Kingman, the best miler in Europe this year, has been retired after failing to respond quickly enough to treatment for a throat infection which has ruled him out of a swansong in either the QEII on Champions' Day at Ascot next month or the Breeders' Cup Mile. He will joinFrankel at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket for the 2015 breeding season.
The blisteringly fast son of Invincible Spirit won seven of his eight starts for John Gosden, with his only defeat coming in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket when he was beaten by half a length by Night Of Thunder.
However, in his four subsequent races he re-established his position as Europe's top miler with scintillating victories in the Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh and the St James' Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot before showing a rare turn of foot in a tactical Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
His final victory was a comfortable win in the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville, but such was his pace that his trainer was convinced he could have won a July Cup over six furlongs. "He was the best colt I have trained," Gosden said. "He had the ability to change six gears at once."
Lord Grimthorpe, Khalid Abdullah's racing manager, explained that they had effectively run out of time with the colt. "We had been trying to treat it aggressively but, although it has improved, it still requires ongoing treatment which means he has to stay on the easy list."
