Noble Stella retired with injury

Noble Stella has been retired after suffering an injury during a workout over Woodbine's Polytrack surface last Saturday morning.

"It was just a normal little maintenance breeze," said trainer Roger Attfield, who had watched Noble Stella breeze five furlongs 1:01.60 under assistant trainer Rachel Halden.

"She came back with a chip. It's in a bad part of her knee. They usually don't ever come back from something like that the way they were in the first place, and she's definitely too nice to come back mediocre. She's been too good to everybody."

Noble Stella, a German-bred 5-year-old mare owned by Gary Tanaka, retires as a broodmare prospect with a record of 8-4-5 and earnings of $713,137 from 27 outings.

This year, Noble Stella won the Grade 3 Bewitch at Keeneland, the Grade 2 New York Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park, and the Grade 3 Glens Falls at Saratoga, earning $310,348.

Noble Stella was nominated to the E.P. Taylor Stakes, a Grade 1, $1 million race here Oct. 22, and also was under consideration for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4.

Although based here with Attfield, Noble Stella has made just two starts in Canada this season and is not eligible for consideration for a Sovereign Award, which requires a minimum of three starts before the Nov. 27 deadline.