LAST year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Magnum Force has been retired and will stand at Ballyhane stud in Carlow. The son of Mehmas out of the Fastnet Rock mare Tropical Rock was a breakthrough Breeders Cup winner for Ger Lyons at Del Mar last October when clocking 56.36secs for the five-furlong Grade 1 in a deep field containing Grade 1 winners Arizona Blaze, Big Mojo, Whistlejacket and Aesterius and Shareholder.

Ger Lyons commented “He was a proper racehorse with unreal speed and he showed us he was pretty special from day one here. He’s a beauty to look at and I wish him well. He gave us the best day of our racing life in Del Mar last year, a day we’ll never forget.”

Ballyhane’s Joe Foley who will share ownership in the stallion with his owner-breeder Sheikh Abdulla Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, said “Magnum Force obviously had a tremendous amount of talent and that ability, allied with his impressive good looks, should make him a popular choice for breeders next season”.

A fee for Magnum Force will be announced at a later date.