The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Veight has been retired from racing after what proved to be the final start of his career in Saturday’s VOBIS Gold So Si Bon at Caulfield.
The five-year-old finished last in the 1400m event, beaten 14.5 lengths by Harry’s Yacht, and a post-race veterinary inspection did not reveal any underlying issues.
“The vets went right over him on Saturday after that very disappointing run and gave him a clean bill of health. He had a 100 per cent clean bill of health heading into the race. He’s just decided he doesn’t want to run,” Tony McEvoy told Racing.com.
Veight retires after 19 career starts that produced five wins, four placings and more than $2.1 million in prizemoney.
He made a memorable debut with a dominant six-length maiden victory at Pakenham in February 2023 before connections opted to skip the Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and instead target the Group 2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), which he won convincingly by two lengths.
The Blue Diamond Stakes that year was captured by Lindsay Park-trained Little Brose, with Don Corleone finishing second and Arkansaw Kid third.
Looking back, McEvoy admitted the stable might have made a different decision regarding the Blue Diamond.
“That was probably a mistake, in hindsight. When you look at that year, it wasn’t a vintage year,” he said.
Veight went on to add three more stakes victories to his résumé, including the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) in 2024. He also captured the Group 3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) in 2023 and the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) in 2024.
“He won $2.1 million, he got us to the elite level in a really good race, the George Ryder” McEvoy commented.
“He won the Sires’ and ran second in the Caulfield Guineas and the Australian Guineas.
“He was a very good horse.”
After suffering pneumonia following the spring of 2024, Veight later sustained a broken bone in his neck while spelling in a paddock after finishing unplaced in the Doomben 10,000.
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