O'Brien Hails Wonderful Washington

Aidan O'Brien saluted the epic achievements of George Washington, the 2006 champion miler whose quest for Breeders' Cup honours ended in tragedy.

Ballydoyle's enigmatic star was humanely destroyed after the 5million Classic at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

The supremely talented son of Danehill had to be put down after being pulled up by Mick Kinane shortly after entering the rain-sodden straight.

George Washington sustained an open fracture of the cannon-bone in the right-front fetlock joint and also fractured both sesamoid bones, to leave his proud trainer crestfallen.

'It was obviously a straightforward decision,' said O'Brien.

'The bone had gone through his skin so there was no chance of surgery.

'To try and get him back together, he would have suffered a lot more so it was the right thing to do.'

George Washington won six of his 14 races, including four at the highest level, and accrued total prize money in excess of #800,000.

Many believe his best performance came in the 2000 Guineas of last year, when the mercurial colt produced a devastating turn of foot to win the Newmarket Classic.

His other Group One victories were achieved in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the National Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

'He was an unbelievably talented horse,' added O'Brien.

'He had a big attitude and a big ego.

'He believed he was the best and he knew he was the best.

'He was just one of those freaks that don't come along very often ? he was a natural athlete,' the Ballydoyle handler told RTE Sport.

Jockey Seamus Heffernan developed a lifelong affinity with ?Gorgeous George' and rode him into third place behind Notnowcato in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown in July.

'He was one of the most talented horses I've known, but was extremely temperamental,' said Heffernan.

'I had the pleasure of riding him in the Eclipse. He was tricky going to the start, but he was as fresh coming back in after the race.

'He was very difficult and was the character of the yard.

'He was the daddy.'

Breeders' Cup vet Dr Wayne McIlwraith does not believe the sloppy racetrack was to blame for the irreparable injuries sustained by George Washington.

Monmouth Park was deluged with rain for the best part of 48 hours but McIlwraith was not inclined to blame the surface.

He said: 'There's been no comparative work done scientifically as far as the nature of the track (is concerned).

'At times with a sloppy racetrack at the end of the day you could have some concerns because they are running in the base.

'Obviously the base is not made for them to be running on directly ? it was a very sloppy track.

'The rest of the races have gone off well, but it's always a concern.'

McIlwraith also theorised fatigue could have played a part.

'Typically, these injuries occur in the last part of the race,' he said.

'Horses are more fatigued so they have got less support to the joint. And that's when the injuries normally occur.'

McIlwraith pointed out that the predominantly turf-raced George Washington might have experienced greater physical stress by switching to dirt.

'He could have had trouble with being less co-ordinated on that, as he's used to racing on grass ? those are possibilities,' he added.

'We generally consider these fractures to start as associated with earlier damage, so they can sustain a small degree of damage and then it can escalate into a fracture.

'So it is quite possible, especially when you have a horse that's relatively inexperienced at that surface and racing on a different surface.'

However, McIlwraith does not believe the decision to run George Washington in the Classic was injudicious.

'I was being asked for sort of possibilities, and you can certainly have many contributing factors,' he said.

'But, no, I certainly did not imply that it's not a wise move (to switch to dirt).'

In keeping with his capricious nature, George Washington presented O'Brien with an unusual test when returning to training earlier this season following an unsuccessful first attempt at stallion duties.

And while he never quite reached the stratospheric highs of last term, the four-year-old's exploits will never be forgotten by the racing community.

Legendary BBC racing commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan led the tributes, saying: 'He was the sort of charismatic character that racing needs and is a seriously sad loss.

'He was a proper personality and liked things done his own way.

'I think he appealed enormously to individuals because of his individualistic approach, which was very refreshing.

'He was a really exciting character and it was great that he attracted the sobriquet ?Gorgeous George' as it seemed very appropriate.

'He was a lovely horse and it was a terribly sad end.'

Sir Percy was two and a half lengths adrift of George Washington in the 2000 Guineas before winning last year's Vodafone Derby.

His trainer Marcus Tregoning said: 'Obviously he was a phenomenal racehorse and on the day of the Guineas he was very, very good.

'I know he had been disappointing at stud the first time around but he was a Classic winner after all and it's a disaster really.'

Kerrin McEvoy savoured Group One glory aboard Ibn Khaldun at Doncaster on the same day George Washington reached his sad demise.

'It was terrible and it's just a massive shame that George Washington had to be put down,' reflected the Australian jockey.

'I've been behind him in races before and he had a great character about him so it's a big shame things had to end that way.'

(C) PA Sport