by Mike Curry

English classic winner Sixties Icon (GB) has been retired following an unplaced finish in the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1) on November 30 at Tokyo Racecourse and will begin his stud career in 2009 at Norman Court Stud in Wiltshire, England.

The five-year-old Galileo (Ire) horse won eight of 18 starts and banked $1,008,569 in purse earnings in three seasons for trainer Jeremy Noseda.

Out of 2000 Vodafone Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) winner Love Divine, by Diesis (GB), Sixties Icon amassed five group stakes victories and earned his only Group 1 win in a 2 1/2-length score in the 2006 Ladbrokes St. Leger (Eng-G1).

“Sixties Icon has been a great servant … and will always have a special place in my affections as he was my first English classic winner,” Noseda said on his website. “It has been a delight to have such a tough and honest horse with lots of ability. Most probably, a couple of issues compromised him and just stopped him from realizing his absolute full potential.

“But it was very satisfying for all connections that we were able to get him back winning group races in 2008. We will certainly miss having a horse of his ability and stature around the yard.”

Sixties Icon won four of eight starts this season, including three straight victories in the Coutts Glorious (Eng-G3), CGA Geoffrey Freer (Eng-G3), and Grosvenor Casinos Cumberland Lodge (Eng-G3) Stakes.

In his final start, Sixties Icon finished 13th of 17 in the Japan Cup for owners Susan Roy and Norman Court Stud.

“The race didn’t pan out as we’d hoped but the ground was just much too fast for him,” Noseda said. “He seems OK after the race and flies back in tomorrow.”

Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor