U May Cullect

Carlos enjoying his retirement in the Southland sun!

Great to see a couple of media yarns on Carlos! All much appreciated.

Star Southland horse's injury-plagued career leaves 'what-if' questions U May Cullect trainer Kirstin Barclay says retiring the star horse wasn't a particularly difficult decision given they had the horse's best interests at heart.

U May Cullect is to retire to the grassy surrounds of his favourite paddock at owner Tom Kilkelly’s Tisbury farm.

The 7-year-old Southland favourite ran a gallant race at Addington on Friday night before tiring in the latter stages against several of the country’s top open class pacers.

The latest in a series of injuries led to the decision to retire the horse known around the stables as ‘Carlos’.

U May Cullect’s race record is 17 starts, 9 wins, 1 second, 1 third, with $92,280 in winnings.

One of his many winning highlights was taking out the listed PGG Wrightson Standardbred Uncut Gems Classic at Addington in June 2019 - his seventh straight win after starting his racing career as a 5-year-old.

He delighted racegoers with several dominant victories in a quest to reach the NZ Trotting Cup which unfortunately didn’t eventuate due to the bad run of injuries.

Tom says everyone that breeds or buys a horse is hoping for a champion and “we were fortunate enough to get one”.

He wants to say special thanks to Kirstin Barclay for her fantastic training and driving, and to Max and Colin at the barn for their help.

Carlos nominated for Friday night at Addington.