The Testa Rossa gelding Speediness has been retired after finishing ninth in last Saturday’s Gr3 BRC Sprint at Doomben.
Trained by Colin Scott, Speediness, was twice runner up in Gr.1’s firstly to international Gordon Lord Byron in the George Ryder Gr.1 and then Trust in a Gust in the Toorak Hcp Gr.1. His biggest win came in the 2013 Gr3 Bobbie Lewis Handicap (1200m) at Flemington defeating Temple Of Boom and Albrecht before finishing fourth in the Rupert Clarke Gr.1 behind Rebel Dane and fellow Testa Rossa galloper Fontelina. Speediness bows out the winner of 7 of his 39 starts for nearly $1.1 million prize money.
The rising 8YO gelding also won the 2013 Listed Scone Cup and Listed Pink Ribbon Cup at Caulfield, retiring with a personal best Timeform rating of 123.
Scott paid tribute to Speediness, telling racing.com: “He’s been an absolute champion and realistically, other than his last four runs, there’s probably not a single race where at the 400 you were thinking he couldn’t win. He was probably seriously desperately unlucky not to win two or three million (in prize money).”
He added, “Hopefully I’ll end up keeping him and he’ll live in my backyard until the day he dies. He’s just been an absolute gem to me.” He added, “He’s the nicest, most gentle-natured horse. He’s one of my best mates, I love him to death.”
Speediness was purchased for just $18,000 by Edward Thomas at the 2009 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of Bombora Downs.
