Nicanor, a full brother to Barbaro, sent to Old Friends
Nicanor, a stakes-placed runner, sire, and full brother to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has been pensioned to Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky.
The 12-year-old son of Dynaformer gained a following as the first sibling of Barbaro’s to reach the racetrack after Barbaro died from complications tied to his breakdown in the 2006 Preakness Stakes.
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Bred in Kentucky by his owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, Nicanor is out of the Grade 2-placed Carson City mare La Ville Rouge. He is one of five Dynaformer foals out of the mare, all named after notable foxhounds, joining Lentenor, Margano, and Pennmarydel.
Running for the Jacksons’ Lael Stables and trainer Michael Matz, a reunion of the Barbaro team, Nicanor debuted in January of his sophomore year at Gulfstream Park. He finished 10th of 12 under Barbaro's jockey, Edgar Prado. It would be the only time Prado rode Nicanor in a race.
Nicanor's fortunes improved after his debut, finishing second in his next two starts, both at Gulfstream. He was relocated to Delaware Park in May of his 3-year-old season and put on the turf, where he promptly won a maiden race by 15 ½ lengths. He finished off the season with a follow-up win in a Delaware turf allowance.
The colt’s 4-year-old season was his most successful. After a pair of off-the-board finishes to start the year, including a sixth in the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Nicanor returned to Delaware, where he won an optional claimer. Nicanor then finished third in the listed Sussex Stakes. Two starts later, he won another optional claimer, this time at Belmont Park. His final start of the year came in the Three Coins Up Stakes at Aqueduct, where he again finished third.
Nicanor was raced sparingly from that point, trying three stakes races at age five. Two of those defeats came to Little Mike, the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf winner and now a fellow Old Friends resident. He was moved the barn of trainer Leigh Delacour for his final campaign, where he finished ninth in a Keeneland optional claimer on the main track, and ninth again in his final start, the Henry Clark Stakes at Pimlico.
Nicanor retired from racing with four wins in 18 starts for earnings of $147,697.
Nicanor entered stud at Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, Md., for the 2013 breeding season, where he debuted for an advertised fee of $2,500.
He has sired three crops of racing age, with 35 total foals. Five of his 15 starters are winners, with combined progeny earnings of $145,276. His most successful runner is Nicamore, a 4-year-old gelding who has won three of 24 starts primarily in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, for $47,079.