Grade 1 winner Macadamia retired

Macadamia, the 5-year-old Brazilian-bred mare who won three races at Santa Anita earlier this year, including the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes on turf on May 29, has been retired, trainer Phil D’Amato said on Wednesday.

Racing in Brazil and California, Macadamia won 5 of 13 starts and earned $444,413 for R Unicorn Stable.

D’Amato said Macadamia was recently sent to Kentucky. He said it was unclear whether she will be bred in that state in 2024 or sent to Japan where R Unicorn Stable has a base.

:: Bet with the Best! Get Free DRF PPs and Cashback when you wager. Join DRF Bets.

“The owner will decide the next step, if he’s going to breed her or send her to Japan,” D’Amato said.

Macadamia, by the Sunday Silence stallion Hat Trick, won her final start in the Gamely at 1 1/8 miles, her second stakes win of the year. Macadamia won the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on April 30. In Brazil, Macadamia won two Group 1 races on turf at a mile and 1 1/8 miles in 2021.

Macadamia was in training earlier this month when a decision was made to end her racing career. D’Amato said Macadamia was not going to be sufficiently fit for a start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

“We dealt with a foot problem off and on,” D’Amato said. “We thought we had her right and she wasn’t 100 percent on it. If she’s not going to be 100 percent, there’s no using messing around.

“It made their decision easy to look to the next stage of her career.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.