#mill reef

Not just did we lose my beloved Cavalryman yesterday, but Creator too.

He was put to sleep at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital due to complications from colic, 28 February 2015.

The Sheikh Mohammed-homebred son of Mill Reef and Chalon, foaled in 1986, had been a pensioner of Old Friends Kentucky since 2004, when he was retired from stud duty in Japan and returned to the United States. Read more about Creator at Old Friends here.

Creator won seven of his 16 starts in both France and America, the highlight being the 1990 Prix Ganay at Longchamp - also won by his sire 18 years earlier. The final start was in the Budweiser International on American soil, where he suffered a career-ending injury.

Michael Blowen, president and founder of Old Friends, said: "Creator was not only a magnificent animal, he was one of the founding fathers of Old Friends ... Every time we lose one of the horses it's as if they take a little part of our lives with them and, yesterday, Creator took an enormous chunk with him."

Creator was surrounded by Michael, his wife Diane White and others who cared for him daily at the farm at the time he was put to sleep.

Rest In Peace, lovely boy. 1986 - 28 February 2015