One in Vermillion euthanized due to laminitis

One in Vermillion, winner of five stakes in four states including the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga last August in his final start, was euthanized Friday because of the effects of laminitis, according to owner Jonathan Kalman.

One in Vermillion, who was 4, sustained a fetlock injury in a workout at Zia Park in November that led to his retirement. In late December, One in Vermillion was being prepared for a trip to Kentucky for the Keeneland January sale when a horseshoer noticed that the colt was suffering from founder in his opposite foreleg.

“We called the vet immediately,” Kalman said Friday. “He’d been with the vet since Dec. 27.”

One in Vermillion was being treated at a clinic in Phoenix, Kalman said.

A California-bred by the One Man Army stallion Army Mule, One in Vermillion was purchased for $26,000 as a yearling and won 6 of 12 starts and earned $653,840.

As a 2-year-old in 2022, One in Vermillion won two stakes at Turf Paradise in Phoenix – the Turf Paradise Open Spring Futurity in May and the Lost in the Fog Juvenile in December.

Trained by Esteban Martinez, One in Vermillion won his 3-year-old debut in the Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park in New Mexico and was later fifth of eight in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last April. A month later, One in Vermillion won the Laz Barrera Stakes at seven furlongs for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.

Last summer, One in Vermillion finished second in the Canterbury Derby on turf in Minnesota and finished first in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows only to be disqualified and placed second for causing interference.

After a third-place finish in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park, One in Vermillion won a tragic running of the $485,000 Jerkens Stakes. He inherited the lead after New York Thunder sustained a fatal injury while holding a clear advantage in the final furlong.

“He loved to travel,” Kalman said. “We were really fortunate that he traveled so well. That enabled us to go around the country.”

One in Vermillion was intended to sell at the Keeneland sale as a stallion prospect.

“He never got a chance to pass on that bloodline,” Kalman said.