Denman Retired Following Injury in Lexus Chase Workout

It came with an abrupt suddenness after recent reports of quality workouts and an entry in the Lexus Chase. Denman, Gold Cup winner and star steeplechaser for the Paul Nicholls yard, has been retired due to a small injury in his near fore tendon. Nicholls announced it this morning on his blog and also confirmed that Denman would remain in his box next to Kauto Star for the remaining of the jumps campaign.

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Winner of a multitude of trophies and cups, this impressive physical specimen was widely respected for his ability to carry large amounts of weight over a variety of testing conditions. Denman amassed a large fanbase and was affectionately known as “The Tank”.

Calling it “the end of an era at Ditcheat”, Nicholls declared that it was “devastating” for Team Denman with the prospect of a new season upon them.

Denman ran in the Cheltenham Gold Cup four times, winning it in 2008 and finishing on the board every other time out. Usually deployed in tandem with next-door neighbour Kauto Star (who remains in training after a smashing Betfair Chase score), the pair were the forecast wager in nearly every outing they had.

Denman had gone off the boil slightly heading into his 2010 campaign. A lifetime of top-two finishes spanning 16 races came to a crashing halt when he fell at Aintree in the totesport Bowl. He finished the 2009 season and managed to win the Hennessy Gold Cup over What A Friend next time out.

It was to be his final victory.

Denman had always been known for strong jumping but his sometimes erratic personality was becoming more apparent, especially at crucial points in races.

Denman's connections did have the option to allow him to rest up and return to the track potentially later in the season but they should be commended for doing right by the horse, so to speak, and allowing him to rest comfortably having earned £1,141,347 lifetime. Not a bad career for the bulky five-year-old who lined up in Mid-March of 2005 at Liscarroll Point to Point.