contest more than twice. While a blow to all connected to the horse, Vinnie Roe lived to the grand old age of 27 and fittingly departed with the scene of his finest hour on the horizon.
Final Days at Longford House Home
Following his glittering career, Vinnie Roe spent his latter years as a stallion at Longford House Stud. Pensioned in 2019, the much-loved star remained at the County Tipperary operation to see out his retirement. Happy and healthy throughout his final years, his sudden passing was likely a result of the vagaries of old age.
Announcing the news, Longford House Stud co-owner John Baldwin stated, “He’s been in great health, and he had his 9 am feed as normal but just went down in his box straight afterwards. It looked like a heart attack,” before going on to note, “The sadness is that he didn’t quite make the Irish St Leger this weekend, being so synonymous with the race.”
From a Seven Furlong Maiden to the Staying Summit
Owned for most of his life by film director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father), Vinnie Roe made his debut at Leopardstown in 2000. Starting as he would mean to go on, he stormed home late to claim the seven-furlong maiden event and rounded off his juvenile season with a win in the Listed Eyrefield Stakes.
Stepped up to in trip in his Classic campaign, he finished behind the great Galileo on three occasions over 1m2f to 1m4f and found his niche when moving up to staying distances. Following back-to-back wins in 1m6f Listed events, he mastered a field including Millenary, Marienbard, and Persian Punch to claim his first Irish St Leger in 2001.
Irish St. Leger 2001 Result
| Position | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Vinnie Roe | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld | 5/1 |
| 2nd | Millenary | Pat Eddery | John Dunlop | 9/4 Fav |
| 3rd | Marienbard | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | 5/2 |
Heading to France for his final start at three, he proved that the result was no fluke when running away with the Prix Royal-Oak.
Kept in training at four, he came within a neck of landing the Gold Cup at Ascot, and won the Ballyroan Stakes and Saval Beg Stakes, before successfully defending his Curragh crown. His 2002’s exploits were recognised at the Cartier Awards ceremony, where Vinnie Roe was named the European Stayer of the Year. At five, a record-setting third Irish St Leger preceded a solid fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Returning to the track as a six-year-old, Vinnie Roe showed all of his old zest to end the season with form figures of 2212, including yet another Irish St Leger and a mighty effort to finish second to the sensational Maybe Diva in the Melbourne Cup.
Melbourne Cup 2004 Result
| Position | Horse | Weight | Jockey | Trainer | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Makybe Diva | 8-11 | Glen Boss | Lee Freedman | 13/5 Fav |
| 2nd | Vinnie Roe | 9-2 | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld | 5/1 |
| 3rd | Zazzman | 8-4 | Nicholas Ryan | Tony Vasil | 100/1 |
| 4th | Elvstroem | 8-13 | Nash Rawiller | Tony Vasil | 15/1 |
Winning only once in his final season in 2005, his Irish St Leger run came to an end when he relinquished his crown to Alan Swinbank’s Collier Hill. However, those four wins were enough to propel Dermot Weld into a share of the lead with Vincent O’Brien as the most successful trainer in Irish St Leger history.
Irresistible Partnership with Pat Smullen
Throughout his career, Vinnie Roe forged a formidable relationship with the late great Pat Smullen, who tragically passed away in 2020. The nine-time Irish Champion was the man in the saddle for all bar one of the colt’s 29 career starts.
Pat Smullen and Vinnie Roe combined to win the Irish St Leger a record 4 years in a row at @curraghrace
Smullen was on board for each of the star stayer’s 13 wins and rode him in all but one of his 28 races – including in 3 renewals of the Melburne Cup, finishing 2nd in 2004. pic.twitter.com/EC9ZBzZ7f5
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 15, 2020
Together, they racked up 13 wins and amassed more than £1.25 million in prize money – not bad for a horse who cost 50,000 Guineas when purchased at the 1999 Goffs Orby Sales.
Legacy Lives on In Sons and Daughters
Whilst not enjoying anything like the success of contemporary Galileo as a stallion, Vinnie Roe developed to become a National Hunt sire of note. The pick of his progeny included Grade 2-winning chaser Vinndication, the talented Fergal O’Brien star Imperial Alcazar, and Grade 2-winning hurdler Neon Wolf, who looked set to scale even greater heights before succumbing to injury. Making a significant impact as a broodmare sire, his daughters have so far produced talents such as Firefox, Sandor Clegane, and The Bosses Oscar.
Gone, but not forgotten, whichever horse masters the Irish St. Leger in the future will have some way to go to match the exploits of the mighty Vinnie Roe.