Shock Epsom Derby winner Wings Of Eagles has been retired to stud after he sustained an injury at The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival which was staged at the Curragh from Friday to Sunday last weekend.
The three-year-old Pour Moi colt emerged from his third-placed finish in Saturday’s Gr1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby with a fractured left front sesamoid. It is a career-ending injury, according to a press release from Coolmore. Wings Of Eagles retires with two wins from seven starts and earnings of £1,075,441.
Wings Of Eagles retired
The gallant galloper’s retirement does not stop him from winning a Cartier Racing Award, thanks to the unique way the awards are decided.
European horseracing’s top awards are delivered through a tried and tested combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races (30%), combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists/handicappers (35%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus ITV Racing viewers (35%).
It was Wings Of Eagles’ stablemate Capri (34), owned by a Coolmore syndicate and trained by Aidan O’Brien, who came out on top in the Irish Classic by a neck, seeing off Cracksman (28).
Churchill – tops standings
The Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt division remains wide open, with dual Guineas’ victor Churchill (80) and St James’s Palace Stakes scorer Barney Roy (80) jointly-heading the standings.
Barney Roy, owned by Godolphin and trained by Richard Hannon, is a possible starter in Saturday’s 10-furlong Gr1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park, where he would take on older opposition for the first time. Investec Derby runner-up Cliffs Of Moher (24) and dual Gr2 winner Permian (32) are also among the entries for the Sandown Park highlight.
The Coral-Eclipse may see the Roger Charlton-trained Decorated Knight (80) line up following his fine second to Highland Reel (80) in the Gr1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes over the same trip at Royal Ascot last month. The two horses currently share second place behind Godolphin’s star miler Ribchester (86) in the Cartier Older Horse category.
Four-year-old Dubawi colt Zarak (54) moves into the reckoning for the Cartier Older Horse Award , with the Aga Khan-owned runner recording a first Gr1 success in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on July 2 after good efforts at the grade previously.
Aidan O’Brien trains Winter
Star Galileo filly Winter (116), who has captured three Gr1 races this year (the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes), continues to hold a clear advantage in the race for the Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly Awards.
The Coolmore-owned, Aidan O’Brien-trained filly could make her next appearance in the Gr1 Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket’s Moët & Chandon July Festival on July 14 and is also entered in the 10-furong G1 Qatar Nassau Stakes at next month’s Qatar Goodwood Festival.
There is likely to be some change to Pattern race points’ standings in the Cartier Sprinter category at Newmarket next week, with the Gr1 Darley July Cup staged on July 15. The six-furlong contest could see the unbeaten Gr1 Commonwealth Cup scorer Caravaggio (60) take on older opposition for the first time, with Gr1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes hero The Tin Man (32) a possible opponent.
Big Orange – gutsy performer
Duke Of Marmalade’s son Big Orange (56), winner of the Gr1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, heads the Cartier Stayer division ahead of Vazirabad (31) and Order Of St George (28), with a meeting between all three on the cards in the Gr1 Qatar Goodwood Cup on August 1.
Cartier Racing Awards – points earned in Pattern races up to and including Sunday, July 2, 2017
Cartier Horse Of The Year
Winter 116
Ribchester 86
Barney Roy 80
Churchill 80
Decorated Knight 80
Highland Reel 80
Brametot 72
Wings Of Eagles 60
Big Orange 56
Cloth Of Stars 56
Cartier Older Horse
Ribchester 86
Decorated Knight 80
Highland Reel 80
Cloth Of Stars 56
Zarak 54
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt
Churchill 80
Barney Roy 80
Brametot 72
Wings Of Eagles 60
Thunder Snow 46
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly
Winter 116
Rhododendron 48
Enable 48
Senga 44
Precieuse 36
Cartier Sprinter
Caravaggio 40
Harry Angel 36
Tasleet 32
Lady Aurelia 32
The Tin Man 32
Cartier Stayer
Big Orange 56
Vazirabad 31
Order Of St George 28
Polarisation 24
Dartmouth 16
Stradivarius 16
Rekindling 16
