Richard Fahey’s Spirit Dancer, part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, has been retired after winning over £2,000,000 in prizemoney over the last five years.
The eight-year-old Frankel gelding won the Bahrain International Trophy back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, while winning the Howden Neom Turf Cup at Riyadh in between.
His last run ended up being in the same race in Riyadh in February where he was sixth behind Shin Emperor, so he retires with that huge prizemoney haul and nine career wins to his name.
His biggest victory domestically came in the Group 3 Sky Bet Strensall Stakes at York’s Ebor Festival in 2023.
Fahey paid tribute to him on Friday morning, saying: “We were trying to get him back for Bahrain but I’m afraid we’ve run out of time.
"I’ve had a chat with the owners and we’ve decided to pull the plug on him.
“It’s one of the best journeys I’ve been on and it was great to go on the journey with Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and Peter Done, it was fantastic and I think they really enjoyed him.
“He won over £2,200,000 in prizemoney which is incredible.
“He had a great mind, plenty of natural ability and just loved the whole trips themselves, he got off on it.
"It was something different, he was a legend. I was really lucky to train him, he was a wonderful horse and he took us all around the world.”
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