Diamond Shoal

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Diamond Shoal (6 May 1979 – ca. 1996) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a breeding stallion. Bred and owned by Paul Mellon and trained by Ian Balding, he was a bay horse with a white sock on his left hind leg.

As a two-year-old, Diamond Shoal showed promise, winning two of six starts. He improved in his three-year-old season, winning a nine-furlong handicap at Epsom and placing in several major races, including the St Leger where he finished well up but not a winner.

In 1983 Diamond Shoal blossomed into a leading middle-distance performer. He won the John Porter Stakes at Newbury, the Grand Prix d’Evry in France, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in France, the Gran Premio di Milano in Italy (becoming the first British-trained winner since the race’s inception in 1924), and the Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany. He also ran well in other top races, notably finishing a close second in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and contesting the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where he finished well back. Timeform rated him the top older male in Europe for 1983, and he earned high marks in the official International Classification and Gilbey Racing awards.

After his racing career, Diamond Shoal was retired to stud at Walmac-Warnerton in Kentucky with an initial fee of $25,000. He later stood in Japan, but he was not a particularly successful sire, though he did produce a few winners, such as Stormy Deep. His last recorded foals were born in 1995, and he was put out of stud in 1996.