Germany lost the last link with one of its golden eras when Lando was put down at Gestut Hof Ittlingen on Tuesday.  He was 23.

Lando (Acatenango) suffered a severe attack of colic and, although surgery was successful, he fractured a leg while trying to stand up after the operation.  “Lando was the best horse we have ever bred,” Gestut Hof Ittlingen owner Manfred Ostermann said.  “He was an outstanding horse with an impeccable physique and fighting spirit.”

Lando was among a vintage crop of colts born in Germany in 1990, alongside Monsun and Sternkoenig.  He beat that pair in the G1 Deutsches Derby and later that year defeated Platini in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden.

At four, he beat Sternkoenig in the Hansa-Preis and then defeated Monsun to land his second Grosser Preis von Baden.  At the end of the season, his Group 1 tally reached four in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club.

There were two more top-flight successes as a five-year-old in Milan and Dusseldorf, before a gallant fourth to Lammtarra in the Arc de Triomphe.

Lando signed off his career with a seventh Group 1 victory in the 1995 Japan Cup.   At stud, he sired 14 Group winners and, apart from his domestic haul, there were G1 highlights in the Singapore Cup (Epalo) and Dubai Duty Free (Paolini).

His arch-rivals pre-deceased Lando.  Sternkönig (Kalaglow) suffering a fractured leg at Gestüt Görlsdorf in May 2010 and Monsun (Konigsstuhl) was put down at Gestüt Schlenderhan in September 2012.