Grade 1 winner Haynesfield retired from racing

Haynesfield, a two-time New York-bred horse of the year and a Grade 1 winner, has been retired from racing, it was announced Friday afternoon.

Haynesfield, a son of Speightstown owned by Harvey Weinstein’s Turtle Bird Stable, won 10 of 19 career starts and earned $1,319,481. He won a stakes race each year that he raced from 2 to 5, highlighted by the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in 2010, defeating Blame by four lengths.

“Haynesfield gave us a lot of thrills and memories over the last four seasons but the race that will always stand out was his decisive win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup over Blame, handing him his only loss that year,’’ said Toby Sheets, who oversaw the training of Haynesfield for Steve Asmussen. “Beating him in a Grade 1 at equal weights in his championship season was a tremendous accomplishment by a gifted horse.
We will miss having him around the barn.’’

As a 2-year-old, Haynesfield won the Damon Runyon Stakes. At 3, he won the Count Fleet, Whirlaway, Empire Classic, and Grade 3 Discovery Stakes.

At 4, he won the Grade 2 Suburban and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and was beaten a head by Jersey Town in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.

This year, Haynesfield won just once in four starts, that being the $200,000 Empire Classic. He finished his career with a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Nov. 26.

It had not been determined where the horse will stand at stud. Those arrangements are being handled by Dan Hall and Mike Recio, representatives of Hidden Brook Farm.

“Several farms have expressed an interest in Haynesfield, we are weighing all of our options going forward,’’ Hall said in a press release.