Marienbard retired to stud

Marienbard, the 15-1 upset winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 6, has been retired by Godolphin to stand next year at East Stud in Japan.

A 5-year-old Irish-bred son of Caerleon, Marienbard had been expected to run in either the Breeders' Cup Turf or the Japan Cup after his brilliant Arc win over Europe's major Derby winners, Sulamani and High Chaparral. Instead, he heads for the breeding shed with a record of eight wins from 17 starts for earnings of $1,936,153.

Trained by Michael Jarvis for Saif Ali at 3, when he was second in the 1 1/2-mile Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes and sixth in the St. Leger, Marienbard was switched to Godolphin Racing and Saeed bin Suroor before his 4-year-old campaign.

Godolphin turned him into a stayer of some note. He won the 1 3/4-mile Group 2 Yorkshire Cup and was third in the Group 1 Irish St. Leger. After finishing sixth in the two-mile Melbourne Cup, however, he was put back to distances of 1 1/2 miles.

Marienbard responded with victories in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes, the Group 1 Deutschland-Preis, and the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden.

Godolphin has also retired their top-class miler Slickly, a 6-year-old French-bred son of Linamix who recently took the Group 1 Premio Vittorio di Capua for the second straight time. Slickly, who earned $467,534 from six victories in 11 starts, will stand for a fee of $7,840 at Haras du Logis in Normandy, France.