Borrego is retired

Borrego, the winner of the 2005 Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup, has been retired from racing and will stand in 2007 at the Lexington, Ky., farm Wintergreen Stallion Station, the breeding operation owned by the family of the horse's trainer and co-owner, Beau Greely.

, owned by a large partnership, had surgery in April to remove a chip from his right front ankle. According to Greely, the owners had expected the colt to recover in 30 days and then begin training toward starts in this year's Pacific Classic and Breeders' Cup Classic, but the recovery has been slower than expected.

"With the extended recovery period, we would miss several races leading up to the Breeders' Cup, which would get us there less than 100 percent fit," Greely said in a statement. "In light of this and Borrego's value as a stallion, he have decided to retire him."

No stud fee has been set yet. Borrego will travel from his base at Hollywood Park to Wintergreen in mid-May, the statement said.

After a string of in-the-money finishes in stakes in California throughout his career, Borrego notched his first stakes win in the 2005 Pacific Classic and then romped in his next start, the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He finished 10th in the Breeders' Cup Classic as the second choice.