Canadian Horse of the Year Patches O’Houlihan euthanized

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Owner-breeder Frank DiGiulio Jr. announced Thursday that his 2024 Canadian Horse of the Year, Patches O’Houlihan, was euthanized, 12 days after suffering a serious suspensory injury while winning the Grade 2 Highlander on the main turf at Woodbine.

“After sustaining a soft-tissue injury while galloping out after winning the Highlander Stakes, it was hoped that he would recover well enough to be retired to pasture,” DiGiulio said. “However, in the time since then, his prognosis worsened. We consulted with veterinarians and surgeons on an ongoing basis, and it was determined surgery was not a viable option for a sustained quality of life.”

Patches O’Houlihan, a two-time Sovereign Award-winning champion male sprinter trained by Robert Tiller, ranks among the leading Canadian sprinters of all-time, a list that includes Fatal Bullet, Play the King, Pink Lloyd, and King Corrie. Pink Lloyd, a five-time champion sprinter, also was campaigned by DiGiulio and Tiller, and “Patches” won the first running of the Pink Lloyd Stakes last year.

A 5-year-old by Ontario sire Reload, Patches O’Houlihan won 13 of 16 starts and earned $1,159,540 Canadian. He was known for his blazing speed on turf and Tapeta at Woodbine. The bay gelding lowered the 5 1/2-furlong synthetic-track record at Woodbine when taking his May 4 season opener in the Thorncliffe Stakes in a time of 1:02.28, which was good for a whopping 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

After winning his debut at 2, Patches O’Houlihan was injured when sixth in the Bull Page Stakes on the grass in September. When returning from the sidelines off an eight-month layoff the following spring, he commenced a six-race win streak that was highlighted by stakes scores over older rivals in the Grade 3 Bold Venture and Grade 3 Vigil.

Last year, he won the Bold Venture and Vigil again after romping in the restricted Pink Lloyd. Despite drifting out in the stretch in the Grade 2 Nearctic on the grass in October, he held on to prevail in a similar manner as his recent Highlander victory over the same course and distance. His only loss in his last seven outings was a hard-fought second to the Grade 1-winning shipper Nobals in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road in November.

“It’s a great loss,” Tiller said. “Other than Pink Lloyd, he had the biggest heart of any horse I’ve ever trained. He loved running, loved to win, and wouldn’t stop. I think he proved that many times. I’ve never seen a horse make those silly moves on the turf course and still win, but he did it last fall and came out of that race perfect. In the end, we decided to run him” in the Highlander.

DiGiulio also paid tribute to “Patches,” who had three riders during his career – Kazushi Kimura, Daisuke Fukumoto, and most recently Sofia Vives.

“He was an amazing animal that was beautiful both inside and out,” DiGiulio said. “We are going to dearly miss watching him run, as will his many fans. He gave us so much pleasure and so many thrills during his career.”

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