Westover has been retired after suffering a career-ending injury when second in the Oct. 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1).
The 2022 Irish Derby (G1) winner was set to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) Nov. 4 following his good length-and-three-quarter defeat to Ace Impact at Longchamp, but showed signs of swelling Tuesday before tests confirmed he would not be able to race again. Owners Juddmonte are to confirm stud plans in the future.
The Ralph Beckett-trained son of Frankel won twice at the group 1 level including this season’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1), while he also played his part in the pulsating finish to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot in July when narrowly going down to Hukum (GB) by a head.
Juddmonte’s racing manager Barry Mahon said: “It’s devastating news to get but we’re very lucky to have bred and raced such a high-quality horse in the Juddmonte colors.
“Initially he came out of the race in good shape and 48 hours later he presented with a bit of swelling and further tests showed there was an issue there and a career-ending one unfortunately. Prince Khalid’s family were informed on Wednesday and the decision was made to retire him. It’s sad but we were lucky to have him.
“He’s one of Frankel’s best sons and we were reminded on Sunday—one of his sons Cracksman sired the winner of the Arc and then the second and third were by Frankel. We learned how potent a sire Frankel is going to be as a sire of sires, and as this is one of his best sons I’d imagine he’d have a long and successful career at stud.”
Westover scored on his debut and finished second on his two other starts as a juvenile before achieving a first group-race win in the Classic Trial at Sandown in April 2021. That victory teed up a Derby bid and he traveled strongly without getting a clear passage at Epsom, finishing an unlucky third behind Desert Crown under Rob Hornby. However, it took just 21 days for him to make amends as he delivered a seven-length thrashing to a good field in the Irish Derby when ridden by Colin Keane.
As a 4-year-old he developed again, starting the season with a second-place finish to Equinox , whose Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) romp confirmed him as the world’s highest-rated horse. Westover was a runner-up again in the Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom in June before proving too good in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud a month later.
That would prove to be the last victory of his career after he posted courageous second-placed finishes in the King George and the Arc.
Mahon added: “Last year he ran really well in the Epsom Derby and, for me as an Irishman, I was very proud the day he won the Irish Derby. It was a remarkable performance to put daylight behind him and some very good horses.
“He improved enormously again this season and contested some of the best middle-distance races of the year without letting us down. He’s faced the best there is around and put it up to them. He runs his race, tries hard and has just been a brilliant horse.”
Westover won four times from 13 starts and achieved career earnings of £3.3 million, and Beckett added: “I’m very proud of the horse and what he has achieved. He gave his all every day at home and on the racecourse and we’ll all miss him.”
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