Grade 2 winner Bird Song to stand at Gainesway

Grade 2 winner Bird Song will enter stud at Gainesway in Lexington, Ky., for the 2018 breeding season at an advertised fee of $5,000.

The 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song retired in September with five wins in 14 starts for earnings of $512,707. He won the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes and Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes and finished in the money in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope and Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes.

Bird Song raced as a homebred for Marylou Whitney Stables and was trained by Ian Wilkes.

“Bird Song’s greatest attribute was his natural speed,” Wilkes said. “I look forward to sending mares to him.”

A multigenerational member of the Whitney breeding program, Bird Song is out of the Cape Town mare Bird Town, who was named champion 3-year-old filly in 2003 after a campaign that included a victory in the Kentucky Oaks in stakes-record time.

Bird Town is the dam of four winners from seven runners and is a half-sister to 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, who also stands at Gainesway. The extended family also features Grade 1-placed Mountain Town, Grade 2-placed Mountain Bird, and Grade 3-placed Ninth Client and Quality Bird.

Bird Song will be available for inspection at Gainesway beginning Tuesday from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Eastern.

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