Thursday, 5 July 2012: Helmet, the record-breaking winner of last year's G1 Caulfield Guineas and a multiple G1-winning juvenile, has been retired.
 | Helmet
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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The son of Exceed And Excel will return to Australia to stand at Northwood Stud in Victoria.
Bred by Sheikh Mohammed, Helmet is out of the Singspiel mare Accessories, the dam of G1 placed and G3 winner Bullbars as well as the G3 winer Epaulette, one of this season's leading two-year-olds
Helmet 
recorded four straight wins at two, culminating with a G1 double in the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes and the AJC Champagne Stakes.
He finished the season rated 123 by
Timeform behind Sepoy with his rating high enough to be champion juvenile colt in each of the previous 10 seasons.
The front-running colt came back at three to record a third G1 victory in record time in the Caulfield Guineas.
He has since raced in Dubai and the UK for the Godolphin stable.
His Timeform rating rose to 127 – behind Sepoy's 129 – and put him ahead of
Fastnet Rock, Starspangledbanner,
So You Think,
Choisir and his own sire Exceed And Excel at that age.
Oliver Tait, Darley's chief operating officer said, “Helmet was among the very best colts in an elite generation. Few horses can win three G1s across two consecutive seasons and Helmet did it the hard way, out in front.
"He was a remarkable talent, rated superior to his sire Exceed And Excel who is such a successful and popular horse on our roster.”
Helmet will stand at a fee of $33,000 inc. GST.
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 | | Posted by writeowl, on 27-8-2012 1:20:32 PM
@Daniel, I do follow overseas racing a lot, I don''t think that you can make that assumption. Godolphin have been dominant for many years in the UK and in UAE. Can''t say a lot for Al Zarooni, but Godolphin typically do well in Europe.
I think that''s a fair point, Dazzler. A lot of horses don''t handle the travel, while others seem to thrive on it. And as Helmet was temeperamental at best, it was always going to be a line ball whether he handled it or not. ”
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| | Posted by Dazzler, on 23-8-2012 8:35:08 AM
I respect your opinion owl. However have a look at Sepoy''s Manikato win, it was devastating. And against good older opposition. Some horses just don''t travel, we shouldn''t downgrade their rating because of it. ”
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| | Posted by daniel, on 19-8-2012 5:10:29 PM
@writeowl , if u have followed much overseas racing u would know godolphins uae trainers have butcherd many many good horses with good form they inherited of there previous trainers ... take nothing out of there form when bin suroor and al zarooni trained them. ”
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| | Posted by writeowl, on 19-8-2012 8:28:48 AM
Fair comment, but taking a line through Sepoy, who also did very little overseas, I wonder how good the three-year-old crop was. In Australia they were the best of their generation, but on a larger stage, not impressive. By contrast, Ortensia is going great guns and Black Caviar also performed well despite difficulties. ”
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| | Posted by Ms Vegas, on 31-7-2012 9:18:31 PM
Spot on Dazzler! ”
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| | Posted by Dazzler, on 25-7-2012 9:26:01 PM
Don''t think he was overrated Owl. Sires, Champagne and Caulfield Guineas read pretty well for mine. Obviously didnt come up in the autumn so the overseas jaunt wasn''t a great idea. Temperemental animal too so not sure how he handled the trip and environment change. ”
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| | Posted by WRITEOWL, on 7-7-2012 1:50:20 PM
Helmet was a good horse, but highly overrated. The most impressive aspect of his performance in the UK was that he was going backwards at roughly the same speed as Frankel was going forwards. ”
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