Time called on Harbinger career

HARBINGER has been hailed as “one of the all-time greats” after injury forced connections to announce the colt’s retirement from racing yesterday.

The four-year-old became the highest-rated Flat horse in the world following his breathtaking 11-length triumph in last month’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

But less than a fortnight before the colt’s next intended target, the Juddmonte International at York on August 17, Harbinger fractured his near-fore cannon bone on the gallops in Newmarket on Saturday.