Paddy O'Prado sidelined for rest of breeding season

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Grade 1 winner and millionaire Paddy O’Prado, a first-year stallion at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, will miss the rest of the 2012 breeding season after undergoing surgery Friday for what the farm called “a simple twist of the large colon.”

The 5-year-old El Prado son is expected to make a full recovery, the farm said in a Saturday night release.

Paddy O’Prado has covered 142 mares through Friday, when Spendthrift staff found him showing signs of colic. The farm sent him to nearby Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, where Dr. Michael Spirito performed surgery to correct the twist. According to the farm, no resectioning, or removal of a section of the colon, was necessary.

“We feel fortunate to have discovered the issue quickly, and to have convenient access to the great veterinarian staff at Hagyard,” said Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey.

Paddy O’Prado stood for $15,000 this year.

Paddy O’Prado won the 2010 Secretariat Stakes, Virginia Derby, Colonial Turf Cup, and Palm Beach Stakes, as well as last season’s Dixie Stakes. Among his four stakes-placings were a third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby and a second in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational. He aearned more than $1.7 million.