• Horse Racing

Black Caviar retired after 25th victory

Black Caviar claimed the last of her 25 consecutive wins at the TJ Smith Stakes © Getty Images

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Unbeaten sprinter Black Caviar has been retired just days after claiming the 25th consecutive victory in her native Australia.

"We feel we've done our job, we feel she's done hers and she deserves a break now," trainer Peter Moody said while announcing the news in Australia. "Twenty-five is a great number. She'll wander off into the sunset."

The six-year-old mare's future on the track has been the subject of speculation ever since her appearance at the diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012, where she tore a quadriceps muscle en route to a narrow victory.

Retirement beckoned, but after an eight-month hiatus she returned to claim three more wins on Australian soil, her last appearance coming at the TJ Smith Stakes at Royal Randwick last week.

Moody had talked of the possibility of chasing 30 wins and bowing out with a second Ascot appearance as recently as the weekend, but took the decision to retire the feted racehorse following talks with her owners.

"She has done everything we have asked her to do," Moody said. "We thought long and hard about racing on but believe she has done everything we asked of her and felt it was the right time to call time on her wonderful career.

"She's in great shape and that's the way we wanted her to bow out. We just thought the time was right - it was a hard decision."

Black Caviar landed £4.5m in prize money and an Australian-record 15 Group One victories, most over sprint distances of around 1,200m.

"We thought long and hard about racing on for another season," Moody added. "We thought about Royal Ascot, we thought about Brisbane and we thought about Adelaide, but we believe she has done everything we've asked her to do. She couldn't have possibly done any more."

Black Caviar is now set to start a breeding career, though plans for a union with retired British champion Frankel may have to wait, with an Australian stallion expected to join her later in the year.

"After Ascot we were going to retire but in the finish we got three more runs out of her," Moody added. "She brought interest to our sport that hasn't been there for decades.

"Black Caviars don't come along every day. It's time to call it a day."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.