Rite Of Passage (29 March 2004 – May 2023) was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the Ascot Gold Cup and being named Cartier Racing Award for European Champion Stayer in 2010.
After retiring to stud in 2001 Giant's Causeway sired the winners of more than three hundred races, including 26 at Group One/Grade I level.
Rite Of Passage was ridden by Robbie McNamara in most of his National Hunt starts and by Pat Smullen in all of his flat races.
Rite Of Passage won one of these events, at Galway in August 2008, starting the 9/4 favourite and beating 19 rivals "very easily".
[5] Six months later he reappeared at Naas in a similar event and won by six lengths from the odds-on favourite Quadrillon before being sent to the Cheltenham Festival for the Grade I Champion Bumper where Pat Smullen replaced the amateur Robbie McNamara as his jockey.
[6] Rite Of Passage moved up to dispute the lead two furlongs out but looked outpaced in the closing stages and finished third, ten lengths behind Dunguib.
In January at Leopardstown he won on his hurdling debut, when his only danger came when he was carried wide by a loose (riderless) horse on the turn into the straight.
He raced in third and survived a "barging match" with the tiring Akmal (for which Smullen was subsequently disciplined)[11] to challenge Age of Aquarius for the lead a furlong out.
[16] Rite Of Passage was aimed at a second Gold Cup, but had problems in training, and was ruled out of the race by Weld five days before the event.