We’ve had three wonderful years with her – Tony Mullins pays tribute to Princess Zoe

Hugely popular mare heading for well-deserved retirement.

Tony Mullins paid tribute to Princess Zoe as her “unbelievable story” comes to an end with retirement.

The grey mare made her first start for the trainer in 2020 having previously been campaigned in her native Germany, running on the Flat as a jumping career was vetoed once her class became clear.

Second on her Irish debut at Navan, she then went on a five-race winning spree that culminated with a Listed success in the Oyster Stakes and a superb Group One victory in the Prix Du Cadran.

After that her highlights included a second-placed run behind Subjectivist in the Gold Cup at Ascot and a Group Three win over Quickthorn in the Sagaro Stakes at the same track.

At Longchamp Princess Zoe twice attempted to regain her Cadran crown, finishing fifth behind Trueshan in 2021 and fourth behind Kyprios this season.

Princess Zoe winning the Sagaro Stakes
Princess Zoe winning the Sagaro Stakes (John Walton/PA)

After the latter run she again lined up at Longchamp for the Prix Royal-Oak, but after coming home fourth again connections decided to call time on her racing career as life as a broodmare beckons.

“She’s had a great career and we just felt that at seven years of age it was time for her to go breeding,” said Mullins.

“We’ve had three wonderful years with her. It was so special around here it was unbelievable.

“She was rated 64 when we got her and got beaten by a horse that got beaten in a three-mile chase yesterday!

“She went on and won her Group One in 2020, during the lockdown, and it was really special to us to even have a runner in a Group One with half a chance. To win it was incredible.

Princess Zoe at Galway
Princess Zoe at Galway (PA)

“Then she came back and finished second in the Ascot Gold Cup. I’ll never forget the feeling I had about a furlong and a half down in Ascot when I thought she was going to win – I’ve been around a lot of good horses in my life, but that surge of excitement for those few seconds was just something else.

“A lot of people had her pigeon-holed as a soft ground mare, but she proved in the Ascot Gold Cup and also when beating Quickthorn in the Sagaro Stakes this year that she handled fast ground, too.

“It has to be remembered that she won a Listed race over a mile and a half, a Group Three over two miles and a Group One over two and a half. She was more versatile than people gave her credit for.”

Mullins expects the horse’s owners to sell her either via auction or privately, with the trainer hopeful that they can now live their original dream of owning a good jumper after the unexpected glory of owning Princess Zoe.

“I would say she’s going the be sold. We haven’t decided yet where she’ll be sold, we’re having a look at the December Sale or she might be sold privately. We haven’t made a decision,” he said.

Princess Zoe in action in 2020
Princess Zoe in action in 2020 (PA)

“We sat down in Longchamp and unanimously agreed that it was the right time to retire her and how she’ll be sold will be determined over the next week or so.

“Paddy (Kehoe, part-owner) loves the jumping game every bit as much as the Flat, if not more, so maybe we’ll go looking for a jumper now. We actually bought her to go jumping, but once we saw how good she was we never got there.

“We’ll try to find one as good as Princess Zoe, but horses like her don’t grow on trees unfortunately.

“It’s been an unbelievable story for an ordinary owner with a smallish trainer and what I call a ‘used car of a mare’!

“The journey she brought us on, if you want to get into the game, this is the story to follow.”

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