Bunting retired to paddocks Godolphin's dual Classic-winning filly Blue Bunting has been retired from racing after suffering a leg injury. The four-year-old enjoyed a superb campaign in 2011, winning the Quipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh before beating her elders in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks. Trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni had been preparing his filly for a tilt at the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan on World Cup night but this injury means she will now take up duties as a broodmare, with a date with stallion Street Cry on the cards. Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said: "Because Blue Bunting would have needed a long period of recuperation before coming back into training, the decision has been made to retire her to stud for an early covering. It is a pity Blue Bunting will not have the chance again to show what a brilliant racehorse she was but we look forward to her becoming a great success at stud. "She won two Classics in Europe last year. She followed up her stunning 1000 Guineas triumph over a mile at Newmarket with a game victory over half a mile further in the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh. Blue Bunting then took on older fillies and mares for the first time when winning the Group One Darley Yorkshire Oaks in good style." Al Zarooni told www.godolphin.com: "Blue Bunting will be a filly who I will always remember because of what she has done. She gave me my first Classic victory in both Britain and Ireland, and it is both sad and good that she is retiring to stud. "It is sad because I will no longer be training her for the best races but good as, hopefully, I will train her babies. Blue Bunting was an easy filly to train - she knew her business very well - and turned into a top-class racehorse."
