Racing: No regrets as Sunline's exit looms

Trevor McKee is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but it's clear that Sunline's retirement will be an emotional exit. MIKE DILLON reports.

The allure that champions of the turf generate is only partly about money. Pride is what really matters.

Anyone who saw Trevor McKee walk behind Sunline at the Takanini training track yesterday morning could see that the best horse he will ever train generates emotion in him that simmers only just below the surface.

Perth's Fred Kersley is about as erudite as you get in racing, but the pride he showed when his star Northerly topped off Sunline in the Cox Plate in late October was as impressive as the great race itself.

When the mighty Bonecrusher was at his peak in the 1980s, the Avondale Jockey Club put on a dinner in his honour.

Trainer Frank Ritchie spoke and said: "If I seem in awe of this horse, it's because I am."

The $10 million Sunline has earned - half of which is Trevor McKee's - is very nice, thank you, but $100 million couldn't replace what the champion mare means to the Takanini trainer emotionally.

McKee does not exactly wear his heart on his sleeve - and you won't see it when Sunline is saddled for tomorrow's $100,000 Waikato Draught Sprint at Te Rapa - but he has a niggling regret that the champion's career is starting to wind down, despite the potential millions she could still win.

The gap left when a champion such as Sunline departs from a stable is inestimable.

McKee's regrets do not include goals still to be achieved.

"What more can she possibly do to prove herself?" says McKee, a line he used at the Cox Plate media conference in Melbourne in the spring when asked if Sunline deserved to be rated alongside Kingston Town if she equalled his record of three successive Cox Plates.

"No, there are no real goals and no regrets," he said yesterday.

Apart from the three Cox Plate campaigns, McKee has always taken Sunline's career one race at a time, and has never been afraid to switch options if the mare indicated the need for it. There will be no change to that approach.

Depending on what she does tomorrow, McKee might look at the $100,000 Auto Auctions WFA (1400m) on February 21, which would be a great coup for Trentham.

Then it is to Australia for the $A500,000 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill on March 9.

The handicap will determine whether Sunline tackles the $A2.5 million Doncaster at Randwick.

Sunline's runaway win in Waikato Draught Sprint last year was one of her career highlights.

She ran the 1400m in 1.22.24, remarkable given that Greg Childs eased her down in the closing stages.

Noel Harris, 4 1/4 lengths behind on New Zealand's champion sprinter, Fritz, could not believe how fast Sunline had travelled in front through most of the race.

"I thought we were sprinting fast then I looked up at Sunline ... She's unbelievable."

So, can Sunline repeat the dose and do it in similar style?

She has had a different preparation this time. Twelve months ago she'd been to Hong Kong to win the International Mile after the Melbourne spring campaign, but this time she went straight into paddock after the Cox Plate.

Three weeks ago McKee thought Sunline might be a bit behind her form compared with the same time last year, but a brilliant gallop at Takanini on Tuesday morning has almost certainly meant a reassessment.

"It was very good work. I haven't seen a horse run 1200m in 1.12 on the plough here at Takanini.

"She was slowing towards the finish, but given the early fractions she'd run, she was entitled to, and she still had a bit in reserve."

Sunline did a quieter gallop yesterday morning, and McKee is very pleased with her overall preparation.