The 15-time winner, owned by Brian Barton and trained by the Gatt family, injured a hock trialling at Dapto last Friday morning, with Barton making the immediate decision to call time on a memorable chasing chapter.
“Now that her career is over and upon reflection, she was pretty good wasn’t she. She had 15 Wentworth Park wins and was never unplaced in six group races. She was a Group 1 winner and came along at a time in our lives when we needed her most,” an emotional Barton said earlier this week.
‘Annie’ captured the imagination of the greyhound world in January of 2023 when she was triumphant in the Group 1 National Futurity at Wentworth Park.
The win coming amid personal tragedy as Brians wife and co-owner, Sue, heroically battled terminal brain cancer. Sue sadly passed away in July last year.
“Watching ‘Annie’ race gave Sue a real kick and I’m so happy she got to see her run at her best. It gave her such a lift and they just adored each other. It was like Sue forgot about everything that was going on whenever 'Annie' ran,” Barton added.
“It was always funny after 'Annie' raced because I would go to pat her and she’d walk straight past me to Sue. She brought her so much joy in the most challenging circumstances and I think Sue said the Futurity win cured her cancer, that’s how much it meant to her.”
Sue and Brian Barton with 'Annie' and trainer Daniel Gatt after the 2023 Ambrosoli win
Barton forever indebted to the Gatt family for their training efforts over the past few years.
“Sue and I both couldn’t thank Daniel, Mark and Frank enough for the job they did, and we knew they loved Annie the same way we did,” Barton said.
“Mark spent some time away from the kennels last year so Daniel was front and centre for a lot of her racing career and he was just brilliant. Mark always says Daniel doesn’t have any photos of greyhounds up at his place except some shots of Annie and that means a lot to me.”
“Mark has been around her more in the last six months and we owe him and Frank [Gatt] a lot as well. They went above and beyond to help her reach her potential and it was just a fantastic ride.”
Wyndra All Class retires with a career record of 40: 15-9-6 and more than $200,000 in career earnings.
The daughter of Fernando Bale set to complete her recovery before being served by super sire, Barcia Bale.
“Mark [Gatt] and I started talking about her future a while ago and he said she had the right temperament to be a star brood bitch. She’s got great early pace, top end speed and she's really smart and well behaved around the kennels. Mark recommended going to Barcia Bale so as soon as she’s all healed up, I’ve already got a straw ready to go,” Barton said.
Other career highlights for Wyndra All Class include victory in The Ambrosoli, runner-up finishes in the Group 2 Richmond Oaks and Group 3 Brother Fox finals to Yuko Girl and She’s A Pearl respectively, as well as a third-placed finish in the Group 3 State Of Origin sprint race.
