Island Sand retired from racing

Island Sand, winner of the 2004 Acorn and runner-up to Ashado in last year's Kentucky Oaks, has been retired from the track and will be bred to A.P. Indy in 2006, trainer Larry Jones said Wednesday.

A 4-year-old Tabasco Cat filly, last ran in the Beldame, finishing seventh behind Ashado. Jones and Island Sand's owner, Jim Osborne of B.A. Man Stable, had been pointing the filly toward the Oct. 29 Breeders' Cup Distaff. But Jones said a recurring breathing problem prompted them to retire her instead.

"It's been good, and we've had an awfully good run with her, but the breathing problem that has plagued us has left some permanent damage that's flaring up again," Jones said. He described the issue as a polyp on Island Sand's epiglottis. The filly displaced her palate during a workout after the Oct. 1 Beldame.

"We were running out of time," Jones explained, adding of Osborne, "He's very attached to this horse, and thank goodness he's an owner who wants to do the right thing by his horse."

Island Sand, a daughter of the Forty Niner mare Sue's Last Dance, was bred in Kentucky by Richard Maynard and sold for $82,000 at the 2002 Keeneland September sale. In three seasons at the track, she achieved a lifetime record of 5-5-2 from 19 starts and earned $1,182,777. Her biggest victory came in the Grade 1 Acorn, but she won the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap this season, as well as the 2004 Busanda. She also finished second or third in six other stakes, including second in the Oaks and third in the Mother Goose last year.