Royal Ascot favourite Kyprios retired by Aidan O'Brien weeks before Gold Cup
The top stayer had been odds on with bookmakers for the feature race of the meeting on June 19. Kyprios won the renewals run in 2022 and 2024, earning more than £2.6 million in prize money overall in his career
Owners Coolmore have announced the retirement of star stayer and winner of more than £2.6 million of prize money, Kyprios.
The seven-year-old trained by Aidan O'Brien had been odds on to land a historic third Gold Cup - the feature race of Royal Ascot - on June 19. However he suffered the reoccurrence of an injury and will not race again.
In a post on X, Coolmore said in a statement: "Kyprios Retires. Due to an aggravation of an old ringbone lesion we have decided to take no chances with Kyprios and although he is currently sound and doing well the decision has been made to retire him from racing."
O'Brien had initially been concerned about Kyprios when he knocked his pastern in the winners enclosure after the Group Three Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown on May 16.
The son of Galileo was checked over and reported to be sound the next morning, however the team are worried enough about the current issue to call time on his racing career.
Kyprios was unbeaten in nine appearances when he found his best form again in the aftermath of a life-threatening joint infection.
On an unstoppable six-race streak in 2022 when disaster struck, O'Brien's charge had taken that year's Gold Cup and returned to regain his crown in 2024.
"At one stage we thought he wouldn't live," O'Brien explained, as he celebrated a ninth title with four occupied by race record-holder Yeats. "It was really impossible to come back. Eamonn (employee) had to teach him how to walk, trot, hack - before a rider ever went near him.
"All of that was gone. It was really like someone having the most horrific injury as a human being. It was winning the Olympics to get (him) back to move and walk. I think it happened because of all of the committed people around him day in, day out. It's incredible to get him back to the top level."
In 21 races, Kyprios won 17 times and finished runner-up on two occasions. His only defeats came when he was a younger horse.
He cantered home by 20 lengths in the 2022 Prix Du Cadran at Longchamp - a race he landed twice - and the Ballydoyle legend also holds multiple titles in the Vintage Crop Stakes, Saval Beg, Goodwood Cup and Irish St Leger.
Stablemate Illinois, who had attracted support following the original scare to the titleholder, now heads the Gold Cup betting at 11-8 with William Hill.
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