Irish G1 Winner Economics Dies at Five After Colic Surgery in Pune

Economics, the Night of Thunder colt who produced a commanding victory in the 2024 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, has died at the age of five after complications from colic surgery at Poonawalla Stud Farms in Pune, India. The son of Night of Thunder was standing his first season at stud in India after being sold following an eighth-place finish in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.

Poonawalla managing director Simone Poonawalla provided the clinical sequence of events, saying, "Economics had colic which required surgery to correct a large colon displacement. Without surgery we were told that he wouldn’t get out of it. He came out of the surgery well but the hypoxic injury the gut sustained due to this displacement unfortunately resulted in him developing colitis post surgery. Despite our best efforts and the best veterinary care, he could not be saved." Poonawalla added that this was the first time the operation had lost a stallion to colic since 1955 and confirmed the colt was "laid to rest with the most dignified burial he so rightfully deserves."

On the track, Economics was trained by William Haggas and campaigned for owner Shaikh Isa Salman Al Khalifa. His key victories included a six-length success in the Dante Stakes at York and a Group 2 victory in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville, building into his career highlight at Leopardstown where he fended off high-class rivals including Auguste Rodin, Los Angeles and Luxembourg to claim the Irish Champion Stakes. That Leopardstown triumph moved Economics into the top five of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2024 and earned him nominations for Cartier Horse of the Year and Cartier 3-year-old colt.

Tom Marquand, who partnered Economics in six of his seven starts, commented on social media as reported, "Very sad news about an extremely special horse to a lot of people. He rewarded everybody’s work and passion with an exceptional day in Ireland, winning the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes." An Instagram post also acknowledged the loss, stating in truncated form, "Rest in peace to the beautiful Economics who passed away today in India due to colic. He had multiple group wins which were the G1 Irish".

Poonawalla's acquisition of Economics was widely reported as a strategic statement by the Pune-based operation; Sahracing described the purchase as "widely viewed as another statement of intent from one of world racing’s most respected breeding operations - a farm that has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Indian Thoroughbred." The colt arrived in India "with genuine momentum behind him" and was preparing to begin his stud career when he fell ill.

Economics' loss removes a recently top-five world-ranked middle-distance prospect from the international stallion ranks and ends what connections had hoped would be a defining new chapter for a horse that had developed steadily into an elite performer for William Haggas. Poonawalla confirmed the farm's devastation and noted the colt will "forever remain in a special place with us." Exact calendar details around the timing of his death have not been confirmed publicly beyond recent reports.