Stevie Wonderboy retired

Stevie Wonderboy, the champion 2-year-old male of 2005, has been retired to stud in Kentucky after failing to recover from injuries that have plagued his career since early 2006.

Stevie Wonderboy will stand at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky., in 2008, according to a statement on the farm's website. A stud fee has not been announced.

Owned by Merv Griffin, Stevie Wonderboy won 3 of 6 starts and $1,058,940 in a career highlighted by a title-clinching win in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park in October 2005. During that season, Stevie Wonderboy also won the Del Mar Futurity.

By Stephen Got Even, Stevie Wonderboy made one start at 3, finishing second in the Grade 2 San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita in January 2006. He was found to have a hairline fracture of the right front cannon bone in February 2006, an injury that required the insertion of two stabilizing screws.

After attempting a comeback, Stevie Wonderboy suffered a further setback, undergoing surgery last November to have a bone chip removed from an ankle.

Earlier this year, Stevie Wonderboy was put back in training. Stevie Wonderboy worked a half-mile at Hollywood Park on June 8 before a decision was made to retire the 4-year-old earlier this week, according to Dennis O'Neill, brother of trainer Doug O'Neill.

"We tried to keep him in training but we just couldn't do it," said Dennis O'Neill.