Frankie Dettori has described three-time Ascot Gold Cup winner as a ‘one in a lifetime’ horse after the legendary stayer was retired on Monday morning.
The seven-time Group One winner has been retired at the age of eight by owner Bjorn Nielsen and trainers John & Thady Gosden, having been slow to recover from the bruised foot he sustained last month in the build-up to the Lonsdale Cup at York.
In a sensational career, John and Thady Gosden’s star stayer won three Ascot Gold Cups as well as four Goodwood Cups, three Lonsdale Cups and two Doncaster Cups for Nielsen.
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“What can I say? He’s been a part of my life for the past six years. A good friend, a wonderful horse, so many great times together. “I’ve never ridden a horse with so many Group wins under my name, I think we did 14 together.
“Big thank you to Bjorn Nielsen and also a big well done to the Clarehaven team.
“It was an honour for me to ride him and I will miss him a lot, he’s been a fabulous horse to have, one of a lifetime. I wish him a happy retirement and hopefully he’ll become a great stallion in the future.”
The star stayer will now be sent to the National Stud in order to take his place as a National Hunt stallion.
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Rab Havlin pays tribute to the great Stradivarius, who has been retired today after an incredible career
The popular chestnut won a total of 20 races from 35 starts, collecting prize money of over ?3.4m in the process.
Frankie Dettori, who rode Stradivarius in all but nine of his 35 career starts and was in the saddle for the vast majority of his successes, said in a message posted to Twitter: “I’ve just got the news that the mighty Strad has retired, I’m on my way to Germany to ride Torquator Tasso for the Arc.