A brilliant career

Peter Moody today has shown just how fickle thoroughbred racing can be. Last Saturday he was on a high after winning feature races in Sydney and Melbourne, and by Tuesday, within a matter of hours, the Caulfield trainer had “lost” two of his stable stars.

First, Moody (pictured) announced that his unbeaten filly One Last Dance was to be scratched from the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), to be run at Caulfield on February 26. It was a brave decision by both Moody and owner John Camilleri as the filly was in line to collect a $1 million bonus if she could win the Blue Diamond.

But Moody said the filly was “flat” after her Prelude win at Caulfield last Saturday and had come to the end of her campaign. Camilleri, who also bred the filly, shrugged it off as you would expect from a man who has been in the racing and breeding game for a while – “Send her to the paddock,” he said.

The news that Typhoon Tracy’s career had come to sudden halt rushed through the Twitter world like a flash flood. “Is it true? Tell me it is not true!” one tweet blared.

But even before Typhoon Tracy won last Saturday’s Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, Moody was hinting retirement for the mare – there were obvious concerns with the way she was progressing this campaign for the trainer to toss that around.

Immediately after the win – Typhoon Tracy had to battle hard to hold off Heart Of Dreams after a cosy run outside the leader Danzylum – Moody wasn’t impressed. He regained some confidence when jockey Luke Nolen felt the mare was a bit underdone, and, in fact, peaked on her run 100 metres from the line.

Moody was worried that Typhoon Tracy went into the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m, Moonee Valley, January 28) too fresh, and her hard run in finishing third behind Whitefriars had “flattened” her. He may have been too easy on her leading into the Orr to compensate.

But Moody is an astute horseman with a bush background. He’s a great reader of animals, and he sensed that Typhoon Tracy wasn’t at the brilliant best that saw her dominate in the 2010 autumn when she won three Group 1s on the trot, including her first Orr Stakes.

On Tuesday morning, Typhoon Tracy was sent out for a trot and a canter. Moody saw signs that his mare was still fatigued from her Orr win.

“She gave her absolute all in that race and is still fatigued 72 hours after the run,” Moody said, adding that the stable favourite hadn’t suffered a career-ending injury.

“We could have freshened her up for a tilt at the Brisbane winter carnival, but she’s achieved great things already so we’ve decided to retire her.

“She’s been amazing to me and I’ll be forever grateful for the success she gave me and her owners.”

He knew it was fruitless to attempt to get her to her top for the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 26, when a clash with More Joyous was to be an autumn highlight. To freshen Typhoon Tracy certainly meant missing the Sydney carnival, and there is little to be gained by targeting the Brisbane winter – the curtain was called on a brilliant career.

Typhoon Tracy retires with a record of 11 wins – six at Group 1 level – from 20 starts and a bank balance of  $2,438,000. She is the reigning 2009-10 Australian Horse of the Year.

Just as Makybe Diva retired so triumphantly after her third Melbourne Cup in 2005, Typhoon Tracy heads to the breeding paddocks fit and well and with nothing more to prove.