Aidan O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior retired after suffering tendon injury
Aidan O'Brien's 2,000 Guineas winner suffered the injury in the Irish Champion Stakes
BRILLIANT 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior has been retired.
Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old finished second in the Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday behind Roaring Lion, but suffered a tendon injury in the race.
He emerged as a top-class colt when winning the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster at the end of last season, beating Roaring Lion in the process.
He then made his reappearance in May when he landed the 2,000 Guineas.
Sent off odds-on favourite for the Derby, he could only finish fourth and was then beaten in the Irish equivalent.
He ran much better when second in the Coral-Eclipse to Roaring Lion, but was then badly struck down by the virus which hit O'Brien's yard in the summer.
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Down the field in the Juddmonte International on his first run back, a race also won by Roaring Lion, he improved markedly on that effort at the weekend, but was yet again behind John Gosden's colt.
O'Brien told RTE Racing: "He badly damaged a tendon in the race which was a pity and when he came home last night we wrapped him up.
"When we looked at him this morning his tendon wasn't in a good place. There's a tear in there and it's a big pity.
"He was an amazing horse. Coming into this year we thought he was a horse with a chance to win the Triple Crown.
"When he won the Guineas, Donnacha (O'Brien) was of the opinion that he was a very fast horse, but we wanted to give him a chance in the Derby. We went to Epsom, but I felt he didn't act on the track.
"The lads then wanted him to run at the Curragh (Irish Derby), after that we decided to bring him back to a mile and a quarter, which we did do, but only seven days after the Curragh at Sandown and he was just chinned.
"Then he got very sick and the plan was to bring him back for three races, he was just ready to start back at York and we wanted to run him yesterday and then back at a mile at Ascot.
"It's probably my fault, I probably should have kept him at a mile."