Princess Noor, one of the top 2-year-old fillies in the country, was retired Sunday because of a soft tissue injury sustained while leading the $300,000 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, she was the 3-5 favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1 race. She had breezed to the lead and appeared primed to draw away from her four rivals. Instead, she was pulled up early in the stretch by jockey Victor Espinoza.
Princess Noor was purchased for $1.35 million earlier this year for Zedan Racing Stables.
“She’s a star and a very talented filly,” owner Amr Zedan said.
In a tweet Sunday, the stable wrote, “Our focus is to get her healthy to be the best mom she can be. It hurts, but (praying to) God she’s well & retirement is the best decision.”
Princess Noor had three wins in five career starts and earnings of $363,500. She won her first three starts, including the Del Mar Debutante and Chandelier Stakes at Del Mar. She finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last month at Keeneland.