Primal Force dies of complications from foaling at 24

Primal Force, the dam of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again and 2000 juvenile champion Macho Uno, died Sunday of complications from foaling, according to Adena Springs.

The 24-year-old Blushing Groom mare had just foaled a full sister to Macho Uno, who is doing well, a farm release said.

Mr. and Mrs. Bert Firestone bred Primal Force in Kentucky from the Mr. Prospector stakes winner Prime Prospect. She raced for Mrs. Firestone and proved an able sprinter, though she never won a stakes race. Trained by Bill Mott, she retired with wins in half of her eight lifetime starts and earnings of $74,251.

Adena Springs owner Frank Stronach purchased Primal Force at the 1992 Keeneland January all-ages sale, paying $95,000 for the then 5-year-old mare. She quickly rewarded him – her second foal, a Deputy Minister colt, was Awesome Again. En route to his 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic victory, he won that season’s Whitney, Stephen Foster, Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap, and Hawthorne Gold Cup. At age 3, the year before, he won the Jim Dandy and the Queen’s Plate and finished third in the Travers.

Awesome Again went on to be a successful stallion at Adena Springs and stands at the operation’s Kentucky division for $50,000 this year. His current runners include Game On Dude.

The year Awesome Again won the Classic, Primal Force produced her next outstanding runner, the Holy Bull colt Macho Uno. Two years later, he completed his championship campaign with a win in the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He earned $1.8 million in a career that also featured victories in Canada’s Grey Breeders’ Cup Stakes, the Massachusetts Handicap, and the Pennsylvania Derby. He, too, stands at Adena Springs now for $15,000.

“Primal Force was the foundation mare for Adena Springs,” Stronach said. “She was part of our family and is responsible for much of the success we have had as breeders. She will be greatly missed by all of us.”

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