Racing: Star's racing career ended

EXCLUSIVE - Geoff Small wandered over to Elsu as he has a thousand times before, patted the champ on his thick neck, then uttered the words racing fans did not want to hear.

"It's over buddy."

And with that New Zealand's pacing sensation was retired yesterday.

The shock decision was confirmed at a meeting of Elsu's owners when Small told them he had finally lost his six-month battle to keep New Zealand's richest-ever pacer sound.

That fight ended on Small's Patumahoe training track late last week when Elsu pulled up lame after a slow workout, the sort of exercise which would not usually raise a sweat from a good horse, let alone one of our greatest.

"We only worked him at about 1:20 pace for 800m but when he came back he was very sore," Small told the Herald exclusively.

"That is when I finally gave up. There is no way he could handle the work needed to return to the track, especially at the highest level."

The career-ending problem is in Elsu near-front knee although exhaustive tests have failed to pinpoint its exact nature.

"We had several options, like to operate on him or give him three months off.

"But I think he is too valuable as a stallion to take the risk of operating while seeing how lame he was this week I doubt time off will help him.

"So while it is a very sad day for us we will retire him to stud now."

His retirement finally reveals one of racing's best-kept secrets, that Elsu was troubled by soreness throughout his final season.

Small even admits the champion won the Auckland Cup carrying the problem.

"Even though he won that night I didn't think he was right so between then and the Hunter Cup six weeks later we had the vets work on him."

The improvement in Elsu, who was already Australasia's best pacer, was staggering, confirming the extent of his problem.

Once pain-free he produced the most stunning harness racing performance of the last decade to effortlessly win the A$450,000 Hunter Cup at Moonee Valley even after starting from a 20m backmark and sitting three wide for the last 1400m.

Then he dominated his hometown Interdominions like no horse before, winning all three heats and crushing his opponents in the $750,000 Alexandra Park final after starting from the outside of the front line and sitting parked for the last 1200m.

Those performances helped make him New Zealand's first $2 million pacer and gained him back-to-back Horse of the Year honours just nine days ago.

But even when accepting that award Small secretly knew Elsu was unlikely to race again.

"He was struggling at the end of last season, even winning the City Of Auckland free-for-all when not at his best.

"But this time in he has been worse and we never really got the chance to work him properly.

"I didn't tell anybody though, I was brought up in training never to admit your weaknesses to the opposition."

Elsu's retirement is a huge blow for New Zealand racing as he is the country's best-known racehorse and captured hearts and headlines during the Interdominions.

And it leaves Small still without a win in the race he craves most, the New Zealand Cup.

Elsu has been beaten in the last two Addington classics by Just An Excuse, even though his performance last November would have won any of the previous 100 cups.

"That hurts, the fact that he didn't win the cup because it is the race I have wanted since I was a kid, and I wanted it for him," said Small.

"But he went great that day ... Just An Excuse just went better. At least, though, I can look back on last season knowing that we gave him his chance to be a champion and he took it."

News of the champ's retirement will spark enormous interest from major standardbred studs, especially as it comes in time for this breeding season.

Not only does Elsu have an amazing career record but he is from New Zealand's hottest family. And his path to the stallion barn has already been paved by Christian Cullen, who has proved that domestic stallions can even outperform the best from North America.

"We haven't even talked about that yet but we know what he is worth and I suppose we will start looking at the business side of things soon," said Small.

"But for now we are just grateful to have had a champion and also thrilled that so many people in New Zealand and Australia, and not just in the racing industry, got a chance to enjoy him."

And for Small, how does it feel to lose the horse of a lifetime?

"I wasn't thinking about that. I was just sad to see him lame this week after all he has done for us.

"Still, it is not serious and he will be fine in a week or two.

"The hardest part will be when he finally leaves the stable.

"I'll miss him."

ELSU FACTS

* Breeding: 6h Falcon Seelster-Interchange.

* Trainer: Geoff Small.

* Driver: David Butcher.

* Owners: Joyce Walters, Double Up Syndicate, Estate of the late Dave Hudson, Pauline Small.

* Career record: 47 starts, 27 wins, nine placings, $2,083,352 (NZ pacing record).

* Won four of five starts in Australia and 27 of his last 39 races after going winless as a juvenile.

* Highlights: At five: Interdominion Grand Final (plus three heats), Hunter Cup, Auckland Cup, City Of Auckland FFA, Ashburton Flying Stakes. 2nd New Zealand Cup.

* At four: Auckland Cup, Chariots Of Fire, Taylor Mile, Messenger Pace, North Shore City Stakes, Summer Cup. 2nd New Zealand Cup.

* At three: Great Northern, New Zealand and New South Wales Derbies, PGG Sales Series Pace.

* New Zealand records: Mile (male pacer); 1700m (allcomers), 2400m standing start (allcomers).

* Awards: Horse of the Year (twice), Pacer of the Year (twice), Aged Pacer of the Year (2005), Four-year-old of the Year (2004), Three-year-old of the Year (2003).