Fourteen-year-old Polar Falcon, French champion sprinter and sire of several group I winners, was euthanized Dec. 5 at a Newmarket clinic following a recent illness thought to be caused by a lung tumor.
Bred in Kentucky by Edward A. Seltzer, Polar Falcon (Nureyev--Marie d'Argonne, by Jefferson) was acquired by Cheveley Park Stud at the end of his 3-year-old season and scored a group I win in the Ladbroke Sprint Cup at Haydock the following year. He also was France's champion sprinter that year.
Polar Falcon entered stud at Cheveley Park in 1992 and his first crop included the colt Pivotal, who won the 1996 Nunthorpe (Eng-I) and King's Stand (Eng-II) Stakes. Pivotal currently stands at stud at Cheveley Park.
Polar Falcon's 20 other stakes winners include English champion 2-year-old filly Red Camellia, Italian champion and 2001 group I winner Shibuni's Falcon, and English group I winner Exclusive.
