Often with a tendon injury you don’t get them back at all, and he has been able to come back two or three times.”Īs frustrating as his injury-plagued career has been Barclay said to have a horse with the ability of U May Cullect in the stable had been special. He has done such an amazing job to come back so many times. “I feel like there is a lot of what ifs? But it’s almost a bit of a relief to have him retired. “It’s a real shame we never got to see him at completely 100 percent, he always had those niggles,” Barclay said. He returned to the track this year and showed some of that impressive speed by winning two races in a row, including the Riverton Cup.īut on Friday night, after his first race after a seven-month break, it all came to an end. However, after just one race in 2020 the horse was again struck down with a tendon injury. He was named 2019 Southland Horse of the Year and at one point was third favorite to win the 2020 New Zealand Cup. Within just four months, in 2019, U May Cullect went from an unqualified horse to winning seven in a row. Kilkelly bought U May Cullect for just $5200 at a weanling sale in Auckland, but he never made it to the racetrack until he was a five-year-old as tendon injuries held him back.

U May Cullect's racing days was littered with tendon problems, but he also attracted plenty admirers through his impressive deeds. “It's not a crippling injury, he’ll have a really good life, so there’s also the feeling that we’ve done the right thing by the horse,” Barclay said.

Southland harness racing horse U May Cullect has been retired following another tendon flare-up.

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