YESTERDAY'S announcement that last season's dual English and Irish 1,000 Guineas winning filly Attraction has been retired brought down the curtain on a truly outstanding career.

Every sport needs its superstars and Attraction ensured that the spotlight was regularly pointed at the North Yorkshire training centre of Middleham, rather than Newmarket or Lambourn, the much bigger southern strongholds where million pound plus thoroughbreds are two-a-penny.

Although trainer Mark Johnston had been preparing Attraction for a tilt at Saturday's Sun Chariot Stakes, she'll now be re-routed in readiness for a new role as broodmare at owner the Duke Of Roxburghe's Floors Castle estate in the Scottish Borders.

"I'm afraid she's definitely not going to run on Saturday and that's going to be it. That is the end of her career. It's very sad but in some ways I'm rather relieved," said Johnston.

"She has been marginally lame behind and you can't be going into a Group 1 race with any sort of problems, we have therefore decided to retire her."

"It's nothing to do with her much-fabled action in front," added the Duke, who has yet to disclose mating plans for his high-profile in-coming resident.

Few racehorses are able to boast the sort of record achieved by Attraction over the past three years, having famously won ten of her 15 starts, including five Group 1 races.

She also won just under £900,000 worth of win and place prize-money.

No other filly had completed the English/Irish 1,000 Guineas double until her history-making campaign in 2004, when under the superb stewardship of ever-present rider, Kevin Darley, she also went on to claim Royal Ascot's Coronation Stakes, plus a further Group 1 triumph at Newmarket during the autumn.

Attraction originally arrived at Johnston's Kingsley House stables in early 2003 with a big question mark over her because the filly's front legs didn't fit into the category of being anatomically correct - a little crooked in laymen's terms.

Of course, the then two-year-old wasn't to know any of these perceived problems and it wasn't long before she was dashing up Middleham Low Moor in the style of a really good horse.

"By the way she worked at home we always knew Attraction was something special," said Mark and it wasn't long before his opinion was totally vindicated when Attraction was crowned the European champion juvenile filly of her generation following five straight wins.

Attraction began with a pulsating debut Nottingham success, then routed her rivals at Thirsk and Beverley, prior to dishing out the same medicine in Royal Ascot's Queen Mary Stakes and the Cherry Hinton at Newmarket's prestigious July Cup meeting.

Even though she was unbeaten in five races the doubters persisted since she was allowed to start at amazingly generous odds of 11-2 when returning in 2004 to notch a first 1,000 Guineas win for Johnston, supplementing his inaugural Classic win via Mister Baileys in 1994.

Attraction ended her racing days just as she began - with a victory, having made every post a winning post in trademark front-running style to land the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown this month.

Its been a rags to riches tale that captured the racing public's imagination, not least because of a most ungainly galloping action in which her front legs dished sideways.

In the same league in the adoration stakes as Red Rum and Desert Orchid, the brave and indomitable Attraction will be much missed. But unlike the two former legends we can thankfully look forward to her sons and daughters appearing on the racecourse in the not-too-distant future.

Get more racing online at www.racing-north.co.uk.