Indiana sire Arromanches dies at age 20

Arromanches, sire of multiple Grade 2 winner Caixa Eletronica, died in his paddock Wednesday night at age 20.

The stakes-placed winning son of Relaunch last stood at Buckshot Stables in Liberty, Ind., for a private fee.

“I had him for close to 11 years, and it was really like losing an old friend,” said Ron Dafler, who co-owned Arromanches in a partnership and stood the horse at his farm. “He was a good old horse.”

Bred in Virginia by Burning Daylight Farms, Arromanches was a $120,000 purchase at the 1994 Keeneland September yearling sale. He was a hard-knocking competitor during his racing career, winning 31 of 78 starts over eight seasons of racing for earnings of $807,924.

His specialty was racing at six furlongs, where he earned a third place finish in the 1998 Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct.

Arromanches began his stallion career at Beau Ridge Farm in West Virginia, then was moved to Indiana in 2004 after being purchased by the five-person Arromanches Partnership. He sired nine crops, with 35 winners and combined progeny earnings of over $3.1 million.
“He’s been great to have around,” Dafler said. “He was great to stand. I hate to lose him.”

The sire’s most notable offspring by far has been Caixa Eletronica. Once a $62,500 claim by owner Mike Repole, the gritty Caixa Eletronica has gone on to win four graded stakes races, including the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic Stakes and the True North Handicap, both in 2012. Caixa Eletronica has earned $1,774,505.

“We were glad to see one of his babies do that well, and hopefully there will be another one that will do something close to that,” Dafler said. “He has several that will be running yet.”