Melodic Rendezvous bows out after Elite Hurdle effort

Jeremy Scott's flagbearer, Melodic Rendezvous, ran his last race on Saturday with connections deciding to pull stumps following a heavy defeat in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton.

The 11-year-old finished last of the seven runners, beaten 84 lengths by winner London Prize, a performance that led connections to call time on his career.

Winner of eight of his 31 starts under rules, Melodic Rendezvous amassed £270,953 in total prize-money, and his biggest win came at Sandown in 2013 when claiming the Grade 1 Tolworth Novices' Hurdle.

He ran several big races at Wincanton, and is a previous winner of the Elite Hurdle after scoring in 2013, and he also won the track's other highlight over hurdles, the Kingwell, the following year.

Trainer Jeremy Scott tweeted: "Melodic Rendezvous has been retired today after his run in the Elite Hurdle, it is an end of an era at Holworthy. A legend who doesn’t owe anybody anything."

His former groom, Steve Croft, is a huge fan of the horse and still made sure to be in attendance wherever he ran, even after his time at Scott's ended.

"I started with Jeremy in August 2012 and looked after him from the day I started," Croft said. "He's the nicest horse to deal with. All my family have been round to see him.

"He captured the racing public's imagination as he was an underdog and was as good as he was as because he wanted it more. It was a fitting place to retire as he had two heroic wins at Wincanton.

"He should have a great retirement and he's a star."