European champion and internationally successful sire Shamardal has been euthanized at age 18 as a result of unspecified health issues, Darley's Kildangan Stud said on Thursday. Shamardal, who was standing for a private fee, was one of the most successful sons at stud of the late Giant's Causeway. He was produced in the European Horse of the Year’s first crop while standing in Kentucky. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales Shamardal won 6 of 7 career starts and was unbeaten on turf. He was a Group 1 winner from seven furlongs to 10 furlongs. Shamardal was the Cartier Award European champion juvenile of 2004 after winning the Group 1 Dewhurst and the Group 2 Vintage Stakes. After suffering his only loss, which came on dirt at Meydan, he rebounded to win three consecutive Group 1 races as a 3-year-old, beginning with the French 2000 Guineas and French Derby. He then won the Group 1 St. James's Palace Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting, held that season at York due to the refurbishment of its home course. That proved to be his final start, as injury forced his retirement. “Shamardal embodied mental and physical toughness – as a racehorse and as a stallion," Joe Osborne, managing director of Godolphin Ireland, said in a release. "As the racing world has seen over the past 15 years, he passed those qualities on to his progeny. “He contended with a range of health issues over recent years and did so with fortitude and resilience. It’s a tough day for us saying goodbye to him. This is an appropriate time to thank our team of stallion personnel and support professionals who cared for him so well and so kindly throughout his time here at Kildangan Stud." Shamardal, the sire of 151 stakes winners, was coming off a smashing 2019 season at stud, led by Godolphin colorbearers Blue Point and Pintaubo, both Cartier Award winners. Champion sprinter Blue Point won the Group 1 Al Quoz in Dubai, then the Group 1 King's Stand at Royal Ascot, which he also won in 2018. Four days later, he scored a rare double at Royal Ascot, capturing the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee. Meanwhile, Pinatubo won all six of his starts to earn the 2-year-old championship, with Group 1 victories in the Dewhurst and in the Vincent O'Brien National. Shamardal sired two other unbeaten juveniles last year in English and French Group 1 winner Earthlight and fellow French Group 1 winner Victor Ludorum Shamardal is the sire of 2015 Hong Kong Horse of the Year Able Friend, a five-time Group 1 winner, and of Hong Kong champion Pakistan Star. The stallion's other champions are Australian champion Faint Perfume, Saudi Arabian champions Amazing Speed and Water Queen, and Czechoslovakian Horse of the Year Subway Dancer. Shamardal's son Lope de Vega emulated his sire by winning the French 2000 Guineas and French Derby. Shamardal is also the sire of Group 1 winners Casamento, Lumiere, and Mukhadram; French Group 1 winners Amaron, Baltic Baroness, Castle Lady, Dariyan, Sagawara, and Speedy Boarding; Italian Group 1 winners Crackerjack King and Zazou; Dubai Group 1 winner Tryster; Australian Group 1 winners Captain Sonador, Delectation, and Maybe Discreet; Hong Kong Group 1 winner Dunboyne Express; Singapore Group 1 winners Gingerbread Man; and Taiwan Group 1 winner Noble Alpha. Shamardal's daughter Sheikha Reika won the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in 2018. The stallion's top runners in the U.S. have been Castle Lady, who finished second in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last fall at Keeneland, and Grade 3 winners Oregon Lady and Qaraaba. Blue Point entered stud this year at Darley's Kildangan operation, which also stands Shamardal's son French Navy a freshman sire last year. Shamardal’s other sons left behind at stud include Lope de Vega, who stands at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland. He is known internationally with the likes of Australian champion Santa Ana Lane and Singapore Horse of the Year I'm Incredible, and his daughter Newspaperofrecord won the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.