Gemologist, Wood Memorial winner, retired to stand at WinStar

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Wood Memorial winner Gemologist, who returned to WinStar Farm for evaluation about three weeks after a last-place finish in the Haskell Invitational, has been retired from racing, the farm announced late Thursday afternoon. WinStar will stand the 3-year-old colt, a son of their stallion Tiznow, in 2013. The Versailles, Ky., farm will announce his stud fee later.

Gemologist exited the July 29 Haskell with a respiratory infection that kept him out of the Travers, and he last worked out on Sept. 2, going five furlongs in 59.75 seconds at Saratoga.

"It was a tough decision to retire him, because he could have come back and raced at 4," said WinStar's chief executive, Elliott Walden. "Our core business is stallions, and Gemologist follows in the path of Super Saver and Drosselmeyer - two other top 3-year-olds that we were fortunate enough to race and bring home to stud."

Bred by G. Watts Humphrey and his mother, Louise Ireland Humphrey, Gemologist was a $310,000 Keeneland November sale weanling. He won his first five starts, including the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last year at 2 and this year's Wood, but he came out of his16th-place Kentucky Derby finish with a bruised foot.

Gemologist retires with $794,855 in earnings from 5 wins in 7 starts. He is out of the unraced Mr. Prospector mare Crystal Shard, who also produced stakes-winner Clear Destiny and stakes-placed Perfect Cut.