20 March 2019 | AMANDA RANDO
TOP class pacer Ultimate Art has run his last race.
Connections of the Group 1 winner, who is affectionately known as Thomas, decided it was time to pull the plug on his racing career after his lust for racing had deteriorated.
Trainer Michael Formosa was hoping for one last win with his stallion at Bathurst this Saturday night but the Ellalong mentor scratched the nine-year-old out of the Smooth Satin Cup.
“I was hoping to go out with a win but in this grade he’s in it’s hard to find an easy race,” said Formosa.
“He hasn’t really been interested in racing so I decided this morning (Wednesday) to not keep pushing him.
“I never really imagined he would have over 100 starts . . . for a stallion to have that many starts and not go amiss is a massive effort.”
Ultimate Art will bow out of racing with a record of 38 wins and 33 placings in 117 starts.
The son of Modern Art began racing at the age of two and has retired from the racetrack at the age of nine.
Ultimate Art gave a lot to the Formosa family including their first Group 1 victory when he won the Bathurst Gold Crown as a two-year-old in 2012.
Wins in both the Breeders Challenge Final as a four-year-old and a heat of the Inter Dominion in 2015 were also highlights.
“Each of his wins meant something to us but that first Group 1 win was big for us,” said Formosa.
“We didn’t really enjoy it as much as we should have at the time though . . . we were offered $120,000 for him before the race and we knocked it back.
“We had a mortgage at the time and it put a lot of pressure on us.
“In the end we made the right decision.”
So much so, Ultimate Art went on to pocket $621,996 in stakes after being purchased for a mere sum.
“We bought him from the Australian Pacing Gold Sale for $7,000,” said Formosa.
“It was the first year we went to the sales to by horses for ourselves, we were on a tight budget so we didn’t look at the expensive breeds like the Art Major’s.
“We had $15,000 to spend and we saw him (Ultimate Art) and he was such a magnificent looking horse we thought he would go for more than our budget would allow.
“When we got him for $7,000 we thought we’ve missed something with this horse, something must be wrong.”
Ultimate Art will now spend his days in the paddock as a father. The son of Modern Art has already served eight mares with Formosa hopping to increase this in the next season.
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