I also remember Killiney and would argue his potential to go right to the top and challenge the supremacy of Arkle was at least as tangible as Golden Cygent’s.
Beaten just the once (on his hurdling debut) prior to meeting a tragic demise in the 1973 Heinz Chase at Ascot when, possibly distracted by the fall of Magellan, he got the downhill ditch all wrong on the final circuit, Richard Pitman once said "I am not very sentimental about many things, or indeed humans. But to this day the memory of Killiney hurts badly".
Whether Darlan’s form was as far advanced as Golden Cygnet’s or not completely misses the point. It would be a fitting tribute to this beautiful creature if his memory endures among racefans for decades to come.
An already tragic week for the McManus family got worse with the news their supermare Like-A-Butterfly dies of colic on Wednesday. I read somewhere that
all
of McManus’ retired racehorses spend the rest of their days at Martinstown. This is a great act of kindness and it is a shame more owners do are not able to provide the same reward to their retired heroes.