Canford Cliffs, top European miler, retired with injury

Canford Cliffs, widely considered England’s best older miler this year, has been retired after sustaining a leg injury, trainer Richard Hannon announced on Thursday.

The injury, to the pastern of his left foreleg, was detected after Canford Cliffs finished second by five lengths to the undefeated 3-year-old miler Frankel in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on July 27 when attempting to win his sixth consecutive Group 1 race. In the final quarter-mile of that race, Canford Cliffs drifted noticeably to the left.

“He is without doubt the best horse I’ve ever had, and it is bitterly disappointing for his owners and everyone that he has been retired,” Hannon said in a statement on his website. “I knew it was not the real Canford Cliffs at Goodwood, and now we have a reason why he hung so badly.”

A 4-year-old Irish-bred colt by Tagula, Canford Cliffs won 7 of 11 starts and approximately $1.56 million for a partnership. His streak of five consecutive Group 1 wins included the Irish 2000 Guineas, St. James’s Palace Stakes, and Sussex Stakes in 2010 and the Lockinge Stakes and Queen Anne Stakes this year. In the Queen Anne Stakes, he beat three-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Goldikova.

Canford Cliffs will stand at Coolmore Stud in Ireland next year, according to Hannon’s website.