Champion stayer and leading National Hunt sire Kayf Tara has died at the age of 28.

After starting life with Sir Michael Stoute, Kayf Tara was transferred to the care of Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor at the start of his four-year-old campaign, eventually bowing out the winner 10 of his 15 career starts, including two Gold Cups and two Irish St Legers.

He retired in 2000, going on to stand as a stallion at Overbury Stud, where he produced a sizeable list of top-class jumps performers and was crowned champion National Hunt sire on 11 occasions.

Overbury manager Simon Sweeting said: “This is a very sad day for all of us at Overbury. Kayf Tara really put us on the map and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been with him through every step of what transpired to be an extraordinary career as a jump stallion, in which he won more championships than any other British National Hunt sire in history.”