Double Trigger was bred in Ireland, a son of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Ela-Mana-Mou.

[3] Double Trigger showed himself to be a promising horse from the start, following a ten-length win in a Redcar maiden in September 1993 with a victory in the Listed Zetland Stakes at Newmarket a month later.

He then embarked on a brief international campaign, "easily"[5] winning the St Leger Italiano (then a Group 3 race) and finishing seventh of fourteen to Red Bishop in the inaugural Hong Kong Vase.

Although his best performance was probably at Ascot, where he beat the St Leger winner Moonax by five lengths,[7] his Goodwood triumph was even more notable, as he prevailed by a neck over his full brother Double Eclipse[8] in a "thrilling" finish.

He returned in September to beat Celeric in the Doncaster Cup showing, according to Greg Wood writing in the Independent, "all his famous swagger and resolution" .

[14] His 1997 campaign was his least successful and he began with two of his worst performances, finishing unplaced in both the Sagaro Stakes and the Gold Cup (won by Celeric), leading some to conclude that he was no longer a threat in major races.

[15] He did, however, produce one excellent performance to win his second Goodwood Cup,[16] setting a "fierce pace" from the start and beating Classic Cliche by one and a half lengths.

Assessing Double Trigger in the Racing Post Tony Morris wrote Few horses in history have displayed in such full measure the class, courage, stamina and durability that were his hallmarks.