Thoroughbred Racing Fan Association, Inc.
Thoroughbred Racing Fan Association, Inc.
WHAT HORSE WAS SENT TO STUD DUTY BETWEEN TWO ATTEMPTS TO WIN A BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC?
4/17/2020
Fourteen years after Affirmed won the Triple Crown, a well-bred California colt looked like a likely candidate to repeat. He was a big, 16 plus hands tall and very fast. He amassed life-time earnings of over three million dollars. As 3-year-old he started off impressively. However, a respiratory virus sidelined him and took him off the Triple Crown trail. He bounced back into form as a 4-year-old winning the Pacific Classic in 1993 and finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that same year. In 1993 he was named U.S Champion Older Horse and California Horse of the Year. He began 1994 in stud duty on River Edge Farm in California. Then his owner, Marshall Naify, decided to train him up for a repeat win in the 1994 Pacific Classic which he lost that race, finishing an embarrassing 8th. The rest of 1994 was not any better for him. Many believe that it is near impossible for a horse to switch successfully between racing and breeding. After finishing 10th in the NYRA Mile in 1994, the great Bertrando (Skywalker –1986 BC Classic winner) was permanent retired. He passed away at age 25 in 2014.