Intense Holiday retired following surgery

"Intense Holiday seemed to come out of the Kentucky Derby as well as he had

any of his prior races and he was training remarkably well at Belmont Park when

the injury occurred," Pletcher said. "It's an unfortunate thing. These types of

blows are never easy to take but this one was particularly confounding."

Starlight Racing co-managing partner, Jack Wolf, was at Belmont Park watching

him train the morning that the injury occurred.

"You never get used to this stuff," Wolf said. "It's disappointing, but the

horse did not seem to be in much distress right after the injury and we're happy

that they were able to repair the injury to the extent that they could. He's a

good horse -- a talented horse -- who has provided us with some thrilling

finishes. But whether they're worth $5,000 or $5 million, this is always a

bitter pill to swallow."

In addition to winning the $400,000 Risen Star, a Grade 2 event at Fair

Grounds on February 22, Intense Holiday finished second in the Louisiana Derby

and third in the Holy Bull before his 12th place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

He retires with a mark of 9-2-1-1, $551,900.

Plans for Intense Holiday's future are not yet finalized. Starlight Racing is

currently in negotiations with several stallion farms regarding his career as a

stallion and an announcement will be made when an agreement is reached.

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