August 31, 2008 12:00am

CHAMPION mare Miss Andretti seems certain to be retired immediately after the worst run of her celebrated career at Caulfield yesterday.

Miss Andretti, the horse of the year, tailed off a distant last, more than 30 lengths behind the winner Bel Mer in the Listed The Heath Stakes (1100m).

Miss Andretti began brilliantly from her inside barrier and shared the lead with Red Element until the home turn.

Then Miss Andretti, renowned for her fighting spirit and will to win, yielded ground at an alarming rate, quickly drifting back through the field.

Jockey Dwayne Dunn quickly realised Miss Andretti was out of the contest and did not punish the mare, virtually pulling her out of the race in the final 200m.

In an ironic twist, jockey Craig Newitt, Miss Andretti's regular rider right through her career, stuck with a commitment to ride Bel Mer, who scored an upset win.

Miss Andretti's race career has been under a cloud since she ran poorly in the Hong Kong International Sprint last December.

Her only other start since Hong Kong also resulted in a shock defeat when unplaced in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville last March.

Trainer Lee Freedman had been measured in his assessment of Miss Andretti this preparation. He had said Miss Andretti had been working well but that the real test of whether the mare could regain her former glory would be revealed under race conditions.

Sadly, Miss Andretti failed to show her usual competitive streak and owner Sean Buckley is almost certain to send the mare straight to stud.

It is an unfortunate farewell for Miss Andretti, regarded as one of the finest sprinting mares in the modern era. Miss Andretti won 19 of her 31 starts, earning more than $2.8million in prizemoney.

She was a five-time Group I winner of the Newmarket Handicap, Lightning Stakes, Manikato Stakes, Australia Stakes and The Sprint Classic.