Nest, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2022, has been retired; will be bred to Uncle Mo

Nest, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2022 and a four-time Grade 1 winner, has been retired from racing, her owner Mike Repole said Wednesday.

Repole, who bought Nest for $6 million last fall at the Fasig-Tipton November sale, effectively buying out his previous partners, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, intended to race Nest this year. She had three workouts this year at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala, Fla. Just before she was to ship to trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn at Saratoga, a diagnostic exam was performed and showed “a slight abnormality in her hind ankle,” Repole said.

“Since she wasn’t perfect, it made it easy,” Repole said about retiring Nest. “We shipped her to Lane’s End, she arrived today. She has a date with Uncle Mo.”

Nest, a daughter of Curlin out of the A.P. Indy mare Marion Ravenwood, was bred by Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables. She posted a record of 8-2-2 from 14 starts and earned $2,172,675.

At 2, Nest went 2 for 3 winning the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct.

During her championship 3-year-old season of 2022, Nest won the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland and finished second in the Kentucky Oaks to Secret Oath. Her connections were game enough to run her against males in the Belmont Stakes where she finished second to Mo Donegal, trained by Pletcher and owned in part by Repole.

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Nest enjoyed a terrific summer, winning the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama before beating older females in the Grade 2 Beldame at Aqueduct. Those three wins came by a combined 26 1/4 lengths.

Nest completed her 3-year-old campaign by finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff behind her stablemate Malathaat.

Nest got a late start to her 4-year-old season winning the Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga in July. After that, though, she finished third in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga and fourth in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland, both times finishing behind Idiomatic, who would go on to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and be named older female dirt champion.

“We tried our best to bring her back as a 5-year-old and keep her in training,” Repole said. “If we didn’t have that intention we would have bred her in February. We’re going to breed her now; ecstatic about her career, wish it could have been one more season. She was a stakes winner at 2, 3, 4, a multiple Grade 1 winner, and a champion.”

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