Successful Appeal sidelined

Successful Appeal, last season's leading freshman stallion and the sire of 2005 Kentucky Derby runner-up Closing Argument, will miss the remainder of the breeding season.

The 9-year-old Valid Appeal horse is recovering from an April 26 colic surgery to correct a rare condition in which part of his small intestine was trapped in an abdominal ligament. Successful Appeal is at Walmac Farm in Lexington, Ky., after having undergone the procedure at the nearby Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital.

"After consultation amongst attending veterinarian Rolf Embertson, stallion manager Ron Gilbert, and myself, we have decided that in order to ensure Successful Appeal's future health at stud, he will not cover any more mares this season," Walmac's managing director, John T.L. Jones III, said in a statement issued Friday. "Successful Appeal's health has been excellent since his return home to Walmac from Rood and Riddle, and Dr. Embertson will re-examine the stallion on May 25."

Successful Appeal, who stood for a $25,000 fee this season, covered 83 mares in 2005, according to earlier comments from Walmac spokesman Steve Sharp.