28 July 2023 , 09:41
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The 2021 Derby winner Adayar has been retired from racing on the eve of the prize in which he gained his last Group 1 victory.
The Godolphin-owned five-year-old was being primed for his third appearance in Saturday’s star-studded King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot.
But he was taken out of the race after he was beaten at odds-on in his warm-up race at Newmarket this month and connections have decided he has done enough.
Adayar, trained by Charlie Appleby, won five of his 13 races, earning nearly £2 million in prize-money.
He was Appleby’s third string when he won the Derby by four and a half lengths at odds of 16-1 under Adam Kirby at Epsom.
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He backed up that performance by winning the King George at Ascot, becoming the first since his grandsire Galileo to win the Ascot showpiece in the same year.
In completing the double, he added his name to an illustrious list that includes Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Shergar, Nashwan, Generous, Lammtarra and the aforementioned Galileo.
He was kept in training until five with ambitions he could land a top level prize at 1m2f but he was beaten in all three Group 1 attempts, the latest in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot where he finished third.
Appleby said, “Adayar provided the team with two outstanding days on the racecourse at Epsom and Ascot and has been a firm favourite in the yard for the past three seasons. He has been an absolute pleasure to train.
“He will be sorely missed at Moulton Paddocks but we look forward to watching him in his new career at stud and are quite sure he will be a huge success.”