Velocette Officially Retired To Stud
Champion sprinter Velocette – named after an iconic English motorcycle marque – has pulled in for a permanent racing pit stop.
He sustained a dropped back muscle in a heat of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup on November 19 and subsequently has been retired to stud.
A winner of five Group races, including the Group 1 Australian Cup, Velocette took Lara owner breeder Ron McCullagh on the ride of his life.
McCullagh, who restores old motorcycles as a hobby, prepared Velocette for his first eight starts before transferring him to close mate, Graeme Bate.
“I remember him as a 17-month-old pup clocking sub-30 seconds at Sandown in a trial,” McCullagh said.
“But things got busy at work, and there were some good races coming up… I didn't have time to cart him around.”
Velocette, fine tuned by Lara training doyen Bate, was at full throttle winning 26 races from 65 starts and amassing $379,650 – ninth on the all-time stakes list.
He has had a life-changing effect on McCullagh and his wife, Judith, who have bred around 70 litters in 30 years.
“We've had bad luck with some good ones, but we've hung in there,” McCullagh said.
Velocette is a son of champion sire Bombastic Shiraz, who won the 2003 Australian and Victorian Greyhound of the Year awards.
There has been no word yet on where Velocette will officially stand at stud or at what price, but it is inevitable he will be highly popular.