Grade 1 winner Gygistar dies at 19

Grade 1 winner Gygistar died "suddenly and unexpectedly" in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday. The gelding was 19.

Gygistar's death was reported on the social media accounts of Diana Baker, who had cared for the pensioner following his retirement from racing and until his death. Diana Baker's husband, Chris Baker, had been the farm manager for the Spring Hill Farm of the late Edward P. Evans, who bred and raced Gygistar.

"Gygi was a handful both on and off the track," Diana Baker wrote. "My family gave Gygi a home when his breeder/my husband’s late boss died. It has been a joy, a challenge, and an honor. We loved him. He has left a huge void."

Trained by Mark Hennig for Evans, Gygistar put together a career record of 11-4-7 from 34 starts and earned $1,110,385. The son of Prospector's Music announced himself in the spring of his 3-year-old season with a 10 1/2-length victory in the Hallandale Beach Handicap at Gulfstream Park. He went on to an outstanding summer in New York, winning the Riva Ridge Stakes and Dwyer Stakes, both Grade 2 events at Belmont Park, before his signature triumph in the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga.

He went on to win two editions of the Grade 3 Westchester Handicap at Belmont as an older horse in 2004 and 2005. In total, Gygistar won or placed in 17 stakes races, with a trio of Grade 1 placings. He finished third in two editions of the Grade 1 Forego Handicap at Saratoga, in 2003 and 2004, and was third in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in 2005 at Aqueduct.