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Moroney mare in elite company when it comes to Group 1-winning sprinting mares
The announcement of Roch 'N' Horse's retirement brings down the curtain on one of the most remarkable careers by a Kiwi sprinter.
The daughter of Per Incanto won't be remembered as one of New Zealand's all-time greats, but her career is the stuff of fairytales given she did not start racing until almost three months into her four-year-old season.
Now six, she went on to win five of 23 starts, the two biggest of which came in 1200-metre Group 1 events at Australia's most famous track – Flemington.
She announced herself to Australian racing fans with victory at $101 in the 2022 Newmarket Handicap and proved that was no fluke eight months later when she upended Nature Strip, among others, in the inaugural running of the $3 million Champions Sprint.
Those performances have Roch 'N' Horse in elite company when it comes to mares to have won 1200m Group 1 races in Australia this millennium.
In fact, only seven females aged four and above have won Australian Group 1s at that distance with a higher rating than the 118 Timeform rating Roch 'N' Horse was awarded for her Newmarket win.
Black Caviar did it 10 times in Australia (and once in England), the best being her 2011 Newmarket win in 135, with the peak rating for the others being:
127: Miss Andretti (2007 VRC Sprint Classic)
124: Imperatriz (2023 William Reid Stakes)
123: Sunline (2000 Manikato Stakes)
121: Samaready (2013 Moir Stakes)
120: Sea Siren (2012 Manikato Stakes)
120: Bella Nipotina (2022 Manikato Stakes)
Driefontein, Platelet and English all matched Roch 'N' Horse's Newmarket Handicap-winning rating in their 1200m Group 1 wins.
Roch 'N' Horse's Champions Sprint win earned her a Timeform rating of 116.
Roch 'N' Horse will head back to New Zealand to take up residence at Little Avondale Stud and later this year will visit Rich Hill's boom sire, Proisir, who will stand for NZ$77,000 in 2023.