$5.5 million earner Gunnevera retired

MIAMI - South Florida-based fan favorite Gunnevera, runner-up in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic and earner of over $5.5 million in his career, has been retired trainer Antonio Sano confirmed earlier this week.

Sano said Gunnevera is currently on the farm in Ocala for “a rest” and that he hopes he’ll be able to begin his new career as a stallion early in 2021.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to put together a good deal to breed him, although there is nothing in place at the moment,” said Sano.

Gunnevera, a 6-year-old son of Dialed In owned by Salomon Del Valle, was plagued by foot issues throughout his career. He also suffered a fracture in his left hind leg while in training last summer. He returned to Sano’s barn at Gulfstream Park West this winter hoping to make it back for a 2020 campaign but his list of infirmities finally caught up with him again during the summer.

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Gunnevera’s final start was one of his best, a third-place finish behind Thunder Snow in the 2019 Dubai World Cup.

“He had the same problems again, with his feet, but he’s 100 percent right now on the farm,” Sano said. “The horse won nearly $5.6 million. He’s done enough on the racetrack. He had a big heart, could run any distance, and I think he’s going to make a very good sire.”

Aside from his big effort in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs, when he rallied from far back to finish just a length behind Accelerate, Gunnevera’s list of accomplishments include second-place finishes at Saratoga in the 2018 Woodward and 2017 Travers. The most notable of his six lifetime wins was a 5 3/4-length triumph at Gulfstream Park in the 2017 Fountain of Youth. He also captured the $1 million Delta Jackpot by a similar margin at Delta Downs as a 2-year-old.

“His race in the Breeders’ Cup was the most special for me,” Sano recalled. “It was very emotional, very exciting. One more second and he wins the race. He’s a once in a lifetime horse who I can’t thank enough for what he’s also meant to my career.”