Trot Insider has learned that 2006 Confederation Cup winner Armbro Deuce p,3,1:50.2h ($811,357) has passed away at the age of 15.

Susan Young – who imported the son of Western Ideal to the United Kingdom in late 2014 – told Trot Insider that Armbro Deuce passed away during the evening hours of Tuesday, May 1 of a suspected heart attack in his stable.

Young was not far away when the career winner of $811,000 passed at the farm, which is located in Hereford, England.

“He was in the stable and he made a very loud noise, reared up and died,” said Young, who purchased the bay for her small family farm less than four years ago.

Young explained that Armbro Deuce, who was a former Canadian record holder, had not shown any indication that there was anything wrong with him prior to the incident.

“He didn’t show anything at all,” Young said. “He had a great day – bucking and enjoying life. He gave us no indication whatsoever that there was anything wrong, that’s why we’re suspecting that it might have been a heart attack brought on by a blood clot.”

Armbro Deuce was a former Canadian track record holder, as his 1:50.2 clocking in the 2006 Confederation Cup was the national mark for a three-year-old pacing colt over a half-mile track for a time. The record would ultimately be bested by the late-great Somebeachsomewhere, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer.

Although Armbro Deuce won just five of his 37 career starts, he was a star that shined brightly when he was on his game. In addition to his scintillating sweep of the Confederation Cup, he finished a close third to both Western Cyclone in the 2006 North America Cup and Artistic Fella in the 2006 Meadowlands Pace. He was also a close second to Took Hanover in the 2006 Oliver Wendell Holmes. Armbro Deuce captured his Simcoe Stakes division at Mohawk Racetrack that year before putting forth a very strong showing of himself in the Little Brown Jug.

He may have been a serious customer on the racetrack, but according to Young he was an absolute gentleman off the track.

“He was just an absolute joy to be around,” Young told Trot Insider. “He was a gentle giant and was just tremendous with kids and other visitors.

Armbro Deuce sired 200 horses before heading over to the U.K. Of the horses he sired, 140 made it to the races. Eighteen of his progeny earned more than $100,000 on the track, while a duo (Pass The Deuce, $292,889; Deuces For Charity, $288,209) banked in excess of a quarter million.

“He was a family horse for us that also did some breeding,” Young, who has five broodmares of her own, told Trot Insider. “It’s only live cover over here, and he had tremendous manners in the shed.”

In addition to Young’s five mares, Armbro Deuce did some other breeding in the U.K. “He proved to be a popular sire,” said Young, who stated that his first crop of U.K.-sired two-year-olds are scheduled to hit the track this year.

“We have all half-mile tracks here, so he worked out well,” said Young.

Young, whose horses go by the ‘Stateside’ prefix, told Trot Insider that there is a limited amount of Armbro Deuce’s frozen semen, so hopefully he can still have some impact on the racing scene in the years to come.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Armbro Deuce.