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Star NZ filly retired
Star New Zealand filly We Can Say It Now has been retired after her disappointing 14th behind Shamrocker in today’s Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
The filly was heavily backed to start the $4.80 favourite, but weakened badly after tracking the leaders in third place until the turn.
Hong Kong-based owner Paul Makin made the decision in a phone call to co-trainer Bjorn Baker soon after the filly was vetted following the race.
“Paul said to retire her, and I told him it was a privilege to train her,” Baker said.
“Craig (jockey Craig Williams) said she was beaten at the 600 metres. Apart from a slow recovery – she was still blowing a half an hour after the race – the vets can find nothing wrong with her.
“That’s racing, the highs and the lows,” said Baker, reflecting on the stable’s great success in the spring with the colt Lion Tamer winning the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m, Flemington).
Baker added that We Can Say It Now had worked brilliantly leading into the race. In fact, the filly and the winner Shamrocker teamed together for a serious work-out at Flemington on Tuesday morning – We Can Say It Now was stabled with Shamrocker’s trainer Danny O’Brien at Flemington.
“She galloped with Shamrocker and carried 10kg more and beat her easily. I really expected her to win today,” he said.
Baker’s father, and co-trainer, Murray Baker said that Makin has made the right call. “There is obviously something not right with her, so there is no purpose in heading to Sydney. She has won two Group 1 races, she’s got nothing to prove,” he said.
We Can Say It Now is bred by Makin from a mating of his two top gallopers, Starcraft (NZ) and We Can’t Say That (NZ) (by Generous (GB). Makin dearly wanted to win the Australian Guineas to avenge the defeat of Starcraft by Reset in 2004.
Bjorn Baker said Makin told him that Darley’s stallion Dubawi (by Dubai Millennium) was the likely mating for We Can Say It Now if the prized young stallion shuttles to Australian in the 2011 spring.
WCSIN opened at $17 when the odds were first published for the Australian Guineas and started at $5.50 so it makes you wonder doesn’t it…..
Not sure what you mean, Bruce? Makes you wonder what? Skulduggery? I think you are reading too much into the market move … a lot of that shortening price had nothing really to do with the weight of money, but mainly due to the attrition of horses ahead of her in the markets, such as Star Witness (who didn’t run) and Anacheeva (who went out of favour after some poor efforts).