Square Eddie retired to stud after injury

ARCADIA, Calif. - Square Eddie, the winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity in 2008 in his American debut, has been retired to stud with a suspensory injury, owner Paul Reddam said on Friday.

The injury was detected on Thursday, two days before Square Eddie was scheduled to start in the $200,000 Strub Stakes at Santa Anita.

Reddam said that he will breed mares to Square Eddie at Vessels Stallion Farm in Bonsall, Calif., this year and that the 4-year-old colt will stand for a private fee to other breeders.

"We aren't going to market him hard, but if anyone wants to do a deal, I'll do a private deal," he said.

By Smart Strike, Square Eddie won 2 of 12 starts and $819,366. He beat maidens in his debut at Salisbury, England, in July 2008 and won the Breeders' Futurity over 1 1/16 miles by 4 3/4 lengths.

He later placed in three stakes at 2 and 3, finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2008, second in the Grade 3 San Rafael Stakes in January 2009, and third in the Grade 2 Lexington Stakes in April 2009.

Reddam and trainer Doug O'Neill had hoped to start Square Eddie in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, but he was withdrawn in the days before the race when he injured a cannon bone that had troubled him during the winter of 2008-09.

Square Eddie made four more starts, with his final out a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes in December. Reddam said that Square Eddie was troubled by a breathing problem in the Malibu Stakes, which he and O'Neill believed had been solved in advance of the Strub.

"He was diagnosed with a small airway disease, and that was treatable," Reddam said. "He's been training perfectly. We were quietly confident that he'd pull a shocker [in the Strub].

"We thought the horse that ended his 2-year-old season is finally back and, boom, now he has an injury. When he came back from training on Thursday he was off, and has a high suspensory issue."

Square Eddie is the second 4-year-old by Smart Strike to go to stud in California this winter. Papa Clem, the winner of two stakes, was sent to stud at Legacy Ranch in Clements, Calif., in late January.

Quisisana breaks through

Jan VandeBos waited nearly four years for an afternoon like Jan. 30 at Santa Anita. VandeBos and her husband, Robert Naify, had patiently watched Quisisana win 4 of 9 starts, but never succeed in a stakes.

Quisisana reached that milestone in the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint for California-breds and Florida-breds. Quisisana ran the most exciting race of her life, prevailing by a nose over Fair Grounds invader Dubai Majesty.

"She is tough as nails on the track, but one of the sweetest fillies in the world to be with," VandeBos said in an e-mail earlier this week. "It has been a great joy raising her and seeing her develop so beautifully."

Trained by Mike Puype, Quisisana was acquired privately by the couple from breeder Todd Gerbovaz as a yearling. Quisisana has won 5 of 10 starts and $275,758. Puype said the $100,000 Irish O'Brien Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares on the hillside turf course on March 20 is a possibility for her next start.

"We've given her a lot of time," VandeBos said in the winner's circle after the Filly-Mare Sprint.

Puype said Quisisana's consistency in main-track sprints is one of her finest attributes.

"She's had a few issues and things physically," he said. "The common denominator is she's 5 for 5 at six or 6 1/2 furlongs on the main. It's what she wants to do."

As enthusiastic as VandeBos is about racing, she dedicates time to her horses after their racing careers. Working with Tom Hudson of Magali Farms, VandeBos has sought homes for her horses as hunter-jumpers, eventing, and trail horses.

"We are hoping that through education and awareness, many other former racehorses will be able to progress to the next stages of their work lives," she wrote.