High-profile Kiwi galloper retired

Brad Waters - Monday July 24

Persistent problems have caused the retirement of a former boom New Zealand galloper.

Hasselhoof in action winning the Rich Hill Mile last year. Photo: Race Images

Hasselhoof won his first six starts in a brilliant start to his career that included a victory in the Group II Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year's Day last year before heading to Sydney amid plenty of fanfare.

Hasslhoof's winning run spawned plenty of social media attention with namesake David Hasselhoff investigating buying a share in the gelding from clients of co-trainer Donna Logan last year.

However, the Rich Hill Mile win was Hasselhoof's last victory with the son of Tavistock going down in two runs in Sydney runs before returning to run third at Group I level at Hastings last spring.

Hasselhoof bled when finishing midfield in the Group I Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, which resulted in the mandatory three-month ban but Logan told The Informant multiple setbacks forced the five-year-old into retirement after 13 starts.

"He's just had some ongoing issues," Logan, who also part-owns Hasselhoof, said.

"We didn't want the risk of sending him out on to the racetrack and not having him come home – he means too much to us for that. So we had some big discussions with the owners and decided the safest thing to do would be to retire him.

"He gave us so many thrills along the way, but it's disappointing that we never saw the best of him."

Advertisment
More Reading...
Verdi's Gritty Goldman wins Pakenham Cup
One-time Melbourne Cup favourite Goldman has bounced back to winning form for the first time in more than 18-months when leading throughout to score in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday.
Arriving Home Goes Two for Two – Three-Quarter Brother for MM 2025
Talented I Am Invincible filly Arriving Home does her best work on the line and we saw it when she scored on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month and again when she got there in the last stride to win at Randwick on Saturday.
First Stakes success for Savabeel's Gold Bullion
Four-year-old gelding Gold Bullion dug deep to stave off all challengers when leading throughout to land the Listed Seven Members Mile (1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Sires With Winners - Saturday December 21
Here is the full list of 95 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Stakes Racing Catalogue Updates Last Week
A dozen stakes updates in the past week into catalogues for yearlings coming up.
Zoustar Mare Wins for Te Akau - Half-Brother for K1
Consistent sprinting mare Egyptian Queen was rewarded for a string of solid performances at Te Rapa on Saturday, powering away with the Lodge Real Estate 1200.
Another Stakes Win For This Burly Enigma - Leave The Whip At Home
Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Is He the Next Via Sistina or Buckaroo?
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo cross is a formidable one and has produced this spring’s elite Group I winners Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) with another lightly raced import bred the same way in Gilded Water (GB) going two for two in Australia with a cavalier win at Randwick on Saturday.
No Shock in Supernova
The good times keep on rolling for connections of winning machine Here To Shock(NZ) (Shocking) who plundered the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham over his favoured 1400m distance for trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
Four MM Lead Ups for Icarian Dream - what are the stats?
Two-year-old filly Icarian Dream’s win in the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday will see her head into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic having had four starts before year’s end, which might seem a lot in this day and age – but is it? We’ve had a look.