Yulong, Waller call time on career of decorated mare Moira

Yulong import Moira has been retired from racing after being withdrawn from the Caulfield Cup.

Trainer Chris Waller confirmed the decision in a statement posted to X, announcing that Yulong, which purchased the mare for US$4.3 million at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, had opted to end her racing career.

“Moira is obviously a world-class mare and while she hasn’t quite reached those same heights here in Australia, her performances earlier in the prep showed glimpses of her class,” Waller said.

“We simply feel she’s not racing at her absolute best right now, and with her outstanding record, she’ll make an exceptional broodmare – a real asset to the Australian breeding industry.”

A daughter of Ghostzapper, Moira was named Canadian Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2022 after winning the Woodbine Oaks and thrashing the males by seven lengths in the Queen’s Plate over 2000 metres.

The 2024 Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Turf Female made her Australian debut in the Doncaster Mile at Randwick in April, finishing 14th in a 20-horse field. 

The best of her four starts in the spring came when runner-up at Moonee Valley in September before a 10th-place finish in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on October 4.