Lookin At Lucky retired, will stand in Kentucky for Coolmore

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lookin At Lucky, 2009’s juvenile champion who went on to win the Preakness and Haskell this year, has retired from racing at age 3 and will enter stud at Coolmore Stud’s Kentucky division, Ashford Stud. Coolmore has purchased the colt from owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.

Coolmore hasn’t yet set a fee for the Smart Strike colt, a leading contender for championship honors in the 3-year-old division this year. If he does earn another Eclipse Award, he will be the first 2-year-old champion to repeat at 3 since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

The sale ended speculation that Lookin At Lucky would return to the track at 4, where he was considered a likely leader in the handicap division.
He retires with 9 wins, 1 second, and 1 third from 13 lifetime starts and earnings of $3,307,278.

Lookin At Lucky ended his career in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, finishing fourth behind Blame, Zenyatta, and Fly Down. That was one of just two times he had finished unplaced in 13 career starts; the other was in the Kentucky Derby, where he ran sixth.

WATCH REPLAYS: 2010 Preakness Stakes | 2010 Haskell Invitational

“He never ran a clunker,” said trainer Bob Baffert. “Even the Derby, after getting wiped out, he still tried to run. He ran every time. I wish I could have that with every horse I buy. We had a lot of fun with him."

Lookin At Lucky was a dominant performer at 2. He won 5 of 6 starts last year. Based in California, Lookin At Lucky won the Best Pal, Del Mar Futurity, and Norfolk Stakes in a streak after taking his maiden race easily at Hollywood Park. He carried that four-race win streak into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile but lost by a head to Vale of York. He bounced back before the year was out with a Dec. 19 victory in Hollywood’s CashCall Futurity, his third Grade 1 race, to secure his divisional title.

Lookin At Lucky returned this March. After a narrow Rebel Stakes win over Noble's Promise, his CashCall Futurity runner-up, Lookin At Lucky endured a pair of losses in the Santa Anita Derby, in which he finished third, and the Kentucky Derby, where he finished sixth. He returned to winning form again to take the Preakness and Haskell, followed by the Indiana Derby before his Breeders’ Cup Classic run.

“The purchase of Lookin At Lucky underlines Coolmore’s commitment to stay at the forefront of American breeding, and we couldn’t be more delighted to add him to the team,” said Coolmore’s Dermot Ryan, who manages Ashford Stud.

PAST PERFORMANCES: Lookin At Lucky's lifetime PPs (PDF)