Honor A. P. retired due to tendon injury

Honor A. P., winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on June 6 and fourth in the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, has been retired because of a tendon injury, trainer John Shirreffs said Monday.

Honor A. P. will enter stud in 2021 at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, the farm announced in a statement Monday. A fee has not been determined.

The injury was detected last week shortly after Honor A. P. returned to Shirreffs’s base at Santa Anita.

“He strained his left front tendon and it would take too long to heal and bring him back,” Shirreffs said. “It’s very minor. With his size, it would take a long time. We had hoped to have a 4-year-old year with him.”

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Owned by Lee and Susan Searing, Honor A. P. won 2 of 6 starts and earned $532,200. By Honor Code, Honor A. P. was beaten five lengths by Authentic in the Kentucky Derby as the 7-1 second choice.

“It was great to watch him on the racetrack,” Shirreffs said.