 Brilliant three-year-old Viscount will be retired to stud after
breaking down in Sydney.Viscount's trainer John
Hawkes confirmed this morning that the son of Quest for Fame has strained ligaments in a
joint in his off fore leg and no risks would be taken.
Closely related to the champion Octagonal, Viscount is out
of the dual winning Sir Tristram mare Antwerp. She in turn is a daughter of the Group One
winner Diamond Lover and a half sister to the record breaking $3.6 million yearling Don
Eduardo.
Facing the starter on only 17 occasions Viscount scored six
wins and five minor placings, netting Jack and Bob Ingham nearly $1.4 million in stakes.
Last season the colt was crowned the Champion Australian
Two-Year-Old after winning both the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes and Champagne Stakes Group
One Double in Sydney.
 His third and final Group
one victory came when he beat a small but select field in the George Main Stakes in Sydney
late last year.
He will also be remembered for his unlucky third to
Northerly and Sunline in October's Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.
News of the injury came hot on the heels of Hawkes
announcing a change of plans for Viscount's autumn campaign. He was originally looking at
running the colt in the Doncaster Handicap but was set to switch races after he was
allotted 56 kilograms, just two less than the champion mare and ten time Group One winner
Sunline.
Viscount will join the stallion roster at the Ingham's
famous Woodlands Stud property in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.
PICS - Quentin
Lang. |
