Magical out of BC Filly and Mare Turf, retired

ARCADIA, Calif. – An intriguing showdown between Sistercharlie and Magical will not take place in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf as Magical was diagnosed with a temperature Monday morning and did not ship to California.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien told The Racing Post that Magical would be retired.

“She has been an unbelievable mare,” O’Brien told the publication. “She was so game, so consistent and so classy.”

Magical, a daughter of Galileo, was a three-time Group 1 winner including a victory in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Oct. 19. She was pre-entered in both the Filly and Mare Turf and the Turf. Though she finished second to Enable in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last year, Magical was expected to run in the Filly and Mare Turf on Saturday.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with fields, odds, comments, and more

Magical retires with a record of 9-6-0 from 21 starts and earnings of $4,321,653, all for the Coolmore connections of Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor.

Magical would likely have vied for favoritism in the Filly and Mare Turf with Sistercharlie, last year’s winner of this race and the reigning female turf champion.

O’Brien was expected to enter both Fleeting and Just Wonderful in the Filly and Mare Turf.