Tamarkuz retired to stand at owner's farm

Tamarkuz earned a place at stud at his owner’s farm when he won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on Friday. Three days after the biggest victory of his career, it was announced that he would take up residence at Sheikh Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Ky., for the 2017 breeding season. The son of Speightstown will stand for a fee of $12,500.

Immediately after the Dirt Mile, Joe DeSantis, the assistant racing manager for Shadwell, said the win took the horse to a different level as a stallion prospect and made him a far more commercial prospect. His previous best win was in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai, and the Dirt Mile was his first stakes win in the U.S.

Bred in Kentucky by John Gunther, Tamarkuz was purchased by Shadwell for $325,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Tamarkuz won eight of 20 starts and earned $1,840,444 while racing from ages 2 to 6. He began his racing career in England at 2 and 3 before going to Dubai.

At 5, he developed into a stakes winner in Dubai, winning three stakes there, before being sent to the U.S. in mid-2015. In the U.S. this year, he was second in the Grade 1 Forego and second in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap in his penultimate start.

In the BC Dirt Mile, Tamarkuz won by 3 1/2 lengths over Gun Runner while running a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure.

Tamarkuz is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Without You Babe, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Stay Thirsty and Grade 3 winner Andromeda’s Hero.

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