Millionaire gelding Za Approval retired at 8
The graded-stakes-winning millionaire Za Approval has been retired from racing, and the 8-year-old Ghostzapper gelding will now reside at owner-breeder Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Stud in Ocala, Fla.
The well-traveled Za Approval enjoyed his most successful season in 2013, scoring Grade 3 wins in the Appleton Stakes at Gulfstream, the Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth, and the Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont. He also finished second in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park, the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, and the Breeders' Cup Mile. In the latter two, he was defeated by two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan.
In all, Za Approval won or placed in 13 stakes, putting together a record of 34-9-9-4 and earning $1,394,666.
Za Approval joins his millionaire half-brother, Revved Up, in retirement at Live Oak. The pair are among three millionaires produced by the farm's blue hen Win Approval, the other being Breeders' Cup Mile winner Miesque's Approval. Win Approval is out of Live Oak foundation mare Negotiator, bred in 1974.
“Za Approval is yet another extraordinary member of a family that has been especially gratifying to Live Oak Stud,” Weber said in a release.
Win Approval's latest star on the track is World Approval, the winner of this summer's Grade 1 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth.