Santa Anita: The Usual Q.T. injured, retired

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Usual Q.T., a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner in California, has been retired after suffering a sesamoid injury, trainer Jim Cassidy said.

The Usual Q.T. won 8 of 23 starts and $1,531,240 in a career that spanned from the fall of 2008 until January of this year. The Usual Q.T. won five stakes, most notably the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in 2009 and the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes in 2010, the final victory of his career.

A 6-year-old California-bred gelding by Unusual Heat, The Usual Q.T. was third in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 16, his final start. He was second or third in five other stakes.

In the second half of 2009, The Usual Q.T. won six consecutive races as a 3-year-old, rising from a maiden race winner to a multiple stakes winner. Outside of California, his best performance was a third behind Goldikova and Gio Ponti in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs in 2010.

Owned by Don Van, Michael Nentwig, George Saadeh and Jeff Byer, The Usual Q.T. was in training for races this spring when he was sidelined.

Cassidy said the injury will not require surgery and that The Usual Q.T. can be retrained as a riding horse later this year.