Champion mare Beautiful Pleasure dead

Champion mare Beautiful Pleasure

dead

BEAUTIFUL PLEASURE (Maudlin), whose three late-season victories in the

Personal Ensign S. (G1), Beldame S. (G1) and Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1)

propelled to her champion older female honors in 1999, has been euthanized due

to the effects of laminitis. John Oxley, who campaigned the mare, made the

announcement Thursday.

"She was afforded the ultimate care from veterinarians and Fawn Leap Farm

personnel, but her decline was progressing toward an imminent end, and it was

only humane to end her suffering," said Oxley, who revealed that the 16-year-old

mare had been suffering from laminitis for months and had spent time at an

equine clinic.

Trained by John Ward, Beautiful Pleasure was a comfortable winner of her

first two outings in 1997, including the Matron S. (G1), but she was limited to

only seven starts during her first two seasons of racing. In her first stakes

appearance at four, Beautiful Pleasure ran fourth in the Shuvee H. (G2), but she

narrowly missed by a half-length when runner-up in the Hempstead H. (G1) and Go

for Wand H. (G1) in her next two starts. In the latter she was defeated by

Banshee Breeze, who would be her arch-rival for divisional honors.

Beautiful Pleasure first turned the tables on Banshee Breeze in the Personal

Ensign, winning by 2 1/4 lengths in the slop. Following a mild upset of eventual

three-year-old filly champion Silverbulletday in the Beldame by 4 1/4 lengths,

Beautiful Pleasure prevailed in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Gulfstream Park by

three-quarters of a length over Banshee Breeze, with Silverbulletday finishing

far back. Jorge Chavez piloted Beautiful Pleasure that day and throughout her

championship season.

Despite wide-margin victories in the 2000 editions of the Shuvee, Hempstead

and Personal Ensign, Beautiful Pleasure's career ended with two losses. The

first was a two-length beat in the Beldame to Riboletta (Brz), who would be

named that season's champion older mare. In her final career start, Beautiful

Pleasure finished sixth, beaten eight lengths, in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at

Churchill Downs. She retired with a mark of 25-10-5-2, $2,734,078.

Beautiful Pleasure has produced three winners from as many to race, including

the 2006 Travers S. (G1) third-placer Dr. Pleasure (Thunder Gulch). Her final

three foals are the unraced juvenile colt North Ocean (Street Cry [Ire]), a

yearling colt by Bernardini and a weanling colt by Medaglia d'Oro.

Bred in Florida by Farnsworth Farm, Beautiful Pleasure was produced by the

unraced Beautiful Bid (Baldski). She was a full sister to Mecke, the

multi-millionaire whose three Grade 1 wins included the 1996 Arlington Million

and Early Times Turf Classic, and the 1995 Super Derby. Beautiful Pleasure also

had a stakes-winning half-brother named Jeb (Jeblar).

Beautiful Pleasure was cremated and her ashes are to be buried at Oxley's

Fawn Leap Farm in Midway, Kentucky.