holding up, George Washington's rating was raised and his run in the 2,000 Guineas officially remained the second-best performance by a three-year-old in the 2006 season, beaten only by his win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. In the Celebration Mile, George Washington finished third behind Caradak and Killybegs. He missed the break badly under new jockey Michael Kinane, starting 8 lengths behind Caradak and finishing one length behind him. The day before his main seasonal target, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, heavy rain arrived and 14 mm of rain fell on Ascot racecourse. Half an hour before the race, much money came in to cement his place as favourite and he was sent off at odds of 13/8. Two pacemakers were deployed by Ballydoyle, and under jockey Michael Kinane, George Washington was victorious by a length and a quarter. Breeders' Cup Classic A tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs had been decided upon about two weeks before the event. Because George Washington was already a strong miler, it was believed that a victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile would do very little for his stud fee. Despite being by a predominantly turf sire in Danehill, his dam was Bordighera, who also foaled Grandera, a victor of three Group 1 races. Kinane was declared to ride the horse. Before the final turn, George Washington approached the leaders. He came wide to make his challenge but was bumped by the eventual winner, Invasor, and lost momentum. Kinane reported that his stamina simply ran out. Despite calls from Kinane and various members of the press for the horse to stay in training, he was officially retired and was due to stand at Coolmore's Ireland base for a fee of €60,000. . Fertility problems On 10 March 2007, it was reported that Coolmore had suspended George Washington's stud career due to fertility problems. The decision was taken to replace him at stud with Holy Roman Emperor, a three-year-old colt also by Danehill. Return to training On 25 March 2007, it was announced that George Washington had returned to training at Aidan O'Brien's stable. He was initially entered for the Tattersalls Gold Cup in May, but his return to the racecourse eventually came in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting at Ascot Racecourse on 19 June. He pulled hard going to the start in the early