'She was made of iron, tougher than Margaret Thatcher' - Princess Zoe retired

Tony Mullins has hailed Princess Zoe "tougher than Margaret Thatcher" after the final chapter of one of Flat racing's most heartwarming rags-to-riches tales.

Princess Zoe, along with double Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song, was retired after the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp on Sunday.

Two of Ireland's most successful stayers in the last decade are now off to the paddocks to pursue breeding careers.

Mullins revealed to the Racing Post that Princess Zoe would be sold with owners Patrick Kehoe and Philomena Crampton still to decide whether to send the seven-year-old mare to a public sale or sell her privately.

"It's been some journey," Mullins said on Monday. "She was made of iron, tougher than Margaret Thatcher, and that's what endeared me more to her than her raw ability actually.

"She wasn't the best stayer of all time but I just had an incredible connection with her. The whole journey was so exciting.

"The best day was probably the day she won the Group 1 in France, but the day she was second in the Gold Cup at Ascot was massively exciting.

"When she came there looking like she was going to pose a big threat to Subjectivist, I nearly lost the use of my legs. It was doubly exciting because we weren't really expecting it."

The trainer added: "I would have loved to go jumping with her but I would have been afraid of my life that something might happen to her.

"That was just too much of a worry with a solid Group 1 performer like her, despite the fact we are all jumping people.

"She'll head off to the paddocks now. Paddy and Philomena would like to buy another one to race, so they are currently trying to decide whether to bring her to a public sale or to sell her privately. She was some bit of stuff and it's been some journey."

Tony Mullins: 'The whole journey was so exciting'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Princess Zoe arrived from Germany as an unknown quantity but she quickly became a crowd favourite as she rattled off five wins in a row in her first campaign with Mullins in 2020.

The winning sequence started in the Ladies Derby at the Curragh off a mark of 70 and continued with two wins at the Galway summer festival.

She returned to the Ballybrit venue in September to land a Listed race and the following month stayed on powerfully to win the Group 1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend at Longchamp, her sole success at the top level.

She was second to Subjectivist in last year's Gold Cup at Ascot and her eighth and final victory came at that venue in April in the Sagaro Stakes. It was a victory achieved in typically tenacious fashion under regular rider Joey Sheridan, partner for four of her six wins with Mullins.

She ended her racing career by finishing fourth to Iresine on Sunday.

Dermot Weld 'honoured' to have trained Search For A song as classy mare bows out

Meanwhile, the entire team around Search For A Song beamed with pride as they welcomed her back after a gallant second place in the Prix Royal-Oak, two places in front of Princess Zoe, her final start before being retired to join the Moyglare Stud broodmare band.

For much of the race, she looked likely to go out with a victory and had the other stayers in the race in trouble entering the straight, only for the classy middle-distance performer Iresine to coast past her half way up the straight.

"I'm delighted," said trainer Dermot Weld. "I'm very honoured to have trained her, she's been a wonderful filly. This is her last race and she's done us proud.

"She's won two Classics, she's multiple Group 1-placed, and a champion staying mare in Europe two years running."

With a glittering array of siblings, including Free Eagle, Sapphire and Kyprios, Search For A Song was bred to be a star and showed as much when fourth in the Irish Oaks on her third start.

Search For A Song: a gallant second in the Group 1 Prix Royal Oak, the mare's final raceCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

It was a stayer where she really made her mark, however, beating Kew Gardens, Cross Counter and Master Of Reality in a high-class 2019 Irish St Leger – a victory she repeated 12 months later. She was also placed over 1m2f in the 2020 Tattersalls Gold Cup.

On returning to unsaddle, it was clear how much she meant to the Rosewell House team as Weld and his son Mark, as well as Moyglare racing and breeding manager Fiona Craig, crowded round, as jockey Chris Hayes half-joked: "I'd love another year with her."

"For a six-year-old, I'm so proud of her to come back and run a cracking race," said Weld. "Full marks to the winner, he's got to be a very good horse.

"She's been a very genuine, staying mare. She's put up a wonderful performance as she always does. We're very proud of her."

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