Rock of Gibraltar, the iconic racehorse that was at the centre of a tug-of-war that many fans believe ended up being the catalyst to the Glazer family’s much-maligned takeover of Manchester United, has died from heart failure at the age of 23.
The racehorse was named the European Horse of the Year in 2002 and was the first horse to claim seven consecutive Group 1 wins in the Northern Hemisphere. This earned his owners £1.2m in prize money, two of which were Sir Alex Ferguson and Susan Magnier, the wife of former United shareholder John Magnier.
Rock of Gibraltar was a regular winner while he was racing and all was well, but it was his retirement that ignited the feud that would open the door to the Glazers.
