Kharafa retired, to join Old Friends

ELMONT, N.Y.– Kharafa, the $1.2 million-earning New York-bred, has been retired and will join his old friends Lubash and King Kreesa at Old Friends, a retirement farm in Lexington, Ky., trainer Tim Hills said.

Kharafa, 9, finished sixth in the Mohawk Stakes last weekend on Empire Showcase Day in his 52nd career start. He had a record of 13 wins, 13 seconds and 9 thirds and earned $1,238,622.

Kharafa won eight stakes, including three runnings of the Cole, one Mohawk, one Kingston, and one West Point, the four traditional turf stakes for New York-breds run on the New York Racing Association circuit.

For the better part of five years, Kharafa, Lubash, and King Kreesa took turns beating each other in those races, oftentimes the trio filling out the top three finishing positions.

“He’s been with me since he was a 2-year-old,” said Hills, who trained Kharafa for owners Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch.

“That’s almost like an eternity in horse racing. It’s going to be tough not having him around, especially in the summer when the New York-bred series comes around.”

Hills said Kharafa left Belmont Park on Thursday and will spend a week or 10 days on a Lexington farm before joining King Kreesa and Lubash at Old Friends. That facility is having a party the weekend of the Breeders’ Cup and is not currently accepting new horses until Nov. 4, Hills said.