Irish Racing's infatuation with the fairytale story of Danoli has ended with the news that the brilliant racehorse has been retired. Despite all his successes, his trainer Tom Foley yesterday confessed to a sense of what might have been.

If Danoli's 1994 Sun Alliance Hurdle was the highpoint of the new 12-year-old's 32-race career and 17 victories, the low point came in April of 1995 at Liverpool when he won the Martell Hurdle but fractured a fetlock in the process. Foley is convinced Danoli was never quite the same afterwards even though the horse went on to become a top steeplechaser and win the 1997 Hennessy Gold Cup.

"I know in may heart and soul that no one ever saw him even near his best. If he hadn't got hurt, God knows what he would have done," said Foley, who is based in Co Carlow. "Everyone's good in hindsight but I feel he would definitely have won a Cheltenham Gold Cup or two if he'd stayed right."

Many thought it remarkable Danoli returned to action at all after that injury but he rarely disappointed his large public. Interest in the horse became intense after his 1994 victory at Cheltenham.

Danoli made an appearance on the Late Late Show where he famously decorated the set in his own manner while Foley became a popular and articulate figure in the media in the run up to the three occasions when Danoli ran at Cheltenham. Who remembers the speculation about whether Foley would wear a tie or not when meeting the Queen Mother? Or whether the winners enclosure would be "overrun if Danoli was successful? Or the reputed £100,000 bet that JP McManus had on Danoli. Foley remains grateful to the horse.

"He changed my life. He took us to places we would never have been like Cheltenham and Liverpool and it was great to see what top-class racing is really like," he said. "I would have hated if anything had happened to him, if he'd been broke up in a race, so we've decided to retire him. I turned him into a field this morning and he's like a two-year-old."

Danoli was mostly ridden over hurdles by Charlie Swan who puts only Istabraq ahead in terms of the best horses he's ridden.

"He was a lovely horse and a real gent. He was so tough and genuine. Those were his strongest points. He had real courage as he showed at Liverpool when cracking a bone in his leg and still winning," said Swan.

"He had a heart like a lion. He was really super and was very good to me," commented Tommy Treacy who won the Hennessy on Danoli as well as the 1996 Denny Gold Medal Chase.

It's planned that Danoli will spend his retirement at Dan O'Neill's home, just five miles from Foley's Aughabeg stables. "All good things come to an end and at 12 his best days are behind him. We'll put him out into a field by the house and let him run around enjoying the rest of his days," said O'Neill. The name Danoli comes from an amalgamation of the names Dan O'Neill and his wife, Olive.

Because of the injury, arthritis has been feared as a long-term problem for Danoli but Foley yesterday reported the horse to be completely sound.

"The only thing I think he will miss from his racing days are the actual crowds. The bigger the crowd, the more he loved it. He used to walk around as proud as anything. When we used to be getting him ready to go racing he was like a child being told that tomorrow was Christmas Day," Foley said.

A lot of racegoers felt the same.