SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags has been retired because of a tendon injury in his left front leg.

The announcement on Saturday came a week after the colt's veterinarian had said he would be out with the injury but that his prognosis was "excellent" for a return to the races next year.

Russell Jones, bloodstock adviser to the colt's owner Phyllis Wyeth, says Union Rags is "a pretty attractive stallion prospect" and that there has been a high level of interest in the horse with his retirement.

Trained by Michael Matz, Union Rags won the Saratoga Special as a 2-year-old, the Champagne Stakes and was beaten by a head by Hansen after a troubled trip in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.