Fleeting Spirit retires
After bringing in nearly £700,000 in prizes, Fleeting Spirit has retired. The 2009 Group 1 Darley July Cup-winning horse has officially ended her racing career, as Jeremy Noseda announced today, at the age of five with a record which included two Group 2
wins and four more second-place finishes at the top level of horse-racing.
"It is with some sadness that we are announcing the retirement of Fleeting Spirit. She has been such a great servant to her owners and all of us at Shalfleet Stables,” said Noseda. “Fleeting Spirit proved herself to be a high-class sprinter at two, three,
four and five, performing at the very top level.”
As a two-year-old, the Searchers-owned horse started her career off well with three victories, including wins at Goodwood and Doncaster. The next year she won the Group 2 Temple Stakes and was the favourite for the King’s Stand Stakes. She reached her stride
at the age of four with her biggest victory, the July Cup at Newmarket.
“Her effort to win last year’s July Cup was huge and she really has been a model of consistency. She won the 2009 Cartier Champion Sprinter award, which says it all,” said Noseda. “We could have tried to persist with her but that really wouldn't have been
fair on the filly."
In her final season she finished fourth in the Golden Jubilee Stakes. Her final race was the 2010 July Cup where she finished in fifth, after which her owners made the decision to end her career.
"The wear and tear from so many big runs has taken its toll and she owes us absolutely nothing, so it seems the right thing to do by her," said Noseda. "Of course, we now wish her well in her secondary career as a broodmare and, down the line, look forward
to seeing her progeny at the racecourse. If they show just half of the ability that she possessed, then they too will enjoy success."
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