Victoria Derby winner Tarzino looks likely to retire at stud in New Zealand following today’s announced that his racing days are over.
Tarzino, above winning the 2015 Victoria Derby, has been retired to stud. Photo by Steve Hart.
Tarzino was struggling during his Spring Carnival campaign to regain the form that saw him win two Group 1 trophies during his three year old season and trainer Mick Price was forced to scratch the Tavistock stallion from the Group 1 $3m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 15 because of developing joint problems.
“He injured the oblique sesamoidean ligament on the inside of the off-front and whilst the horse doesn’t realise that he has an injury, I think he’s been stopped at the right time and if we had persevered then it would have blown into an injury in the Caulfield Cup,” Price told racing.com.
“If he was a gelding then obviously he would spell and complete rehabilitation but with where the injury is on the horse and the timing of it the ownership syndicate has decided to retire the horse.”
Part owners Rosemont Stud said that they were exploring the best result for Tarzino as a stallion prospect and being by the successful New Zealand sire Tavistock, it would be an option to find him a suitable stud in the Shaky Isles.
“Being a son of Tavistock, there is no hotter property in New Zealand at the moment,” Anthony Mithen of Rosemont Stud said.
“We have spoken to a couple of New Zealand stud farms about whether they have any interest.
“We are not looking to sell any of our ownership in the horse. We are just working out whether we partner with a New Zealand farm to give the horse the best possible chance to be a success.”
Tarzino was the pride of the Price stable when he won the Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington during the 2015 Melbourne Spring Carnival then went to Sydney during the 2016 Autumn Carnival to win the Group 1 $600,000 Sky Racing Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at Rosehill.
From fourteen starts Tarzino was in the winner’s stall on four occasions with $1,647,050 in prizemoney earnings.
