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Lethal Force retired to stud

The grey Lethal Force pictured winning at Royal Ascot earlier this yearThe grey Lethal Force pictured winning at Royal Ascot earlier this year
© Healy Racing Photos

Star sprinter Lethal Force, winner of two Group Ones this season, has been retired to Cheveley Park Stud.

Cheveley bought a share of the Clive Cox-trained four-year-old earlier this month, with the intention being that he would retire at the end of the season.

That decision has now been made, with Cox paying tribute to a horse that gave him top-level success in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket, both times under Adam Kirby.

Cox said: "He's been retired and has joined Cheveley in the last 24 hours. I think it's a very exciting time to go to stud, we have had such a marvellous time in the time we have trained him.

"He's been absolutely super, right from the beginning of this year especially, and it has been a tremendous journey.

"Winning at Royal Ascot was tremendous and following up in the July Cup in a course-record time was an extremely proud and powerful success.

"We should also remember his second to Moonlight Cloud at Deauville in what was another race run in a course-record time. It was a very commendable run.

"I have been so thrilled to be part of his career. This is a new chapter for him going to stud."

Lethal Force's final start was when ninth in the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock on unsuitably soft ground, a race stablemate Reckless Abandon was forced to miss with a setback.

However, Cox reports the former crack juvenile to be back in good form and on target for the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp on Sunday week.

He said: "I'm very pleased with him and as we speak I hope he is very much on target for the Abbaye.

"He had a sore hamstring with regards to Haydock, but he's done extremely well through the last couple of weeks."