|
04.
Tie The Knot Retired
|
03/04/2002 |
|
Tie The Knot, winner of 13 Group One races and more than $6 million prizemoney, has been retired.
A conference between trainer Guy Walter and owners Sandy Tait and Jill Nivison on Tuesday morning resolved that it would be in the best interests of the seven-year-old to end his racing career.
“We would hate to see anything happen to Tie The Knot after such a wonderful career,” Walter told RacingandSports.
“He’s been a wonderful horse and we owe him so much.
“The owners have reached this decision due to the great respect they have for the horse.”
Walter stressed that there is no physical problems with Tie The Knot.
“We agreed that it is not appropriate for him to continue racing at this time as bringing him back in distance for the All Aged Stakes or the Queen Elizabeth Stakes was not ideal after his hard run over 2400 metres in the BMW at Rosehill,” Walter said.
“He is now a rising eight-year-old and we believe he deserves to be retired while he’s still on top.
“It is not worth the risk of bringing him back for another spring campaign.”
Walter said Tie The Knot will be sent to Sandy Tait’s property at Jugiong in southern NSW with the record of 21 wins and 17 minor placings and earnings of $6,212,410 from his 62 starts.
The Nassipour gelding is Australia’s record stakeswinner and is second only to Kiwi champion Sunline, who took her career earnings to more than $10 million when she won last Saturday’s Doncaster Handicap, in Australasia.
Tie The Knot capped his career at Warwick Farm last month when he won the G1 Chipping Norton Stakes for the fourth successive year, the first time a horse has won the same G1 race in Sydney four times.
His other G1 wins included dual victories in the Sydney Cup at Randwick and the Ranvet Stakes and Mercedes Classic at Rosehill. He also won the Spring Champion Stakes, Rosehill Guineas and Underwood Stakes at Caulfield, his only victory in Melbourne.
Meanwhile Walter is considering stepping his Doncaster Handicap placegetter Defier up to weight-for-age company in the $750,000 Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000 metres at Randwick on April 13, a G1 race missing from Tie The Knot’s record.
“Defier is looking for 2000 metres and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes is under consideration,” Walter said.
Walter said a Brisbane campaign was also an option for Defier, who took the step up to G1 company with his game third to Sunline and Shogun Lodge in the Doncaster.
Walter’s top class mare Spinning Hill will have her next start in the $350,000 T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 13 after being denied her third successive win in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick last Saturday when she was narrowly beaten by Fair Embrace.
Walter said Spinning Hill, also raced by Sandy Tait and Jill Nivison, would go on to Brisbane for the Doomben Ten Thousand before she is retired to stud.
By Chris Scholtz
|
