In the role of honour of recent Cheltenham Festival surprise winners, Labaik is quite high on the list - but there is no other horse that has a story quite like his.
He began his career with trainer John Hammond in France, running in eight races on the flat before switching to Owen Burrows' yard in England
After he refused to race at Lingfield for Burrows, he was sold by his then owner -Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum - the Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
Labaik was sold for €28,000 in April 2016 and landed around €80,000 by winning the 2017 Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival before being seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
Trained by Gordon Elliott, he won the Prestbury Park contest at odds of 25/1, having refused to race in his three previous starts.
He only completed one of those three races - coming second last and 100 lengths behind the winner in a Grade 2 event at Naas some three weeks before Cheltenham.
Despite this, there were whispers around Cheltenham prior to the opening race at the meeting that Labaik might run well if he decided to start with the rest of the runners, which is exactly what he did.
Elliott believes it was the sound of a long whip that made him start, while others claimed it was the famous Cheltenham roar.
Whatever it was, Labaik remained focused on his job throughout the race and he powered up the hill to beat the long-time ante-post favourite Melon.
Speaking after the win, Elliott revealed he had wanted to run the horse in Naas instead of bringing him as part of his powerful battalion to the Cotswolds track.
The Meath trainer said: "He could have gone to Naas on Sunday, I said to the lads it wouldn't be as embarrassing if he refuses there.
"It just all worked out today. I told Jack if he jumped off to just hunt around and ride him for a place. I've always said he's our best work horse in the yard. I don't care if he never jumps off again!"
The Jack he mentioned is Jack Kennedy, with Labaik giving the then 17-year-old his first ever Cheltenham success.
The Co Kerry jockey rode four more winners at the meeting the following year.
Incredibly, Kennedy only got to ride Labaik after Keith Donoghue announced that he was halting his career in the saddle due to weight issues.
Donoghue has of course returned to action since and steered Tiger Roll to victories in the Cross Country Chase in both 2018 and 2019.
Speaking after the win, Kennedy said: "Words can’t describe what it’s like.
"I was probably a little bit far back but they went a good gallop.
"It couldn’t have gone any better."
The Supreme win is the last time Labaik was seen in the winners enclosure, with his only two runs since coming at the the Punchestown Festival later that year.
He was back to his old ways when initially refusing to go in the Champion Novice Hurdle, where he finished last, before coming fourth in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle three days later.
But between Cheltenham and Punchestown Labaik was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau after they began to investigate John Boylan, who owned 90% of the horse, under proceeds of crime legislation.
The High Court then ruled in October 2019 that Boylan paid for his share in the horse with the proceeds of crime.
CAB seized the horse's passport shortly after his Prestbury Park success to stop him being sold at the Aintree Sales weeks later.
Speaking in the High Court almost two years ago, Elliott said the horse was worth between €250,000 to €300,000 after the Cheltenham victory but was “not worth very much” by April 2019.
Elliott and bloodstock agent Aidan O’Ryan, who owned 5% of the horse each, were both cleared of any wrong-doing and have no involvement in crime.
Labaik's racing career ended some time ago, but his death was confirmed earlier this week.
Elliott explained: “Labaik died of a colic two or three months ago here in the yard.
“It has been reported (on social media) he sustained a cut to a leg and was put down, which wasn’t true. He wasn’t being ridden out and had been retired.
“He won a Supreme Novice Hurdle for us, was very talented and a very good horse.”
We may not have seen that talent on too many occasions, but Labaik delivered when it mattered most.
His death brings an end to one of the most fascinating racing stories of recent years and it's one that will be very hard to match.
