Gift Box retired from racing, will stand at Lane's End

Grade 1 winner Gift Box has officially been retired from racing and will begin his stud career in 2021 at Lane’s End.

The 7-year-old, who scored his major victories for Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler, will stand alongside his sire, Twirling Candy, himself a son of Lane’s End stallion Candy Ride.

“Gift Box represents so much of what we’re about at Lane’s End,” Bill Farish said in a press release. “A Grade 1 winner at a mile and a quarter on the dirt, speed, out of a tremendous mare from a sire line we believe in. That’s what we’ve been successful with and I’m appreciative of the opportunity Hronis Racing has given us.”

Gift Box retires with a record of 18-6-6-2 and earnings of more than $1.1 million. He scored his biggest victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in 2019, nosing out multiple Grade 1 winner McKinzie. In his subsequent start, he was beaten less than a length by eventual champion Vino Rosso in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.

Gift Box also won consecutive editions of the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes, including in December 2019 in his final start.