Poetic Flare, winner of the 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, has been retired from racing to stand at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan from next year.

The three-year-old was a notable absentee at the five-day confirmation stage for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Jim Bolger's homebred, who ran in the colours of the trainer's wife Jackie, won five of his 11 races and earned more than £1 million in prize-money. He joins 31 other stallions on the island of Hokkaido.

Bolger told Thoroughbred Daily News: "I'm sure many racegoers will be disappointed not to see him at Ascot, and I am disappointed myself that he is not going there, but it was not possible. He will be standing at Shadai and will be leaving soon for Japan."

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Lightly raced as a two-year-old, Poetic Flare won his maiden at Naas on his debut before finishing down the field in the Dewhurst at Newmarket on his second start. He bounced back to end his season on a high by landing the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown.

A return to Leopardstown then kick-started a remarkable season as a three-year-old, with Poetic Flare winning the Listed 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes before landing the 2,000 Guineas at odds of 16-1 when edging out Master Of The Seas by a short head on Newmarket's Rowley Mile.

Poetic Flare first demonstrated his remarkable durability when he bounced back from a poor run in France to finish second in the Irish 2,000 Guineas six days later, and he was then back to his brilliant best at Royal Ascot when delivering a joint career-best RPR of 124 when cruising to a second Group 1 success in the St James's Palace Stakes.

He was similarly busy later in the summer, running big races in defeat in the Sussex Stakes, the Prix Jacques le Marois and the Irish Champion Stakes, in which his close third behind St Mark's Basilica and Arc runner-up Tarnawa proved to be his final run.

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