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THE Irish National Stud has suffered a major blow with the death of Verglas, who died on Tuesday following an accident in his stable.

The son of Highest Honor was 17 years old and had been covering this season at a fee of €10,000.

“He was very close to us,” said John Osborne, chief executive ofthe Irish National Stud, yesterday. “He made it the hard way and was very popular with breeders."

Verglas, a half-brother to King's Stand Stakes winner Cassandra Go, was trained by Kevin Prendergast to win the Coventry Stakes at two and was second to Desert King in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at three.

He originally stood at the Haras de Haie Neuve in France at a bargain-basement fee, but after good results from his first crops he was added to the Irish National Stud roster in 2005.

Verglas is sire of nine Pattern-race winners, headed by Group 1 scorers Silver Frost (Poule d'Essai des Poulains) and Stormy River (Prix Jean Prat).

Verglas has proven consistently popular since his arrival in Ireland. He covered 154 mares last year, 154 in 2009 and 149 in 2008.