Queen Bee to You retired; ends career with back-to-back graded victories

The popular California-bred mare Queen Bee to You, who won more than $600,000 and two graded stakes in three years after being claimed for $50,000, has been retired, trainer Andrew Lerner said Friday.

Queen Bee to You, 6, wound up winning eight times in 33 starts while competing from September 2016 until her final start on Jan. 11. Lerner took over as her trainer from Mike Pender last May, and under his care she won four times in seven starts, including her last three. She concluded her career with back-to-back Grade 3 victories in the Bayakoa at Los Alamitos on Dec. 8 and the La Canada at Santa Anita two months ago.

Queen Bee to You had worked four times since the La Canada, most recently on March 4, and had been nominated to the Grade 1 Beholder Mile, which will be run Saturday.

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“She didn’t come out of the work right. Nothing major, but she had an ankle that was a little puffy,” Lerner said. “She didn’t have the same look in her eye. She’s been too good to us. She’ll be a tough one to replace.”

Lerner said Queen Bee to You would be bred to a stallion in Kentucky, but no firm plans had been finalized as of Friday morning.

Queen Bee to You, by Old Topper out of the Touch Gold mare Silk Queen, is owned by Christopher St. Hilaire and Adam Vali.

◗ The California Horse Racing Board’s monthly meeting for March, scheduled for next Thursday in Sacramento, has been canceled “based on recommendation from Governor Newsom’s office and California public health officials,” the CHRB said in a press release.