HORSE RACING: Frankie Dettori led the tributes to last season's champion older horse Sakhee, whose retirement from racing was announced yesterday. Sakhee has failed to reach peak fitness in time to make a challenge for the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket this weekend.

Godolphin's five-year-old proved a virtual world-beater last season when he won both the Juddmonte International and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, as well as coming agonisingly close to landing the Breeders' Cup Classic.

"He has had a marvellous career and he is certainly one of the best horses I have ridden," the Italian jockey said. "His best performance was when he won the Arc de Triomphe and that was my best moment on him. He was just an outstanding horse who had everything, but after the Breeders' Cup Classic he was never quite the Sakhee we knew."

Sakhee, runner-up to Sinndar in the 2000 English Derby, was trained by John Dunlop until the end of his three-year-old career and won a total of eight of his 14 races, collecting £2,192,047 in win and place prize-money. The son of Bahri will be retired to Shadwell Stud, where he will stand for a fee of £20,000.

Meanwhile, John Maxse, the Jockey Club's PR director, warned of the dangers of "unfounded speculation" yesterday, following suggestions by the trainer Patrick Chamings that his colt Binanti might have been "got at" before finishing last in a three-runner race at Ascot on Saturday. Wood Binanti, who drifted in the betting before starting favourite at 10-11, finished 20 lengths adrift of Puma.