• Horse Racing

Derby winner Camelot retired

ESPN staff
October 15, 2013
Camelot won the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby in 2012 © PA Photos
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Derby winner Camelot, who narrowly missed out on winning the prestigious Triple Crown in 2012, has been retired to stud.

The colt will start a breeding career in 2014, according to owners Coolmore Stud. Camelot won both the Derby and the 2,000 Guineas last year before its chances of becoming the first horse to claim the Triple Crown since Nijinsky in 1970 were cut short when he finished second to Encke at the St Leger.

The Triple Crown consists of winning a trio of English Classics in the same season - the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster.

Camelot then finished well out of contention at the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe before being diagnosed with a bout of colic. Despite making a return to win a Group Three race at the Curragh, trainer Aidan O'Brien admitted the four-year-old had failed to rekindle classic-winning form since undergoing an operation for the illness.

"Unfortunately we never saw the same brilliance on the racecourse as we had done before his colic operation, but he was showing signs of it at home in recent weeks so it's obviously disappointing that he won't get the opportunity to run again," O'Brien said.

"He was the perfect racehorse, a beautiful horse with a terrific action. Speed, class and a super-intelligent horse to go with it - he had it all."

Camelot finished fourth in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, which was his final outing.

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