The mare who lifted up the hearts of the Otago racing community in the most trying of times has been retired.
The Diamond One's trainer Claire Anderton confirmed yesterday the Tale Of The Cat mare had run her last race after finishing 10th in Saturday's Easter Cup at Riccarton.
‘‘She's just not quite come up the same,'' Anderton said yesterday.
‘‘Even though she won the White Robe, she hasn't shown us the same [this season]. She's done enough now that there's nothing else for her to prove.''
She certainly has nothing to prove to the Otago community. After showing promise as a 3yr-old with her fourth placing in the 2012 New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton, The Diamond One returned as a 4yr-old and backed up a win in the listed Hazlett Stakes on Boxing Day in 2013 with a stylish victory in the 2014 White Robe Lodge Handicap.
Returning as a 5yr-old, the mare was backed to defend her title 2015 White Robe Lodge Handicap, but the original meeting on January 31 was abandoned due to track concerns.
Two days later, her trainer Steven Anderton was critically injured in an accident at his Wingatui stables and died a day later on the Tuesday.
The charged atmosphere at the rescheduled meeting on Waitangi Day gave way to an outpouring of emotion as jockey Rory Hutchings extricated himself from a difficult position to brilliantly win the renamed White Robe Lodge Handicap In Memory Of Steven Anderton.
The Diamond One went north to Trentham in March that year to win the Cuddle Stakes and returned this season to win her third straight White Robe Lodge Handicap in February - a compliment in itself to Claire Anderton, who had battled to get the mare right for her title defence.
Claire Anderton said there had been ‘‘a couple of emotional runs'' which stuck in her head as memorable races.
‘‘Obviously getting three White Robes and also winning the race in Wellington got us through some hard times.''
Tony Dennis - who bred and raced the mare with his brothers Ray, Martin and Joe - picked out the last two White Robe wins and the Cuddle Stakes as his favourites.
‘‘It was nice to get up to Wellington and win one in the North Island but those White Robes . . . after Steve dying, that was quite emotional, and even the last one,'' he said.
‘‘It's not easy to win the same race in three years and being a group 3 makes it a bit harder.''
The Diamond One is ‘‘chilling out'' at the Wingatui stables for a few days, Anderton said.
‘‘She can wind down here and probably go home at the weekend.''
Dennis praised the efforts of both Claire Anderton and her late husband Steven.
‘‘She's done a great job and Steve before that - just to get them right at that time.''
Dennis and his brothers will sit down in the coming weeks to decide which stallion will serve the daughter of group1 winning mare The Jewel.
‘‘We've got a number of mares to decide what to go to. At this stage of it, we haven't joined any up together with stallions yet.''
The Diamond One
6 m Tale Of The Cat-The Jewel
Starts: 25Wins: 8
Placings: 7
Stakes: $271,675
Group wins: Group 3 White Robe Lodge Handicap, 2014-16; Group 3 Cuddle Stakes, 2015; Listed Hazlett Stakes, 2013.
