Hot Rod Charlie retired, will stand stud in Japan
Hot Rod Charlie, a four-time stakes winner who was third in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, has been retired to stud at Shadai Farm in Japan, co-owner Bill Strauss said Tuesday.
Hot Rod Charlie, a 5-year-old by Oxbow, finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Keeneland in his final start. A winner of 5 of 19 starts, Hot Rod Charlie earned $5,676,720 for the partnership of Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, and Strauss Brothers Racing.
Strauss said that Hot Rod Charlie will leave for Japan after meeting quarantine requirements this month.
Hot Rod Charlie ran in important races in each of his three years on the track. He was second in the 2020 BC Juvenile at Keeneland, and third behind Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby, losing by a length. He won the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing in the early fall of 2021.
Last year, Hot Rod Charlie won two stakes – the second round of the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates, and the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs in September.
In the richest race of his career, Hot Rod Charlie was second to Country Grammer in the $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan last March.
Hot Rod Charlie was purchased for $110,000 as a yearling. He is a half-brother to Mitole, the champion sprinter of 2019 and a stallion whose oldest foals are 2-year-olds this year.
Hot Rod Charlie was sent to Gainesway Farm in Kentucky shortly after the BC Classic.
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