Horse Racing

Injury Ends Career Of English Derby Champ Pour Moi

The racing career of English Derby champion Pour Moi is over with injury forcing a premature end for a horse at the peak of his powers.

Pour Moi entrenched himself a genuine top flight champion with an English derby win of the likes rarely seen.

He was last at the top of the Epsom straight but gradually picked up places until a huge last dash kick where he reeled in the leaders with lightning speed.

He was favourite for the Prix de’Arc de Triomphe in October so when bookmakers began to remove him from their markets altogether it was always going to be something serious.

The injury occurred during trackwork over the weekend when his rear right hoof made contact with his right fore-ankle.

The common injury known as ‘over reach’ can have varying degrees of severity but an assessment confirmed the worst for the connections of Pour Moi.

“He badly over-reached himself and a scan revealed that the damage was deeper than we first thought.” trainer Andre Fabre said.

“It’s a difficult injury to mend for a racehorse. But I’m sure he’ll be a super sire; I’d never trained a middle-distance horse with such acceleration.”

As Fabre indicated Pour Moi is now destined for a life at stud where his English Derby win will no doubt earn him a considerable sire’s fee.

It is no doubt heartbreaking for all concerned though given his Derby win was his last start and there’s no telling what heights he could have reached in the future.

“What he did at Epsom was amazing,” Fabre said.

“When a horse comes from behind and wins narrowly they are sometimes difficult to rate but the way he accelerated and got there so easily was a sign of great ability.”

With Pour Moi now out of the field for the Arc there’s a host of horses battling to take over favouritism.

Workforce, Sarafina, So You Think and Nathaniel are all around the 5 to 1 quote at the moment with Meandre, Galikova and Sea Moon not far behind.

You can check out the markets for yourself right now on top online bookmaker Bet365.

Given the turmoil the retirement of Pour Moi has caused there’s every chance you could find yourself some great value as the markets take a couple of days to settle down.

Australian champion So You Think is now almost a certainty to start in the Arc as opposed to returning to Australia for the Cox Plate given he’s now Coolmore’s only hope.

That could make him the top pick, so check out his odds on Bet365 today!