RETIREMENT FOR ROCH 'N' HORSE

A bittersweet day for the stable on Wednesday with the news that our Group 1 winner Roch ’N’ Horse has been retired and will begin the next phase of her career at Sam and Catriona Williams’ Little Avondale Stud.

The daughter of Per Incanto met and defeated the cream of Australia’s short course specialists at Group One level with Flemington victories in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and the Champions’ Sprint (1200m).

She has been retired as the winner of five of her 23 starts and with seven placings, including a runner-up finish in the Gr1 Telegraph and a third in the Gr1 William Reid Stakes. The six-year-old banked more than A$3 million in prizemoney.

“For me it was confirmation that the best sprinters in New Zealand are up to the best in Australia and she proved that twice at the highest level,” Mike Moroney said.

Sam Williams confirmed Roch ‘N’ Horse will visit Rich Hill Stud’s outstanding stallion Proisir, who currently heads the New Zealand Sires’ Premiership this season.

“She has retired sound and a very happy mare. There was nothing else left for her to prove,” he said. “She won the two biggest sprints in Victoria and Catriona and I watch those replays all the time and she has done us proud, she’s done the whole syndicate proud and it’s just been fantastic.”

“Her last two runs were plagued by wet tracks, which she is definitely not a fan of and has no form on them at all. We certainly didn’t want her going around just for the sake of extra prizemoney, she’s a multiple Group One winner and couldn’t have done anymore. She’s now ready to begin her next chapter.”

Williams said there was never any thought given to selling such a commercially valuable mare.

“She was always coming home, this is what breeding is about. For Catriona and I it is the legacy of the stud, we have the stallions but the stud is really proven by the strength of its female lines,” he said.

“That’s the way I was brought up and she will be our pride and joy on the farm and it’s nice that she is entering the broodmare band one season behind Belluci Babe, also a stakes-winning mare by Per Incanto.

“It’s nice to have these sorts of mares in the broodmare band and they will be the future of the stud for the next 10 or 15 years, it’s a pretty cool time.

“Per Incanto has been an amazing sire and his broodmare sire qualities are going from strength to strength.”

Roch ‘N’ Horse was initially trained at Matamata by Mike and Pam Gerard before she joined the Flemington stable.

“Mike has just been inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall Of Fame and that’s pretty special to have been part of that legacy with Roch ‘N’ Horse as well,” Williams said.

“She started off with Pam and she did an incredible job getting her through to the Telegraph and then Mike and his team did an amazing job.