Derby winner Desert Crown put down

Sir Michael Stoute’s sixth winner of the blue riband Classic only ran once more following his victory last June.

A setback prevented him from running again last season and while he did make it to the track for this year’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes, he lost his unbeaten record to Hukum.

He was forced to miss the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes due to a minor setback but he suffered a much more severe one when being prepared for the Juddmonte International at York.

Desert Crown fractured a fetlock and while it initially appeared as if he could be saved and be able to enjoy a stud career, he lost the battle on Monday at the Newmarket Equine Hospital.

“There’s not a lot to say other than it is just very, very sad,” said Philip Robinson, assistant racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail.

“Everything was done to try and save him, we thought he was making progress but then he just started going backwards.

“With a severe injury like that there is a lot of pressure with the weight of the animal standing on it, but we really thought he was going to get there and it’s very sad he didn’t make it.

“You can try and help them with supports for the leg but at the end of the day they’ve got to be able to stand on their own.

“He had the best available treatment anywhere in the world, if he couldn’t be saved here then he couldn’t be saved anywhere.

“He was a fantastic horse and his Derby win was an incredible day that we’ll never forget.”