Preakness winner Cloud Computing retired to stand stud at Spendthrift Farm
Cloud Computing, whose career since he won the 2017 Preakness Stakes was marked by fits and starts due to injury, has officially been retired and will enter stud in 2019 at Spendthrift Farm.
The 4-year-old son of Maclean's Music will be offered via Spendthrift's Share the Upside incentive program for a fee of $8,500, or will stand for an advertised fee of $7,500 on a standard stands-and-nurses contract.
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Cloud Computing, owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, was trained throughout his career by Chad Brown. After winning his debut in February of 2017, Cloud Computing finished second in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes and third in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, both at Aqueduct. Although he had the points to secure a berth in the Kentucky Derby, his connections bypassed the race to target the Preakness. Cloud Computing ran down juvenile champion Classic Empire to win by a head.
Cloud Computing campaigned in the major summer events at Saratoga, finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes and eighth in the Travers Stakes. Several weeks later, he sustained an ankle chip during a work and was shut down for the season after having it surgically removed.
Cloud Computing returned to the races in the Grade 3 Westchester Handicap on May 5 at Belmont and finished fourth, beaten a neck. He emerged from the race with another chip in an ankle, again requiring surgery. In his final start, he faded to seventh in an optional-claiming race on Nov. 3 at Aqueduct.
Cloud Computing is from the first crop of Maclean's Music, who won his only start, in March 2011, with a Beyer Speed Figure of 114, the top number for a debut starter. Cloud Computing is out of the multiple graded stakes-placed A.P. Indy mare Quick Temper, and his second dam is Grade 1 winner and multiple stakes producer Halo America.
“Cloud Computing is one of those horses that sells himself immediately when you see him,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said in a release. “He’s a classic winner, but he’s also the picture of what a classic horse is supposed to look like. For him to go on and win the Preakness over Classic Empire less than 100 days after making his debut, that’s pretty special and it speaks to his quality. He’s also out of a Grade 2-placed A.P. Indy mare, and the second dam won the Grade 1 Apple Blossom. There’s a lot to like about Cloud Computing, and we believe breeders are going to love what they see.”