Killybegs Captain retired to Mill Creek Farm

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – At this time last year, trainer John Terranova was preparing to send Killybegs Captain to Florida for his 5-year-old debut in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Killybegs Captain won that race and was then being considered for the $2 million Golden Shaheen at Meydan in Dubai. That race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Killybegs Captain was being pointed to the Grade 1 Carter Handicap last June when he came up with an ankle injury.

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He has now been retired and will stand stud at Mill Creek Farm in upstate New York.

“He was a beautiful horse – sound horse – he retired sound,” said Tonja Terranova, assistant to her husband, John. “He beat Imperial Hint, he was third to Mitole. He was just a solid race horse; ran short, ran long.”

Killybegs Captain, a son of Mizzen Mast, won 7 races from 26 starts, including the Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash in 2018. In 2019, he won the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, beating the multiple Grade 1 winner Imperial Hint. Killybegs Captain’s win in the 2020 Pelican Stakes turned out to be his final race.

Meanwhile, the Terranovas are making plans for their two current stakes-winning sprinters. Funny Guy, most recently second to Our Last Buck in the Say Florida Sandy Stakes, is being pointed to the Grade 3 General George at Laurel on Feb. 13.

Stan the Man, second to Pete’s Play Call in the Gravesend on Jan. 2, will run in either the Grade 3, $100,000 Toboggan here on Jan. 30, or the General George.