Connect to stand at Lane's End upon retirement

Grade 1 winner Connect will enter stud at Lane’s End in Versailles, Ky., upon his retirement from racing.

Connect has won five of seven starts, earning $1,250,000 for owner Paul Pompa Jr. He most recently won the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in November, capping a campaign that also included wins in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby and the Curlin Stakes.

The son of Curlin is currently training at Palm Meadows toward his 4-year-old debut under trainer Chad Brown.

“I’ve been very fortunate to own many top-class racehorses, but Connect is in another league,” Pompa said. “When it came time to determine the future of his stallion career, the best choice was Lane’s End.

“I’m excited to run him again this year.”

Bred in Kentucky by Fox Straus KY, Connect is out of the unraced Holy Bull mare Bullville Belle, whose six winners from eight runners also include multiple stakes winner Tani Maru.

Connect’s extended family includes Grade 1 winner Backseat Rhythm, Japanese Group 2 winner Monde Can Know, Grade 3 winner Native Regent, and Saudi Arabian Horse of the Year Qatoomah.

“He’s by an emerging top-class sire that’s one of the most commercially sought-after stallions in the market,” said Will Farish of Lane’s End. “He will cross beautifully with A.P. Indy-line mares, which Curlin has had so much success with. He’s an outstanding physical, very much akin to the successful stallions on our roster today.”

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