Grade 1 winner Hope Road retired

ARCADIA, Calif. – Hope Road, winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga last August and three Grade 3 stakes, has been retired, according to owners Barbara and Ron Perry.

The Perrys, who bred Hope Road and race as Cicero Farms, said on Sunday that the 5-year-old mare may not be bred until 2027.

Hope Road won the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes at a mile for fillies and mares by 6 1/2 lengths as the 2-5 favorite at Del Mar last November in what turned out to be her final start. She was in training with Bob Baffert at Santa Anita earlier this year when an injury developed that necessitated her retirement, the Perrys said at Santa Anita on Sunday morning.

“We talked it over with Bob,” Barbara Perry said. “We thought it would be best to retire her.”

Hope Road, by Quality Road, won 6 of 14 starts and earned $1,016,620. Aside from the Ballerina, Hope Road started in two other Grade 1 races last year, finishing second in the Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs and third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar.

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