Old Friends resident Patton dead at 23

Grade 3 winner Patton, a pensioned stallion at Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky., was euthanized Jan. 5 at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute following an illness. The son of Lord At War was 23.

Patton had been at Hagyard for several days undergoing diagnostic and medical care for a variety of medical issues that severely impacted his present and future quality of life.

"We're extremely grateful to Dr. Kathy MacGillivray and to Dr. Gina Tranquillo for their kind concern for Patton's welfare," Old Friends founder and president Michael Blowen said in a release.

Patton won six of 18 career starts over four seasons of racing, earning $237,462. His biggest victory came in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Sprint Championship Handicap in 1996. He also won the William Thompson Stakes at the Meadowlands in 1994, and placed in three other stakes, including a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes.

Patton sired 13 stakes winners, led by Kelly’s Landing, winner of the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen Stakes in 2007 and a multiple Grade 3 winner in the U.S. A track record-setter at Churchill Downs, Kelly’s Landing earned over $1.8 million. Patton, also the sire of Grade 3 winners Yessirgeneralsir and Patton’s Victory, is represented by 217 total winners for earnings of $14,624,400.

"Patton should have been named Gandhi," Blowen said. "He was one of the kindest stallions we've ever had at Old Friends. Like so many of his predecessors, he is irreplaceable. We are just grateful that he let us take care of him in his later years.”