Million-dollar mare to run her last race

Multiple Group 1-winning mare Our Princess Tiffany will have her last race start at Albion Park this Saturday night.

The daughter of Art Major is nominated in the $100,000 Group 1 Garrards Golden Girl, which will be her 46th start.

Part-owner and breeder, former Rugby Union player Braeden Whitelock, is hoping his ‘golden girl’ can overcome her outside front row draw following her 10th in last week’s Group 3 Fleur De Lil Ladyship Stakes at Albion Park.

“She tied-up on us last week so I’m keeping positive that she bounces back for this race,” said Whitelock.

“100 per cent this will be her last race start . . . the new breeding season is coming up and her future is in the breeding barn.

“She has certainly done her job on track and we don’t want to overdo it with her.

“She is booked for a flight out of Sydney to New Zealand on July 31 where she will go to Woodlands Stud and be put into foal to Captaintreacherous.

“Being an Art Major out of a Bettors Delight mare (Dancing Diamonds) there are limited options of who we can breed her to and Captaintreacherous seems to be a great cross – his progeny are doing well in America.”

Our Princess Tiffany will take into Saturday night’s feature a record of 25 wins and 11 placings in 45 starts and stakes of $1,021,102.

The well-travelled mare has won races in New Zealand and four different states of Australia and was part of the All Stars team of Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen before joining Dean Braun’s stable in Victoria.

A 2015 foal, Our Princess Tiffany has won at Group 1 level as a two, three and four-year-old.

In her debut season Our Princess Tiffany won the Fillies Classic and Diamond in New Zealand and the Breeders Crown in Australia.

At three, she won the NZ Oaks as well as the New South Wales Oaks, Queensland Oaks and South East Oaks.

As a four-year-old she won the Vicbred Super Series Final.

“She is by far the best horse we’ve raced,” said Whitelock.

“We’ve had some good colts that have raced well in America but we haven’t had the experience that we’ve had with Princess Tiffany as we’ve been there for most of her starts apart from the current racing due to COVID.

“When she won the Breeders Crown we were in Melbourne to watch Samuel’s 100th test match and there was a big group of us that all got on a van and headed out to Melton to watch her race in the Breeders Crown and she won it.

“It was outstanding!”

Samuel (Sam) is Whitelock’s son who is NZ Rugby Union player that has captained the Crusaders and the All Blacks.

In fact Whitelock’s other sons Luke, George and Adam are all rugby players and Our Princess Tiffany is named after the partner of the Whitelocks’ second son, Adam, who played rugby for the Crusaders, Canterbury and the New Zealand Sevens.

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink