Robert Cowell calls time on Group 1 winner and Royal Ascot hero Goldream
The King's Stand and Prix de l'Abbaye victor has been retired at the age of nine
GOLDREAM, winner of two Group 1 contests alongside a plethora of other big-race successes, has been retired.
The nine-year-old finished eighth on his last start in a handicap at Newcastle last month.
Trainer Robert Cowell has paid tribute to his brilliant speedster, who was one of the first horses to put him on the map as the 'Sprint King'.
Having acquired the gelding out of Luca Cumani's yard at the end of 2012, Cowell didn't apply the magic dust until the son of Oasis Dream reached his fifth birthday.
From then on he became a winning machine, striking in big-field handicaps until he made the transition to Group level in 2015.
In the first Group 1 he lined up in he won the King's Stand at Royal Ascot, before going on to win the Prix de l'Abbaye the following season - a double most horses could only dream of.
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Since then, age has caught up with him slightly, but he's still given his all despite drifting down to a rating of 91.
And after finishing eighth at Newcastle last week, connections have decided to call time on the great sprinter's career.
His trainer said on his website: "He won the Group Three Palace House on his seasonal debut (2015) before going on to land a superb Group One double of the King's Stand and the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.
"Quite simply, that year when he got his favoured fast ground he was a star.
"After that it was only natural that he should try the Dubai Carnival, but alas it did not seem to suit him, and thereafter, despite glimpses of the old Goldream, he could never recapture the high standard he had set."
Goldream will join former stablemate Kingsgate Native, also a Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot, at the British Racing School.
The nine-year-old retires having won nearly £600,000 in prize-money.