GOLD CUP HEROINE DIES AT 15 Indian Queen, the winner of nine races including the 1991 Gold Cup, has died at stud. The 15-year-old broodmare was 12 weeks in-foal to Hector Protector when she was involved in a fatal accident in the paddocks at the North Munstead Stud at Godalming, Surrey. 'It seemed that she smashed her head against some posts. The autopsy showed that she had a slash in her gut and she must have been in severe pain,' said owner-breeder Sir Gordon Brunton. Trained by Lord Huntingdon, Indian Queen began her career in the South of France with a victory at Cagnes-Sur-Mer. She went on to win #265,000 in prize-money, with her finest hour coming in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June 1991. With Walter Swinburn in the saddle Indian Queen, a 25-1 chance, defeated Arzanni by a neck. It was the mare's last race before being retired. 'Her dam Taj Princess was bought for me by the late trainer Pat Taylor for just 580 guineas,' said Brunton. 'She's the best horse I've had and there'll never be another like her.' The most successful of Indian Queen's offspring was the Lord Huntingdon-trained Prince of India (Timeform rating 109) who was runner-up in the Van Geest Stakes at Newmarket. Ian Queen's daughter Royal Patron (by Royal Academy), already a winner, is in training with John Dunlop. There is also an unraced two-year-old Memsahib, a daughter of Alzao, in the care of David Elsworth.
