3 minute read
Tasmanian racing has lost two of its mega stars with the announcements in the past 24 hours that Mystic Journey and Still A Star have been retired.
In Brief
- Racing over for Mystic Journey and Still A Star.
- Trainer Bill Ryan explains why Still A Star has run her last race.
- Mares cost a total of $24,000 but earned between them over $5 million.
Both are expected to head to the breeding barn with connections of Mystic Journey unsure of which path to take while Still A Star's trainer Bill Ryan has confirmed his mare will be sold.
Mystic Journey resumed racing this season after a lengthy break while recuperating from surgery to remove bone chips from her knee and she made quite an impact being placed twice in Group 2 events before finishing second to Collette in the Group 1 Empire Rose at Flemington in late October.
Her trainer Adam Trinder confirmed after a post-race interview with Tasracing's Pete Staples on Wednesday night that the mare was being let down at his property at Latrobe to allow her to continue her journey as a broodmare.
Mystic Journey retires to stud with a brilliant record of 12 wins and six minor placings from only 28 starts for stakes of $4.182 million with her biggest wins the Group 1 Australian Guineas and the inaugural $5 million All-Star Mile when a three-year-old.
Still A Star had only 19 starts and she leaves racing with an impeccable record of 10 wins and seven minor placings, of which six were seconds, for total earnings of $873,190.
The mare also contested the Group 1 Empire Rose in which she finished near last but was later found to have suffered a grade three internal bleed which convinced Ryan to retire the daughter of Toronado.
Meetings with the owners of Still A Star, of which there are many, continued over many weeks but on Thursday Ryan confirmed an agreement had been reached and that the mare would be sold as a potential broodmare.
Mystic Journey, and of late Still A Star, helped lift the profile of Tasmanian racing to a new level interstate and the hole they leave in the state's thoroughbred ranks may never be filled.
Mystic Journey and Still A Star sold for a combined total of $24,000 at Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sales, proving you don't have to spend a fortune to secure a champion.
