Aidan O'Brien hails 'unbelievable specimen' Paddington as star's retirement is announced

Paddington, one of the brightest stars of the Flat season by virtue of winning four Group 1s on the trot, has been retired with Aidan O'Brien hailing him an "unbelievable specimen" and comparing him to the official iron horse Giant's Causeway.

Despite toiling in testing conditions at Ascot last Saturday, where he trailed in ninth of the 11 runners and 35 lengths behind Big Rock in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Paddington was due to take on Godolphin pair Mawj and Master Of The Seas in next Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

However, an elevated temperature and respiratory infection has ruled him out of that and his owners Coolmore have decided to call time on his racing career.

The superb Siyouni colt won six races in a row between late March and early August, taking the unconventional route to winning at the top level by landing the Madrid Handicap at Naas on his first start as a three-year-old.

From there he won the Listed Tetrarch Stakes at the Curragh before taking the first Classic of the season in Ireland, the Irish 2,000 Guineas. He was a scintillating winner of the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot before stepping up from a mile to 1m2f to edge out Emily Upjohn in a thrilling Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Paddington gets the better of Emily Upjohn in the Coral-EclipseCredit: Mark Cranham

Paddington returned to a mile to win the Sussex Stakes on bottomless ground at Glorious Goodwood and, while the latter stages of the campaign have not gone according to plan with below-par efforts in the Juddmonte International and QEII, he will still go down as one of the success stories of the season.

O'Brien likened him to six-time Group 1 winner Giant's Causeway, who similarly competed in a host of top-level events in 2000, but said Paddington possessed greater speed.

The trainer said: "To do what he did takes a very special horse. In terms of his attitude and determination he was very similar to Giant's Causeway but Paddington was a much quicker horse. He had great tactical speed but could quicken off it. He's an unbelievable specimen who stands over an incredible amount of ground. He got physically stronger and heavier from race to race, which is a very unusual thing in a thoroughbred."

Paddington will now stand at stud with a fee to be announced at a later date.

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