Defending champion Magician has been ruled out Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita and will be retired to stud.

The Coolmore-owned son of Galileo will retire to Ashford Stud in Kentucky wihtout racing again.

His retirement was confirmed after trainer Aidan O’Brien confirmed that the entire was lame.

Veterinarians decided that racing on Saturday would be too risky and recommended that Magician be scratched.

“When he came out for a trot this morning he was found to be acutely lame on his off-fore,” O’Brien said. “It was an instant decision to take him out of the race.”

Magician also won the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G3 Dee Stakes before he upset The Fugue in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.

This year he won the G3 Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh in May and was runner-up in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes and the GI Arlington Million at his latest start in August.

Magician retires with a record of 14-5-4-0 and earnings of $2,580,402.