Rising sire Laoban dies unexpectedly

Laoban, a breakout success as a freshman sire last season, has died unexpectedly, WinStar Farm announced Monday morning. No cause of death was given for the 8-year-old son of Uncle Mo.

“It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce that we lost Laoban this morning,” Elliott Walden, WinStar’s president, CEO, and racing manager, said in a release. “He had quickly become one of our favorite stallions, and it’s sad that we will not have the opportunity to see how influential he could have been as a sire. His passing will leave a tremendous void for all of us, and he will be greatly missed.”

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Laoban, winner of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes and on the board in two other Grade 3 events as a 3-year-old, stood his first four seasons at Sequel Stallions in New York. He finished second to Nyquist, another son of Uncle Mo, on last year’s national freshman earnings list, and also matched Nyquist with two graded stakes winners, despite having fewer foals and fewer starters than any other stallion in the top five on that list. In fact, he was the only stallion in the top 10 to stand outside of Kentucky. Laoban’s stellar season was led by Simply Ravishing, winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland, and Keepmeinmind, who, after finishing second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.

Off his strong freshman season, Laoban moved to WinStar in Kentucky for the 2021 season. He was working his way toward the end of his first Kentucky breeding season at the time of his death. Meanwhile, Keepmeinmind continued as his standard-bearer this spring, crossing the line seventh in the Kentucky Derby and most recently finishing fourth in the Preakness Stakes.

Laoban is also the sire of The King Cheek, winner of the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard; New York-bred stakes winners Devious Mo and Laobanonaprayer; and Grade 2-placed Ava’s Grace.