He won the French Derby in 1995 and was also known for his performances in the autumn of the previous year, when his wins at Ascot and at Doncaster led to the horse being the highest-rated two-year-old in modern European racing.

Celtic Swing was owned for most of his career by Peter Savill, bred by Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk and trained by her daughter Lady Herries in Sussex.

Going into 1995, expectations ran high for Celtic Swing with widespread claims that he would be one of the greatest horses of all time, and almost unprecedentedly short odds for the 2,000 Guineas and Derby.

Claims were even made that, 25 years after Nijinsky had been the last horse to do it, he would also take the St Leger and win the colts' Triple Crown, which it was widely believed had become almost impossible due to specialist breeding.

But the first cracks in Celtic Swing's armour suddenly emerged: although he fought back near the end, he could not beat the French horse Pennekamp, who eventually won by a head.

It had been intended to run him again as a four-year-old in the later part of the 1996 season, but the injury recurred and, almost unnoticed, the much-hyped "wonderhorse" was quietly retired on 20 July 1996, more than a year after his last race.