Stoute's Harbinger won his last four races

Newmarket trainer Sir Michael Stoute is refusing to feel disheartened after his star horse Harbinger's retirement.

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner fractured his near-fore cannon bone, his front shin, while on the gallops in Newmarket on Saturday.

He said: "You have got to keep cool and realise there are people suffering more than you are.

"Like the girl that rides him every morning, the girl that looks after him. You can't feel sorry for yourself."

Speaking at Newmarket's Jockey Club ahead of the Ebor Festival, Stoute said the four-year-old, who underwent successful surgery on Saturday evening, could have gone down as one of the greats.

606: DEBATE Wins at York and Longchamp would certainly have put him up there but probably still not among the very best. Sadly we'll never really know, though FulkesFestival40

"He proved at the King George how good he had become," he said.

"The Hardwicke [Stakes at Royal Ascot] gave you a hint that he was progressing towards the top and the King George confirmed that.

"If he could have remained at that plateau then we could have had a world champion on our hands."

Meanwhile Stoute has confirmed Imposing will not be running in the Heritage Handicap at York, as the horse has been sold to race in Australia.

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