European champion horse Little Big Bear retired from racing aged three due to injury

EUROPEAN champion two-year-old Little Big Bear has been retired aged three due to injury.

A statement on Coolmore’s official website said he had suffered a ‘condylar fracture on the right front fetlock’.

PA

Little Big Bear, who was owned by the Smith, Magnier, Tabor and Westerberg partnership, was a Group 1 sensation in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh last August.

But nearly a year to the day since his seven-length rout, injuries have taken their toll.

Paying tribute, trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “Little Big Bear is a super horse, that’s the long and the short of it.

“Different class, different gear and matured very early for a big horse.

“He’s big, scopey, strong, clear winded and very, very fast – a class sprinter.”

More to follow.