By MIKE DILLON
Grosvenor retained his character right to the last and that's the way David Benjamin wants to remember him.
Not long before he was put down to relieve pain on Tuesday, the longtime headlining stallion was eating peppermints, his keen eye showing he was not to be messed with.
But then
he was a son of Sir Tristram.
"Everyone who ever handled him rated him the most intelligent horse they'd been around," said Benjamin, who says he is privileged to have been associated with such a wonderful horse for 18 years.
The rising 22-year-old had developed severe osteomalitis and an operation two weeks ago failed to relieve his pain.
Grosvenor rated below only Rancher and Marscay on the Australian Two-Year-Old Free Handicap and won the Caulfield Guineas and Victoria Derby before a fetlock injury retired him prematurely at three.
"We bought him for $2.2 million, something I wouldn't want to do even now, but somehow it seemed the right thing to do and crazily enough we could have syndicated him twice over," said Benjamin.
Grosvenor has proved a producer of fine fillies and a year ago was Broodmare Sire Of The Year, as Sir Tristram was.
The Fayette Park boss wishes he had been able to retain more of the stallion's fillies in the early years.
"We've got six or seven of them going to stud for us this season and another five out on lease. We went through the weanling band last night and I'd say we'll be keeping more of those than we originally intended."
Coming up to the breeding season, a void has been left in Fayette Park's stallion ranks.
"I'm not going to panic. I'd like to secure a sprinter-miler type, but we've got Stark South really firing and Prized is due to go into quarantine to come back to us on July 4."
Stark South produced New Zealand Derby winner Hail and is the leading sire of 3-year-olds for the season.
