Former Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami retired

Courage Mon Ami, winner of the 2023 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, has been retired after failing to recover sufficiently from a tibia injury.

The six-year-old bows out the winner of four of his six career starts for John and Thady Gosden, with his Royal Ascot victory two years ago particularly memorable as he was partnered by Frankie Dettori in what was the rider’s final season in Britain as well as being a first Group One win for owners Wathnan Racing.

Courage Mon Ami was bought by Wathnan prior to that outing, having won three times in the colours of Anthony Oppenheimer, but he subsequently suffered defeats in the Goodwood Cup and the Lonsdale Cup, finishing second on the latter occasion in what transpired to be his last racecourse appearance.

John Gosden said: “What a day Courage Mon Ami gave us all at Royal Ascot. It was a cool ride by Frankie, but Courage Mon Ami was so determined and he simply wasn’t going to be beaten.

“For Wathnan to land the Group One with just their third runner and be presented with the Gold Cup by the King – what a story! It was a dream start and surely helped ignite a real passion for racing and for Royal Ascot.

“Courage Mon Ami’s an enormous horse and, though he was so willing in all his exercise, and we got close a couple of times, he just isn’t going to be able to return to racing.”

Courage Mon Ami will now move to the Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Stud just outside Doha.

Gosden added: “He’s a real yard favourite, and it’s wonderful that he’s going to have a splendid retirement where the Emir can visit him. He richly deserves it.”