Up the Backstretch: Time to say goodbye to all her friends

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Too often in horse racing, careers come to an end suddenly when a thoroughbred suffers an injury and the connections deem it necessary to retire the competitor.

A rare occurrence will happen at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 9. A champion race horse will compete for the final time in a pre-planned climax to a stunning career.

Two-time champion sprinter Groupie Doll will make one final start before being retired to the breeding barn. The 6-year-old, trained by Buff Bradley for Whispering Hill Farm, will go to post in the $150,000 Hurricane Bertie Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs.

“Hopefully, she’ll go out on a winning note. Either way, it’s always sad to see them go. But she’s going into the next phase of her life and she’ll be well cared for and bred to the best,” Bradley said. “Hopefully, we’ll get to see some of her babies down the road.”

The race will be televised on Fox Sports 1 as part of the Donn Handicap card that day at Gulfstream.

Groupie Doll wasn’t given the chance to rest on her laurels after winning her second straight Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita. The mare raced for the second consecutive time in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct last Nov. 30, but could do no better than fourth one year after getting nosed out in the race as the even-money favorite by 2011 Travers winner Stay Thirsty.

Not that long after winning the Breeders’ Cup race, Groupie Doll was sold at auction by Bradley, his father and partners Carl Hurst and Brent Burns to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm.

“We always get attached to our horses, but knowing what she’s done for us, our stable and our family, there’s probably a little more attachment there,” Bradley said.

The 6-year-old mare has been extremely consistent in her 22-race career. She’s posted wins in half of her starts along with four seconds and four thirds and has been worse than fourth in just two starts, both in her first year of racing three years ago.

“It’s very gratifying to be able to be around these great horses and to see the impact they have on racing fans and our peers,” Bradley noted.

Now with two Eclipse Awards as champion Female Sprinter on her resume, Groupie Doll is about to bid farewell to the racetrack, allowing her fans to watch and properly say goodbye, which unfortunately happens all too infrequently.

Categorized in: Horses