French highweight and MG1SW Vision d'Etat (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}–Uberaba {Fr}, by Garde Royale {Ire}), suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday morning, Haras de Cercy announced on Twitter. He was 13.
Bred by Gaetan Gilles in France and picked up for €39,000 out of the Arqana December Mixed Sale in 2006, the Jacques Detre and Victoria Libaud colourbearer won his first six trips to the post for trainer Eric Libaud, among them the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in his fifth start in June of 2008. He added the G2 Qatar Prix Niel that September, but could only manage fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe later that fall. At four, the year of his championship season, Vision d'Etat scored in the G1 Prix Ganay and in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. and signed off with a 3/4 length victory in the G1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup from five appearances. Kept in training at five, he was first past the post in the G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville from four starts and was retired with a record of 17-10-2-1 and earnings of $4,208,944.
Originally standing at Haras de Grandcamp for six seasons, the son of the winning Uberaba (Fr) (Garde Royale (Ire) has sired the listed winner Speedo Boy (Fr) on the flat from 192 foals. Over jumps, he is responsible for the Grade 1 winning French hurdler De Bon Coeur (Fr). From the same family as French highweight 3-year-old filly Mi Carina () (Ocarina {Fr}) and U.S. champion 3-year-old colt Stage Door Johnny (Prince John), Vision d'Etat was moved to Haras de Treban in 2017 and stood for €4,000 at Haras de Cercy in 2018.
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