Media Puzzle, dam of Refuse to Bend, dies after foaling

Moyglare Stud’s outstanding producer Market Slide, dam of Irish champion and English classic winner Refuse to Bend and Melbourne Cup winner Media Puzzle, has died at age 21, Racing Post reported Thursday.

The Gulch mare died earlier this week after producing a Montjeu filly, according to the report.

Market Slide was named Ireland’s Broodmare of the Year in 2002 after Media Puzzle’s Melbourne Cup win and Refuse to Bend’s win in Ireland’s Group 1 National Stakes.

As a racehorse, Market Slide won 2 of 9 races in Ireland and Germany before shipping to the United States. There, she won three more times and placed twice in stakes.

Her first foal, the Theatrical colt Media Puzzle won stakes in Ireland and Australia, topped by the Melbourne Cup. Her third foal, Refuse to Bend, handed Moyglare its first English classic win when he won the 2000 Guineas in 2003. The same year, the Sadler’s Wells colt also took Leopardstown’s Group 3 Desmond Stakes and its 2000 Guineas Trial, helping him secure the top weight on the Irish Free Handicap for seven to nine furlongs. He followed up with victories in the Group 1 Eclipse and Queen Anne Stakes at 4 and also finished third that year in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

– Glenye Cain Oakford