Globe-trotting six-year-old Running Stag has run his last race, it emerged today.
The recurrence of an old ligament injury has caused Philip Mitchell to retire his stable-star.
He earned over #1.2million in prize money during a 40-race career, which saw him win three Grade Two events in the USA and also travel from his Epsom yard as far afield as Dubai and Hong Kong.
Mitchell was forced to rule him out of last weekend`s Breeders` Cup as he could not get the horse ready. And the trainer has now decided to call time on his ilLustrious career.
'Two weeks ago the old injury started to rear its ugly head again,' Mitchell told the Racing Post. 'We just thought we owed him too much to put him under any pressure.
'He`s a once-in-a-lifetime horse and has given us three years of utter delight. The way he has developed has been a fairytale.'
