Niigon, Queen's Plate winner and sire, dies at 11

Niigon, winner of the 2004 Queen’s Plate and one of Canada’s leading sires, has died at the age of 11.

“He suffered a broken femur in his stall and we were unable to save him,” said Rob Landry, general manager for Chiefswood Stable, which stood Niigon at Colebrook Farms.

Niigon also finished second in the Plate Trial prior to winning the Queen’s Plate and followed up with a second-place finish, beaten a head, in Fort Erie’s Prince of Wales and a third via disqualification in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga.

A son of Unbridled and the Nureyev mare Savethelastdance, Niigon has sired stakes winners It’s Gail, Seen It All Before, Niigon’s Touch, and Reconnect.

This year, Niigon stands second on the Ontario sires list with 29 winners from 52 runners, good for earnings of $1.98 million.

“He was a tremendous racehorse and was only beginning to prove his worth as a sire,” said Landry, a former jockey who piloted the Ontario-bred Niigon to his Queen’s Plate victory. “We will all miss him.”