'Ultimate professional' Blackbeard retired after picking up gallops injury

Blackbeard will not be running at the Breeders' Cup next month and will instead be retired to Coolmore after the top-class juvenile was found to have a small chip in his knee after a Monday morning workout.

The son of No Nay Never won six of his eight starts this season and rattled off back-to-back Group 1 wins in the Prix Morny and Middle Park on his last two starts.

He was being trained with the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in mind, for which he was 5-2 favourite, but Aidan O'Brien said the colt will not be seen on a racecourse again.

O'Brien said: "Blackbeard was a little off after exercise this morning in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup. Unfortunately, when we had him x-rayed the radiographs showed a small chip in his right knee and a decision has been made to retire him.

"He’s a typical No Nay Never; strong, early maturing and very fast. He ran every month from April to September and improved and improved from one race to the next."

Blackbeard on his way to victory in the Middle ParkCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ryan Moore, who was on board Blackbeard for seven of his eight starts with the sole exception being his Prix Robert Papin win at Chantilly, called him the "ultimate professional".

Moore said: "Blackbeard was a very exciting horse to ride. He was tough as nails and the ultimate professional who continued to improve throughout the season and had a lethal turn of foot.”

O'Brien said Little Big Bear, another son of No Nay Never, and Saturday’s Vertem Futurity winner Auguste Rodin will have the Qipco 2,000 Guineas as their early-season target in 2023 while Luxembourg will definitely stay in training as a four-year-old next season.

Read these next . . .

Rishi Sunak to become prime minister after Penny Mordaunt drops out of race

Rematch on! Bravemansgame and Ahoy Senor among Charlie Hall entries

The world's number 1 horse racing app just got better! Download the brand new Racing Post app for free to experience our new game-changing odds comparison, exclusive daily big-name tipping and unrivalled app-only content. Click here to download the latest version.