Injuries force Alpha Centauri and Saxon Warrior into retirement
THE racing world was left reeling yesterday as Jessica Harrington’s superstar filly Alpha Centauri and Aidan O’Brien’s English 2,000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior were both forced into early retirement.
Alpha Centauri has been one of the stars of the Flat season, landing a famous four-timer in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Falmouth and Prix Jacques le Marois.
It was expected that the daughter of Mastercraftsman would extend that sequence to five with victory in Saturday’s Matron Stakes at Leopardstown, but the red-hot favourite (30/100) had no answer to Karl Burke’s Laurens and was reported clinically abnormal post-race.
It subsequently emerged that she had chipped a joint in her right front fetlock.
Alan Cooper, racing manager to owners the Niarchos family, said: “After discussions with the vets and Jessie, the decision has been made to retire her.
“The pleasure she has given us all this year has been fantastic and she was very brave yesterday under far from ideal circumstances. She has been a super mare.
Saxon Warrior, touted as a possible English Triple Crown winner after his Guineas success at Newmarket in May, was also put out to pasture with a tendon problem.
The Deep Impact colt went down fighting to John Gosden’s Roaring Lion by a neck in a thrilling Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday in his last action on the racecourse.
“He was sore when he got home so we wrapped him up and when we took the bandages off this morning there was a lot of swelling to his nearfore tendon and a scan revealed quite a significant core lesion to his flexor tendon,” O’Brien said.
“Ryan (Moore) said Saxon Warrior wanted to get on top of the running rail, and that isn’t like him. Ryan never hit him and to battle the way he did to be beaten only a neck shows how brave a horse he is. It’s a big pity that we’ve had to retire him.”
It wasn’t all bad for O’Brien, however, as he secured his sixth English St Leger success at Doncaster on Saturday, with Kew Gardens (3/1) staying on stoutly to get the better of Gosden’s filly Lah Ti Dar (7/4 favourite).
A tilt at next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp is likely to be next on the cards, with winning rider Moore full of praise for the Galileo colt.
“He’s a very uncomplicated horse, he’s got a great attitude to life and he picked up really well. He’s a super horse,” Moore said.
O’Brien added: “We always thought he was a horse that would stay well and we thought the distance would suit him. He has a lot of class and we’re over the moon really.”