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Group 1 winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) will be sidelined until the new year to give the colt “more time” to recover from a rear foot injury, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien. Just prior to his G1 Phoenix S. victory, the Coolmore partners' runner had kicked a wall, driving the clip of his shoe into his hind foot.

“Everything is fine and we just wanted to leave him for this year,” O'Brien told Racing Post on Tuesday. “He's perfect, there's not a bother on him, we just didn't want to be rushing him back. We had to give him plenty of time to get over it. We felt hurrying him for the [G1] Dewhurst [S. in October] wasn't the right thing to do.

“Everything is perfect with him and we felt giving him more time was the right option.”

Little Big Bear graduated at Naas at second asking in May, and then added the Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot. In the July 16 G3 Anglesey S. at the Curragh, he drew off by 4 3/4 lengths, and he won the Phoenix S. by seven lengths on Aug. 6. His setback forced him to miss last Sunday's G1 National S.

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Classic heroine Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}-Chenchikova {Ire}, by Sadler’s Wells) has been retired, according to a tweet from Paul Smith, son of co-owner Derrick Smith. Bred by Coolmore, the bay raced for a Coolmore partnership.

“Fancy Blue retires,” Derrick’s son Paul Smith tweeted of the 3-year-old who sustained a tendon injury in training. “Thank you to Donnacha O’Brien and all connected with her.”

A winner of a Naas maiden last September and of the Listed Staffordstown Stud S. a month later for Aidan O’Brien at two, Fancy Blue was moved to the newly opened yard of O’Brien’s son Donnacha, where she ran second in the June 13 G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas first out at three. She then earned her first Group 1 crown with a score in Chantilly’s July 5 G1 Prix de Diane, the first Group 1/Classic for her young trainer and doubled up with another victory in the G1 Qatar Nassau S. on July 30. Her final run was a third in the G1 Coolmore America “Justify” Matron S. at Leopardstown on Sept. 12. She was due to compete in the G1 Prix de l’Opera before she was withdrawn due to contaminated feed. Her record stands at 6-4-1-1 and $693,376 in earnings.

The third black-type winner from her winning dam, Fancy Blue is a half-sister to SW and G1 Dewhurst S. third Smuggler’s Cove (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and French MSW and G3 Prix de Lutece third Casterton (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Her dam is a full-sister to world-beater and successful sire High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and GSW & GI Secretariat S. second Black Bear Island (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), as well as a half-sister to the dam of Irish highweight Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and David Livingston (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), both MGSWs & Group 1 placed.

The post Classic Heroine Fancy Blue Retired With Tendon Injury appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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