Innkeeper, who was the final son of Secretariat standing in the United States, was euthanized on Feb. 2 following complications from colic. The 30-year-old stallion last stood as a sporthorse sire at Virginia Tech’s Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension (MARE) Center in Middleburg, Va.
“He epitomized the diversity and greatness of the Thoroughbred breed,” Virginia Tech said in a statement about the stallion, whose barn name was ‘Howard.’
Grade 2 winner Ready’s Image will relocate to Midwest Equine and Veterinary Hospital in Trafalgar, Ind., for the 2018 breeding season, where he will stand for an advertised fee of $2,000.
The 13-year-old son of More Than Ready previously stood at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Ky., for an advertised fee of $5,000.
It is vanishingly rare for a horse who does not win his first stakes race until he is 6 years old to become a successful sire. The case of Speightstown, who fits that description, is a little different than most late developers, however.
As champion Gun Runner crossed the line in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup last Saturday, he not only concluded his career in style, but also gave Candy Ride a valuable head start in the 2018 sire race. A Lane’s End resident, Candy Ride has a bankroll that already stands at $7,559,793 entering February, more than triple his closest pursuer, Claiborne Farm’s Flatter at $1,940,711.
The anticipation for Mastery’s racing future came crashing down when the undefeated son of Candy Ride sustained a career-ending injury in his final victory. But the young stallion appears to also be highly anticipated as he starts his second career this month at Claiborne Farm.
Mastery, winner of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity as a juvenile, improved his career mark to 4 for 4 by winning the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes by 6 3/4 lengths early last year. However, he was pulled up past the wire with a condylar fracture, and subsequently retired to Claiborne.
Texas Chrome, who has been named 2017 Texas-bred horse of the year, will enter stud this season in Arkansas, his owner, Danny Keene, said Wednesday.
Texas Chrome also was the Texas-bred horse of the year for 2016. He retired last year after becoming just the second Texas-bred Thoroughbred to reach $1 million in earnings, behind champion Groovy.
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Grade 2-winning turf sprinter Green Mask will spend his post-racing life at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky.
The 7-year-old Mizzen Mast gelding was retired in September after fracturing his left front sesamoid during a turf breeze at Belmont Park. He was in line to be one of the favorites for last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint prior to the injury. He underwent surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, conducted by Dr. Dean Richardson.
It is inevitable that a $16 million race with a $7 million first prize would have an outsized influence on sire lists. Last year, Arrogate’s victory in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup, quickly followed by the $6 million first prize for the Dubai World Cup gave Unbridled’s Song an unassailable lead for the 2017 sire championship.
