THE RETIREMENT OF RETURN TO CONQUER

By Graham Potter | Thursday, January 29, 2026

Australia never got to see Return To Conquer race first-hand, but his record is there to be admired.

An injury setback late last season, shortly after he had relocated from his New Zealand base to Cranbourne when it appeared he had all before him, meant that Return To Conquer would not be able to go on to achieve his short-term goals at that time … and now, sadly, several months later, the decision has been made to retire the unbeaten, Group 1 winning colt.

Trained by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson to the perfect record of four wins from four starts (all in his two-year-old campaign) Return To Conquer made a rapid rise to fame, starting off in Listed company when winning the Counties Challenge Stakes over 1100m … then taking out the Colin Jillings Two-Year-Old Classic and the Matamata Slipper (both Group 3 races, both over 1200m) … before climbing to the top of the mountain to claim the Group 1 Sistema Stakes over 1200m.

The Sistema win will always hold a very special place for the connections of Return To Conquer as it was the one hundredth Group 1 win for Te Akau Racing.

The son of Snitzel will retire to stud.