Champion racehorse War Pass died Dec. 24 at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky. The 5-year-old stallion had just arrived the evening before in good order from standing his second Southern Hemisphere season at Widden Stud in Australia.

The morning of his death, War Pass showed no signs of illness or injury. He was turned out in his paddock and died several hours later. Preliminary necropsy results are inconclusive.

"We are very saddened to lose such a promising stallion," Farish said. "His first foals arrived this year and were extremely well received. He will be buried in the Lane's End cemetery."

Unbeaten at 2, War Pass captured the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the Champagne Stakes. He was named champion 2-year-old male in 2007. At 3, he ran second in the Wood Memorial Stakes