Blackbeard to Miss Breeders' Cup, Retired to Stud

Blackbeard  will not be running at the Breeders' Cup and will instead be retired to Coolmore after the top-class juvenile was found to have a small chip in his knee after an Oct. 24 workout. 

The son of No Nay Never won six of his eight starts this term and rattled off back-to-back group 1 wins in the Darley Prix Morny  (G1) and Middle Park Stakes (G1) on his last two starts.

He was being trained with the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) in mind, a race he was 5-2 favorite for, but trainer Aidan O'Brien has said that Blackbeard won't be seen on a racecourse again. 

O'Brien said: "Blackbeard was a little off after exercise this morning in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. Unfortunately, when we had him x-rayed, the radiographs showed a small chip in his right knee and a decision has been made to retire him. 

"He's a typical No Nay Never; strong, early maturing and very fast. He ran every month from April to September and improved and improved from one race to the next."

Ryan Moore, who was on board Blackbeard for seven of his eight starts with the sole exception being his Darley Prix Robert Papin (G2) win at Chantilly, called him the ultimate professional. 

Moore said: "Blackbeard was a very exciting horse to ride. He was tough as nails and the ultimate professional who continued to improve throughout the season and had a lethal turn of foot."

O'Brien said that Little Big Bear , another son of No Nay Never, and Saturday's Vertem Futurity (G1) winner Auguste Rodin  will have the QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (G1) as their early-season target in 2023 while Luxembourg  will definitely stay in training as a 4-year-old next season.