Classic-producing stallion Daredevil died at age 14 in Turkey on Sept. 10, according to a translated statement from the Jockey Club of Turkey. The son of More Than Ready was standing at the Izmit Covering Station during his second stint under the banner of the Turkish Jockey Club. No cause of death has been disclosed by the club.
In the Turkish statement, published on the club-affiliated site Pegadrom, officials note that Daredevil began covering mares in Turkey in 2020. He was then sent to Lane's End in Kentucky to stand the 2021 breeding season on behalf of the club before being returned to Turkey for the 2025 season. Across an 11-year stud career, the club described him as having “etched his name in golden letters” in global breeding through his results at home and abroad, a phrase also reported by Paulick Report.
Before his export, Daredevil had already made his mark in North America as a Grade 1-winning two-year-old, a credential noted in multiple obituaries. His first crop hit the track in 2019, and by 2020 he was the sire of two top-class fillies: Preakness Stakes heroine Swiss Skydiver and Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil. The Turkish club's recap points out that Swiss Skydiver became the first filly since 1924 to win the Preakness and just the sixth filly overall to take the classic. In the same season, Shedaresthedevil captured the Kentucky Oaks with Swiss Skydiver second, making Daredevil the first stallion whose initial crop produced winners of both the Oaks and the Preakness in the same year.
Despite those headline-grabbing results, Daredevil's commercial trajectory was anything but straightforward. A feature in Thoroughbred Daily News recounts how Shedaresthedevil's Oaks victory prompted Lane's End, in partnership with the Turkish Jockey Club, to repatriate Daredevil to Kentucky. Even with a classic winner and a Preakness heroine to advertise, the article notes that Kentucky breeders remained wary, and Daredevil ultimately returned to Turkey the following year. His path illustrates how performance in the starting gate does not always translate to sustained demand in the breeding shed, especially for stallions who spend significant time outside Kentucky's traditional marketplace.
Recent race records show Daredevil's name still popping up on cards around the world, underscoring the breadth of his influence. The Racing Post profile for Jochi Khan lists Daredevil as the sire of the U.S.-bred runner, while a similar page for Farrand identifies him as the sire of that horse as well. A recent allowance at Thistledown detailed by BloodHorse includes a gelding by Daredevil, evidence that his stock remains active in North American handicapping puzzles. For bettors, his progeny have earned a reputation for stamina and grit at classic distances, shaped by the high-profile exploits of Swiss Skydiver and Shedaresthedevil, and that profile is likely to keep his offspring prominent in stakes and allowance fields even as the stallion himself is gone.
For Turkey, losing Daredevil is a significant blow to a state-run program that invested heavily in importing proven international stallions. The Jockey Club of Turkey emphasized in its statement that his success elevated the country's standing in global Thoroughbred breeding, suggesting that his daughters and potential sons at stud will be crucial to maintaining that momentum. Given his unusual career arc—shuttling between Kentucky and Turkey while siring classic winners on one crop—Daredevil's legacy will likely be measured not only in black-type charts but in how breeders reassess mid-priced stallions who deliver elite performance outside traditional expectations. In the meantime, handicappers and pedigree players alike will keep seeing his name in catalog pages and past performances, a reminder that a stallion who never quite fit the commercial mold still managed to leave a lasting mark on the modern classic scene.
