Sunday 13 November 2016 18:32, UK
Nicky Henderson hailed Sprinter Sacre as the horse of a lifetime after confirming on Sunday that the dual Cheltenham Festival hero, one of the most popular modern-day steeplechasers, is to be retired due to a minor leg injury.
Henderson's charge had bounced back to form on this day 12 months ago at Cheltenham when landing the Shloer Chase, sparking emotional celebrations in the winners' enclosure.
He went on an unbeaten run following that victory, winning three more times including his second Champion Chase victory at Cheltenham in March.
His final racecourse appearance was to be at Sandown in April, where he demolished Un De Sceaux by 15 lengths.
Sprinter Sacre had returned to work ahead of a planned reappearance in Sandown's Tingle Creek Chase next month, but after exercising on Tuesday was found to have some heat in his near-fore leg, prompting connections to make the decision to retire him.
At a specially-convened press conference at the racecourse, an emotional Henderson said: "He's been a great part of our lives.
"What happened last year was something that will never be repeated in my lifetime. In terms of emotion it took us all to the brink.
"He will be here today and he looks as well as he's ever done. He's in staggeringly good form. The sad thing is that he is doing everything right.
"If you saw him now, you wouldn't know which leg it was, but there's a little bit of heat in his near-fore that has shown up on the scan. If he was seven, you'd say give him a year off and he'd be back. But he's not seven any more and this is the right thing to do.
"For a long time I protected See You Then and said he was our best horse but during Sprinter Sacre's best two years, he was unbeatable. Literally unbeatable.
"I'm sad for him because he's come here today thinking he's going to have a race and he's all excited and ready to show his public what he can do, but at least people will have the opportunity to see him again today."
Sprinter Sacre's most recent partner and the jockey under whom he took last season's Champion Chase was Nico De Boinville, and Henderson went on: "Nico has been with Sprinter from the start. He rode him every day at home when Barry Geraghty was his jockey and they have always been great friends.
"I had to ring him this morning to let him know just before he went into surgery for the arm he broke here yesterday. It wasn't the easiest conversation to tell him his mate won't be there for him to ride when he comes back."
Sprinter Sacre won 18 of his 24 starts and amassed £1,136,000 in prize-money.
In between his two Champion Chase victories, however, he was plagued with problems before returning to something approaching his best last season.
Joining the Henderson stable from France, he made a winning debut in an Ascot bumper in February 2010 and went novice hurdling the following campaign.
After winning two of his first three starts, he was then third in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in March 2011.
It was a chaser he really made his mark, though.
He created a big impression in his novice season which saw him defeat Cue Card in the Arkle Trophy in 2012.
Sprinter Sacre went on to win his first 10 races over fences, including the Champion Chase at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival.
But his successful streak came to an abrupt halt when he was pulled up in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton that December, after which it transpired he had an irregular heartbeat.
He made a full recovery and returned to action in January 2015 when he was second to Dodging Bullets in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot.
But when he was pulled up in that season's Champion Chase it seemed his best days were behind him.
However, he came back in tremendous form last season and after wins in the Shloer Chase and the Desert Orchid Chase, Sprinter Sacre reclaimed his two-mile crown with a convincing defeat of Un De Sceaux at the Festival in March.
He wound up the campaign with a similarly authoritative victory in the Celebration Chase at Sandown in April in what turned out to be his swansong.
Explaining Sprinter Sacre's career-ending injury, Henderson said: "It all crept up yesterday. He worked on Tuesday and everything was grand.
"We were just a bit worried on Wednesday night as he was warm in one leg. I was going to work him yesterday but we couldn't work him.
"We can't ask him to come back, not at his age.
"He's in the same stable he has always spent his days in here (at Cheltenham) and you wouldn't know which leg I was talking about. In fact, if I was thinking about working this afternoon him I would.
"It (the injury) wouldn't hold up in the short term and when you can't go for the long term, you have to sadly bite the bullet."
Barry Geraghty rode Sprinter Sacre 17 times, winning on 13 occasions, and said his old ally was "just unbelievable".
The jockey said; "He's something special and he is to be celebrated. I've never sat on a horse over fences like him - he was electric.
"The first day he won here (in the 2012 Arkle), just to see him sail away on the way to the last, I've never seen that before.
"He was just unbelievable."
