Breeders’ Cup Hopeful Con Te Partiro Retired; Still To Be Offered At Keeneland November Sale

Con Te Partiro wins career debut on dirt at Keeneland in April 2016.

Con Te Partiro, a multiple Group 1 winner in Australia who had visions of returning to her native country for a swan song start in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf before being offered at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, has been retired from racing due to a minor knee injury, per Ray Thomas of Australia’s Daily Telegraph.

The 6-year-old daughter of Scat Daddy will remain cataloged for the Keeneland November sale.

Con Te Partiro was announced for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland and the ensuing sale on the same property on Sept. 12, aiming to close a 2020 campaign that has included wins in the G1 Coolmore Classic and G1 Coolmore Legacy Stakes in Australia.

The mare was born in the U.S., and raced domestically for for trainer Wesley Ward and owner Hat Creek Racing. She won on debut as a juvenile during Keeneland’s 2016 Spring Meet by 5 1/2 lengths. That campaign also saw her win the Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga by 5 3/4 lengths, and later finish second against male competition in the Juvenile Turf Sprint Stakes on the Breeders’ Cup undercard at Santa Anita.

Like many of Ward’s runners, Con Te Partiro was sent to England’s prestigious Royal Ascot meet, and she came back with a victory in the Sandringham Handicap. Her remaining time in the U.S. saw her become a Grade 3-placed runner.

Con Te Partiro sold to SF Bloodstock and Newgate Farm for $575,000 during the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and she was sent to the barn of Australian trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott to continue her racing career. The career renaissance she has experienced in 2020 was foreshadowed by her first Australian start, a victory in the G3 Dark Jewel Classic.

This is the second retirement for Con Te Partiro, who was initially sent off to be a broodmare during the 2019 Southern Hemisphere breeding season. However, she was put back in training at the insistence of her trainers after the mare failed to get in foal.

Dual Group 1 winner Con Te Partiro has been retired from racing – will be sent to US to be sold at the Keeneland Broodmare Sale in Nov @superracing

— Ray Thomas (@RayThomas_1) September 20, 2020