Any possibility of New Zealand champion Smolda pursuing a unprecedented third Ballarat Pacing Cup title are over.
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The Mark Purdon-trained Smolda has been retired.
Purdon made the call after discovering the eight-year-old had a torn tendon.
Smolda this year became the first back-to-back winner of the Ballarat Pacing Cup and only the second two-time winner of the group 1 event.
He won 32 of 68 starts for earnings of $2,558,544, with his biggest wins including last year’s Inter-Dominion and the AG Hunter Cup.
His second Ballarat Pacing Cup success earned him a special place in Ballarat and District Trotting Club history.
Sinbad Bay is the only other two-time cup winner, achieving the feat five years apart in 1991 and 1996.
Meanwhile, Cardigan trainer Emma Stewart’s stable has topped $2m in earnings in Victoria for a second season in a row after three group 1 Vicbred Super Series titles at Melton on Saturday.
The earnings are more than twice her nearest rival Andy Gath.
