Lord Nelson will debut at stud in 2018

Multiple Grade 1 winner Lord Nelson will debut at stud for Spendthrift Farm in 2018 after missing what would have been his first breeding season due to laminitis.

The son of Pulpit will debut for an advertised fee of $25,000, Spendthrift announced as it revealed next season’s stallion lineup and fees Sunday night.

He will be one of three new stallions on a roster anchored by classic sire Malibu Moon at an unchanged fee of $75,000 and last year's leading juvenile sire Into Mischief, who rises to $100,000. The latter, who stood for $75,000 in 2017, is already booked full.

Lord Nelson won three Grade 1 events in 2016 for Spendthrift, taking the Bing Crosby, Triple Bend, and Santa Anita Sprint Championship, enough to be named an Eclipse Awards finalist in both the male sprint and older dirt male divisions. However, he was scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, which was to be his final start, after a minor cut in his right foreleg became infected. The horse remained in California for several weeks, undergoing extensive treatment, before shipping to Spendthrift in Kentucky.

The farm staff was hopeful that he would be ready for the start of breeding season in February, but he developed laminitis as a secondary complication, and has been slowly, but steadily, recovering for the past several months.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Gormley, a son of Malibu Moon, and multiple graded stakes winner Tom's Ready are the other newcomers to the Spendthrift roster. Gormley will debut at $10,000. A fee for Tom's Ready, who will remain in training through the end of the year, will be announced at a later date.

Spendthrift’s Kentucky roster also includes Jimmy Creed and Temple City at $15,000; Brody's Cause and Goldencents at $12,500; Dominus and Wicked Strong at $10,000; Cross Traffic at $7,500; Flat Out and Hit It a Bomb at $7,000; Palace and Race Day at $6,000; Cinco Charlie, Itsmyluckyday, Liaison, Shakin It Up, and Warrior's Reward at $5,000; Danza at $4,000; and Medal Count and Can the Man at $3,500.