In fact, his victory in the latter
contest, in 2000, is widely considered the easiest since Nijinsky and
Lester Piggott toyed with the opposition three decades earlier.
Certainly, Montjeu started the shortest-priced favourite, at 1/3,
since Nashwan, at 2/9, beat Cacoethes by a neck in 1989. Facing just
six rivals, all of whom had 11lb or more to find on official figures,
Montjeu made progress from the rear of the field with two furlongs to
run and cruised home by 1¾ lengths from Fantastic Light with jockey
Mick Kinane barely moving in the saddle. Kevin Darley, rider of the
fourth home, Beat All, said afterwards, “It looked as if he
[Monjeu] had just joined in at the turn.”
Montjeu ran his last race at Churchill
Downs, Kentucky, in November, 2000, finishing a never-nearer seventh
of 13, beaten 4½ lengths, behind Kalanisi in the Breeders’ Cup
Turf. At the end of his racing career, he had won 11 of his 16 races,
including six at the highest level and earned over £2.2 million in
total prize money. His Timeform rating of 137 was the same as that
achieved by Derby winners Grundy, Troy and Peintre Celebre.
He was retired to Coolmore Stud, Co. Tipperary for the start of the 2001 breeding season, initially with a stud fee of £30,000. However, Montjeu proved extraordinarily successful as a stallion, siring Motivator, Authorized, Pour Moi and Camelot, winners of the Derby in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Consequently, his stud fee rose considerably, to as high as €125,000 in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
When he died in 2012, due to
complications arising from acute septicaemia, trainer John Hammond
said, “He was a wonderful racehorse and a wonderful stallion. If
you wanted to get yourself a Derby horse, he was your man. If he had
been human, he would have been an eccentric genius.”
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