Godolphin's Trawlerman has been retired after he didn't appear amongst the entries for next Friday's Group 2 Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup Stakes at York.
The eight-year-old son of Derby winner Golden Horn won 11 races from 25 career starts including a Sky Bet Ebor, two Long Distance Cups and a career-defining victory in the 2025 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
Trained by John & Thady Gosden at Clarehaven in Newmarket, Trawlerman finished a head second to Scandinavia when valiantly trying to defend his Gold Cup crown in June, before he was badly hampered when second to the same rival in the Goodwood Cup on what was his final career start.
He retires with over £2,000,000 career earnings to his name.
Gosden senior said on the Godolphin website: "Trawlerman is happy and well, but unfortunately he came out of the Goodwood Cup with a leg issue and is now being retired.
“At eight years old, he has become part of the family here and won the Long Distance Cup twice and the Ascot Gold Cup in a very fast record time, which is unlikely to be equalled, as well as the Ebor.
“He has won over £2 million in prize-money and remained at the top of his game this year when second in the Ascot Gold Cup, beaten a head giving 1lb to the winner.
“He will be retired to Wood Ditton Stud, where Godolphin have wonderful facilities that he knows well having been there for holiday.
"For all of us at Clarehaven Stables, just like Stradivarius, Trawlerman has become a much-loved member of the family and there are a lot of people here who will miss him particularly Ben de Paiva, who looks after him and Richard Wilkinson, who rode him through most of his career."
WATCH: Trawlerman's finest hour, winning the Ascot Gold Cup
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Regular jockey William Buick said: “He was a great horse. He had a fantastic season last season. He ran in three Ascot Gold Cups, winning one and being second in the other two.
“He owes nobody nothing. He was a great horse to ride, and I really enjoyed riding him.
“He was very consistent and he always turned up. I’ve not ridden many horses that have the guts that he had. He never shirked a battle.
That two and a half miles at Ascot is where they sort the wheat from the chaff, and that is where he came into his own.
“The Ascot Gold Cup is a special race as it is a hard race to win. Very few horses can do it. He has been around when we have seen some of the best stayers that we have had for years. He has matched it with Kyprios and Scandinavia. He is an all-time great stayer.”
“I feel very fortunate and privileged to have had a horse like him. Of course I will miss him, but I will look back on his career with great fondness. He was a great ride and I think for myself, everyone in Godolphin, and John and Thady, he took us on some great journeys."
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