Queen Goddess retired after injury, will be bred to Into Mischief

A minor injury has ended the racing career of the multiple graded stakes winner Queen Goddess, days before an expected start in Saturday’s Grade 1 Beholder Mile for fillies and mares at Santa Anita.

Queen Goddess is being sent to Kentucky this week and will be bred to Into Mischief, according to Aron Wellman, the president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns the 6-year-old mare with Gary Barber.

The injury was detected after Queen Goddess worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds at Santa Anita on Feb. 24. Wellman announced the retirement on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.

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“We were hoping to run her on the dirt,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “She came back with a minor issue after her last breeze.

“We considered it a sign to send her to the breeding shed. She’s on her way to Kentucky.”

Into Mischief has been the leading stallion by progeny earnings annually since 2019. He currently ranks third in the 2024 rankings through Tuesday.

Queen Goddess won 6 of 16 starts and earned $862,580. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Queen Goddess won four stakes, notably the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita in December 2021. The race was scheduled for turf, but was switched to dirt because of inclement weather.

Queen Goddess, who is by Empire Maker, later won three Grade 3 races on turf, notably the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January 2022. She was a troubled ninth in the same race on Jan. 27 in her final career start.

Wellman said Queen Goddess will be sold at auction in Kentucky this fall.

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