'Alpha Centauri didn't just beat them she broke their hearts'

In an ideal world the racing career of Alpha Centauri would have ended with an echo of the past. She would have offered up a reminder of how Miesque, one of the greatest European fillies of the 20th century, bowed out on a magnificent high by trouncing Steinlen at the 1988 Breeders' Cup meeting at Churchill Downs.

Thirty years on, from May through to August the 2018 season was enriched by the sparkling brilliance of Miesque's great-granddaughter, a filly whose career was charted from early precocity to mature stardom by Irish racing's first lady Jessica Harrington, adding another string to her bow as Classic-winning and Royal Ascot-winning trainer.

A faltering step inside the last furlong of the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September, as Colm O'Donoghue urged the filly for an effort to chase down the excellent Laurens, signalled the end. No trip now to Churchill Downs in November.