Ankle Injury Ends Shamardal Career

Shamardal will miss his intended showdown with Derby winner Motivator in tomorrow´s Coral-Eclipse Stakes after chipping a bone in his ankle.

The Godolphin three-year-old suffered the setback yesterday and will now be retired to stud.

Shamardal, winner of the French 2000 Guineas and Derby, was set to face his Epsom counterpart in front of a sell-out crowd at Sandown tomorrow and connections had been confident of a good show.

'Everyone is very sad, especially Sheikh Maktoum as he was very fond of this colt and he was very much looking forward to the Eclipse tomorrow,' Godolphin´s racing manager Simon Crisford told At The Races.

'He worked on Wednesday morning and had a very easy blow out after which we expressed great satisfaction at the way he moved and the way he worked.

'He was clinically absolutely fine afterwards and it was only at evening stables last night when he came out for a pick of grass that he took just one lame step.

'As a consequence we put him straight back in his box. The vet immediately went to work to try to establish what the problem was.

'At that time it looked as though he had a possible foot condition but X-rays on his ankle revealed a fresh chip which would require surgery if he was to continue to race so the decision was taken.

'Sheikh Maktoum has taken the view that he should really retire to stud. He´s had a very illustrious career and this is the right thing to do.'

Connections of Motivator offered their sympathy to Shamardal´s camp after the long-awaited clash between the pair had to be called off.

The Derby winner is now a very short price to follow up at Sandown, but Harry Herbert, racing manager to Motivator´s owners the Royal Ascot Racing Club, said: 'It´s an absolute tragedy, it really is and a reminder to us that anything can happen.

'It has robbed the public of a wonderful racehorse. We wanted to take on the best and were all looking forward to a fantastic contest between the two.

'I am desperately sorry for Sheikh Mohammed and his team, it reminds us how fragile these beautiful creatures are. He was one of the best three-year-olds around.'

Crisford explained where it was felt the colt suffered the injury, described on Godolphin´s official website, www.godolphin.com, as an osteochondral fracture fragment of his right fore fetlock.

'We don´t really know if it occurred during his last piece of work but it seems likely that´s what happened,' he went on.

'It was a very easy bit of work but it´s more than likely that it occurred at that time.

'All along we have been happy with his condition. He had come out of his York race incredibly well, he hadn´t lost any weight, he was very fresh. This is a completely new injury which has obviously put paid to it all.

'The prognosis for a full return to training and racing following surgery would be favourable, but this colt has achieved so much.

'Don´t forget he won the Dewhurst, he was champion two-year-old of Europe, he´s a dual Classic winner, he won the St James´s Palace.

'There´s not a lot more a colt can achieve and the fact of the matter is he will be a very big addition to Sheikh Maktoum´s stud.'

The rest of the Godolphin team expressed their disappointment on the website.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor said: 'It is very disappointing that this injury has occurred. We were looking forward so much to running him against Motivator and the others in the Eclipse.

'He would have had a great chance in the race as he was in tremendous form.

'With this problem, he is not going to run again which makes me unhappy. We found the horse unsound but these things happen in racing.

'Shamardal was a great racehorse - he won three Group One races this year. The first two were Classics and then he won very easily at York in the St James´s Palace Stakes. He is one of the best horses Godolphin has had.'

Frankie Dettori, Godolphin´s retained rider who won the French races on Shamardal, said: 'He was a great horse to be around - very uncomplicated - and a real champion.

'He had real gears and I was particularly looking forward to the Eclipse.

'He was the champion two-year-old and a dual classic winner this year and the St James´s Palace victor. We have already seen how good he was but it is a shame that he could not fulfil his full potential in the great career he was going to have.'

Kerrin McEvoy, Godolphin´s second jockey, partnered Shamardal to victory last time out in the St James´s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot at York.

He said: 'It is terrible news - when I got off at York I said I had never ridden an easier Group One winner.

'He gave me a real thrill at Royal Ascot at York - it is very disappointing that he cannot take his spot in the Eclipse and race in the future. He was such a lovely horse - a true racehorse.'

As a two-year-old Shamardal was trained by Mark Johnston, winning all his three races, culminating in an eye-catching two-and-a-half length success in the Dewhurst Stakes last October.

After joining Godolphin, the Giant´s Causeway colt flopped on his seasonal bow in the UAE Derby at Nad Al Sheba in March when his connections suggested he was unsuited by the dirt track.

A return to turf saw him bounce back to winning form in style when he landed the Poule d´Essai des Poulains at Longchamp and he quickly followed up in the 10-and-a-half-furlong Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly beating subsequent Irish Derby winner Hurricane Run.

Shamardal was last seen in action when cruising to a hugely impressive three-length win in the St James´s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot at York.

Following the news of Shamardal´s withdrawal, bookmakers revised their betting with Motivator now 1-2.

Coral-Eclipse Stakes, Ladbrokes bet: 1-2 Motivator, 7-2 Starcraft, 7-1 Oratorio, 16-1 Diamond Green, 25-1 Altieri, 40-1 Hazyview, 50-1 Hurricane Alan.

? PA Sport