local police station with orders to bring back with him a constable with a loaded gun, as a horse was required to be destroyed. The police officer – his name was Preston – reported himself to Mr. Disney, who gave the necessary directions for the destruction of Birdcatcher. The horse was placed on the brink of a sandpit situated on the flat opposite Conyngham Lodge, Curragh; without any ceremony he was shot and his carcass tumbled into the pit. Thus ended the career of a good racehorse and a mighty sultan at the age of twenty-seven years. His head was afterwards presented to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Dublin." Pedigree References 1833 racehorse births 1860 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 11-d