Crowd pleaser Fritzy retired

JOB WELL DONE: Trainer Alby MacGregor with Fritzy Boy. PHOTOS/FILE

A racehorse who captured the hearts of punters and became known as the Pride of Wairarapa has been retired after a long and profitable career.

Fritzy Boy, whose racing career spanned seven years, had his last outing at Te Rapa on December 13 having earned $868,000 in stakes for his owners John Jury and Alby MacGregor.

MacGregor, who trained Fritzy - as the gelding was always known - at Opaki said the decision was not easy as Fritzy is still in great order and loves racing but his last few raceday efforts had shown he has had enough.

Soon after his unplaced Te Rapa run, Fritzy coughed up a lot of gunk having probably contracted a virus and the owners decided to call it a day.

MacGregor said Fritzy will live at home in Lennies Rd, Masterton, with holidays on the Jury farm in Greytown.

"It was hard to retire him because he just loves racing.

"Even today he is kicking up his heels in the paddock, he just can't understand why he isn't being taken to the training track with the other horses."

Fritzy Boy started his racing career as he meant to go on by winning at his first attempt.

That was in a maiden race for three-year-olds at Foxton on August 30, 2007.

Incredibly at just his second start he took out the listed Wanganui Guineas despite suffering a check with only 300m to run.

That win came with a $34,000 winning stake, the first of many good earnings Fritzy Boy would secure.

After finishing third in the Group 2 Hawkes's Bay Guineas and winning at Woodville MacGregor took Fritzy south.

In the mainland he won the Triple crown by taking all the Gore Guineas, Dunedin Guineas and Southland Guineas all within the space of a month

Those successes helped endear the Opaki galloper to punters, more especially Wairarapa race fans and helped earn him the title of Pride of Wairarapa.

To follow was a third in the prestigious New Zealand Derby, a win in the Group 1 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes at Hastings and a third in the country's richest race the Kelt Capital Stakes, a placing that earned his owners $55,000.

Over time Fritzy was to go on to win many other top races including the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa, the Higgins Challenge Stakes at Awapuni, Masterton Cup at Tauherenikau and the Traderacks Stakes at Hastings.

In all his 15 wins were achieved over distances ranging from 1100m to 1600m and his record made him by far the most successful horse to be trained by MacGregor, whose career in racing in one form or another extends back over 50 years.

Ironically the winner of the last race Fritzy was to compete in was named Tomorrowland, an omen perhaps for what was to be the future for the Pride of Wairarapa.