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I'll Have Another to take up stud duty in Japan
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| I'll Have Another gained fame under the Twin Spires when winning the Kentucky Derby
(Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) |
Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero I'll Have Another has been sold to Shigeyuki
Okada's Big Red Farm in Japan and is scheduled to take up stud duty in 2013, the
Daily Racing Form reported Friday.
Owner J. Paul Reddam told the Form he had been in discussions with
stud farms throughout the United States and farther abroad, but the Japan offer
was the best.
"It was in the range we were looking
for," Reddam told the trade daily. "Kentucky wasn't anywhere
close to where the Japanese were. Any
rational person would have been gone to
the Big Red (deal) versus the Kentucky,
even though we won't get to breed to the
horse because he will be so far away." |
I'll Have Another was going for Triple
Crown glory in the Belmont Stakes on
June 9, but the day prior to the race
his connections announced the chestnut
son of Flower Alley was not only out of
the 1 1/2-mile race but retired due to a
tendon injury.
Doug O'Neill, the colt's embattled
trainer, announced during a hurriedly
called press conference that his team
noticed some swelling in I'll Have
Another's left front leg following a
morning gallop. O'Neill said that upon
further examination it was revealed the
colt was starting to develop tendonitis
in his left front tendon, prompting his
connections to scratch from the Belmont
and retire their star colt.
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| I'll Have Another could parade at Hollywood Park before departing for Japan
(Benoit Photos) |
"He's done so much that it was unanimous
between the Reddams and my brother and I
and everyone at the barn to retire him,"
O'Neill stated during the press
conference.
I'll Have Another went undefeated during
his sophomore season, racking up wins in
the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and
Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby prior to his
two classic runs. He also finished
second in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes as
a juvenile. The popular chestnut will
head to the breeding shed with a 5-1-0
mark from seven starts and $2,693,600 in
career earnings. |
I'll Have Another could leave as early
as August for his new home on the island
of Hokkaido, depending upon quarantine
requirements. Reddam told the Form
that the colt might parade at his
trainer's homebase of Hollywood Park
before the summer meet concludes at the
Inglewood, California, venue.
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