Last year’s champion juvenile Little Big Bear has been retired by his Coolmore-affiliated connections due to suffering a condylar fracture in the right front fetlock.
The son of No Nay Never was a brilliant juvenile, breaking his maiden at the second attempt before going on to strike in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.
He went on to land the Anglesey Stakes (G3) by 4 3/4 lengths before a stunning seven-length success in the Phoenix Stakes (G1), earning an official rating of 124, enough to see him crowned European champion juvenile.
He failed to beat a rival home in the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) at Newmarket on his first start but made up for that with victory in the Sandy Lane Stakes (G2) at Haydock, and later he was second in the Commonwealth Cup (G1) to Shaquille . His final start was an eighth in the July Cup. He won five of his nine starts and the equivalent of US$549,583.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “Little Big Bear is a super horse; that’s the long and the short of it. Different class, different gear and matured very early for a big horse. He’s big, scopey, strong, clear winded and very, very fast—a class sprinter.”
One of seven individual top-flight winners for No Nay Never, Little Big Bear was bred by Camas Park Stud and Summerhill out of the stakes-winning Bering mare Adventure Seeker .
Stud plans are to be announced.
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