Champion Thunder Gulch, the winner of the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes and leading North American sire of 2001, has been euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, Coolmore Stud revealed on Monday. He was 26. Peter Brant bred the son of Gulch in Kentucky, and the colt was purchased as a yearling for $40,000 at the 1993 Keeneland July yearling sale by Florida-based Ken Ellenberg with plans to pinhook him. Thunder Gulch finished under his reserve at the following year’s Keeneland April 2-year-olds in training sale with a final bid of $120,000, but a 60 percent share in the horse was sold to Howard Rozins of Mutual Shar Stable. The colt was put in the New York barn of trainer John Kimmel, and he broke his maiden in his second career start. Thunder Gulch followed that effort with a second in the Grade 2 Cowdin Stakes and a fourth in the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes. The morning of the Nashua, a deal had been struck selling Thunder Gulch to Michael Tabor of the Coolmore partnership for a reported $475,000. He was moved after the race to the barn of trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and finished his 2-year-old season with a win in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes and a second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity. Thunder Gulch emerged as a force on the Triple Crown season after winning the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes and Grade 1 Florida Derby. However, his momentum was stalled after running a dull fourth in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. With the Blue Grass effort fresh in his past performances, Thunder Gulch was sent off at odds of 24-1 in the 1995 Kentucky Derby. He led at the top of the stretch under jockey Gary Stevens and drew off to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Thunder Gulch followed up with a third in the Preakness Stakes behind Derby favorite Timber Country, but left the gate as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes, where he once again took command coming out of the final turn and won by two lengths. He finished his 3-year-old season with wins in the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes, Grade 1 Travers Stakes, and listed Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap, before finishing his career with a fifth-place finish behind the great Cigar in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Retired at the end of his 3-year-old season, Thunder Gulch won nine of 16 starts for earnings of $2,915,086. Thunder Gulch retired to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., for the 1996 breeding season. He sired 19 crops, with 1,323 winners and combined progeny earnings in excess of $93.6 million. :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! His most successful runner was Point Given, the 2001 Horse of the Year, whose victories that season included the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, as well as the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Handicap, Travers Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby. Point Given’s championship campaign helped put Thunder Gulch at the top of the North American sire list that year by earnings. Other prominent North American runners for the sire include 2000 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Spain, Grade 1 winners Balance, Circular Quay, Tweedside, Sense of Style and Shotgun Gulch, Grade 2 winner Mystic Lady, Grade 3 winners Stylish, Nite Light, and Seductively, and multiple Grade 1-winning steeplechaser Spy in the Sky. Thunder Gulch was an active stallion in the Southern Hemisphere, standing six seasons in Australia, five seasons in Argentina, and two in Chile. He also stood the 1999 Northern Hemisphere season in Japan. His Australian-bred runners are led by Singapore Gold Cup winner Recast and Australian Group 3 winner Pasikatera. In South and Central America, his top foals include Venezuelan champion Tato Zeta and Panamanian champion Tigre Mondo. Thunder Gulch was pensioned from stallion duty prior to the 2015 breeding season, and he remained at Ashford Stud for the rest of his life. “It is a very sad day for us here at Ashford as Thunder Gulch has been a pleasure to be around all these years and has left a major legacy at the farm as the first champion sire to reside here,” said Coolmore America manager Dermot Ryan. “He had a remarkable 3-year-old campaign in the hands of Wayne Lukas and Gary Stevens and provided Michael and Doreen Tabor and their family with some great days. “He was an incredibly tough and genuine horse on the track and we are very grateful to the Tabors for entrusting us with his stud career,” Ryan continued. “I also want to say a special thanks to our stallion manager Richard Barry and his team for the exceptional care they have provided Thunder Gulch during his stud career and since he was pensioned from stud duties.” Looking to future generations, Thunder Gulch proved a strong broodmare sire, with his daughters producing the likes of 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern, 2015 Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria, Irish One Thousand Guineas winner Pleascach, Grade 1 winners Star Billing and Mshawish, French Group 1 winner Passion for Gold, Australian Group 1 winner Montoya’s Secret, and Uruguayan Group 1 winner Robinson Crusoe. Panamanian champion Malevola and Mexican champion Daniel San are also by daughters of Thunder Gulch. Thunder Gulch is the broodmare sire of graded or group stakes winners in at least 16 different countries on all six continents with horse racing.