'He was a gentleman' - Fanning pays tribute to sprinter The Last Lion

Veteran rider Joe Fanning paid tribute to The Last Lion on Saturday, after the horse who gave him a first Group 1 success in the saddle suffered a fatal injury at Kempton.

Fanning, who had to dismount the eight-year-old sharply during Saturday's 6f handicap, described the 2016 Middle Park winner as a "gentleman" as he reflected on the horse's career highlights.

"He was great and gave me my first Group 1," said Fanning. "He was a gentleman of a horse and was good to have anything to do with. It's just a shame that's happened to him; he didn't deserve that.

"As a two-year-old he was a tough horse. He won the Brocklesby and had ten races that year. He was as tough as old boots and seemed to get better with the more racing he had.

"The Middle Park was great. I wouldn't have retired happy without riding a Group 1 and that was a bit of a relief that day. He was a lovely horse."

As well as his Brocklesby and Middle Park wins, The Last Lion landed the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes and the Listed Dragon Stakes at two and was retired after his Group 1 triumph at Newmarket to stand at Darley's Kildangan Stud for the 2017 breeding season.

Joe Fanning: 'It was just one of those things and you couldn't blame the ground or anything like that'Credit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

He subsequently moved to Hedgeholme Stud in Darlington but fertility issues saw him make a surprise return to training at Mark and Charlie Johnston's yard in Middleham and he returned to the track after a five-year absence in November.

"He was very quiet even as a two-year-old and he was the same when he came back from stud," said Fanning. "I think he was rusty for a couple of runs but he seemed to sharpen up a bit and seemed to be enjoying life.

"It was just one of those things and you couldn't blame the ground or anything like that – it was just one of those injuries."

The Last Lion was said to have fractured a hind pastern by Kempton clerk of the course Barney Clifford.

The winner of four of his 13 races and £229,280 in prize-money, The Last Lion raced in the colours of John Brown and Megan Dennis, and sired 13 individual winners during his time at stud.

Read these next:

Unbeaten Guineas filly Tenebrism delights Aidan O'Brien as Classic team work

First Listed success has Living Legend owners jumping for joy

For all our exclusive free bet offers and must-have daily promotions click the free bets button or go to racingpost.com/freebets