Grangewilliam Stud stallion Zed, the sire of 11-time Group One winner and Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) heroine Verry Elleegant, has passed away, aged 22.

“He suffered a bout of colic and the only option was surgery,” Grangewilliam Stud principal Mark Corcoran said.

“At his age, we just didn’t want to do that to him and unfortunately, we made the decision to euthanise him.”

The well-bred son of Zabeel had just four starts on the track before initially joining the stallion roster at Little Avondale Stud. He then spent time in the South Island where he was serving Clydesdale mares at Erewhon Station before his progeny started to make a strong account of themselves, encouraging Corcoran to enquire about standing him at his Waitotara farm in 2013.

The son of Zabeel produced the fairytale comeback as a sire, producing 187 individual winners, 17 at stakes level, and three Group One winners in Survived, Ladies Man and most notably, Verry Elleegant.

“I didn't have much in the way of stallion firepower at the time and I was looking for a horse. I noticed that the stock of Zed were just starting to perform on the race tracks,” Corcoran said.

“I approached Sam Williams, who did a really good job of kicking off his career at Little Avondale, and we came to an arrangement to stand him here.

“Not long after we had done the deal and we got him here, Zed popped up with some stakes horses like Survived and Ambitious Champion.

“He served a massive book that first year we had him (168 mares) and I think he was the busiest horse in New Zealand that year.

“It just went on from there and it is a story that people love. He was sacked to the back blocks covering Clydesdale mares and he came back and left a Melbourne Cup winner along with a lot of other really good horses.”

Verry Elleegant’s achievements in Australia put Zed’s name up in lights, winning an incredible 11 Group One races at a variety of distances, including the Australian Oaks (2400m), Winx Stakes (1400m), Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) (twice), Caulfield Cup (2400m), and her crowning success, the 2021 Melbourne Cup (3200m), which provided Corcoran with a memory he’ll never forget.

“He's certainly been a great ambassador for Grangewilliam and having a superstar like Verry Elleegant put us in the spotlight,” Corcoran said.

“Zed has left us with many special memories. My family and local friends will all fondly remember sharing the excitement we had in our garden during COVID cheering Verry Elleegant home to win the Melbourne Cup.

“He’s kept the mares coming in the front gate over the years and kept us going through some tough times and we're in a place now where we've got some really nice stallions around us and a lot of that is thanks to Zed.”

Alongside the phenomenal mare, Ladies Man, the winner of the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m), and Survived, winner of the Gr.1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m), headlined the success of Zed in his homeland.

The versatility of Zed was exemplified with the success of Zed Em, a million-dollar jumping star who won 17 races, including three editions of the Von Doussa Steeplechase (3250m) and the iconic Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m).

On the day of his passing, Zed was once again in the forefront of the jumping scene, with his son Lord Spencer winning the Great Northern Hurdles (4200m) at Te Rapa for JJ Rayner.

“He's always been consistent and left those tough, hardy horses. They have plenty of his sire Zabeel in them and he left staying qualities,” Corcoran said.

“He sired the winners of most of the major Cups in New Zealand and obviously it’s the same with the jumping races.

“His progeny won pretty well all the major jumps races in Australia and New Zealand, with Zed Em winning in excess of A$1 million in prizemoney, while Affluential looks a rising star and only yesterday Lord Spencer won the Great Northern Hurdles.”

The legacy of Zed will live on, with the longevity and nature of his progeny ensuring he will be a part of New Zealand racing for many years to come.

“There’s certainly a nice volume still to come through as he covered books of 77, 51 and 46 over the past three years, so there should be some nice horses to look forward to,” Corcoran said.

“The great thing with them is they’re probably going to be around for a long time yet. As we know they take time and are still racing as nine and 10-year-olds, so we should be hearing about Zed for a long while to come.”