“The music has stopped for Stradivarius.”

With those words owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen called time on one of the most popular and enduring horses of the modern era on Monday. The eight-year-old has been slow to recover from the bruised foot he sustained last month, prompting connections to retire him to stud.

Stradivarius now joins the stallion roster at the National Stud in Newmarket after a stellar career that saw him win four Goodwood Cups, three Ascot Gold Cups, three Lonsdale Stakes and the Doncaster Cup twice. The homebred chestnut won 20 of his 35 starts over seven seasons for racecourse earnings of £3,458,968.