Madcap Escapade is retired

Grade 1 heroine and millionaire MADCAP ESCAPADE (Hennessy) has been retired

after suffering a leg

injury. A 5 1/4-length winner of the Princess Rooney H. (G2) at

Calder in her last start, the four-year-old filly has been sent to Claiborne

Farm near Paris, Kentucky, to begin her new career as a broodmare. She earned

$1,052,852 from a 9-7-0-1 mark over two racing seasons.

Owned by Bruce Lunsford and trained by Frank Brothers, Madcap Escapade

captured the Ashland S. (G1), Forward Gal S. (G2) and Old Hat S. at three and

added the Shirley Jones H. (G2) and Madison S. (G3) to her resume this season.

The bay filly also finished third in last year's Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Brothers said the injury in her left front leg was detected shortly after her

final start in the July 10 Princess Rooney.

"She was just a shade 'off' out of the race at Calder and we sent her over to

Dr. (Larry) Bramlage," Brothers explained. "She's got just a slight tear of the

middle distal sesamoidian ligament."

He added that the injury would heal with time off, but it wasn't worth the

risk of bringing her back to training.

"She was absolutely the best filly I've ever trained and probably one of the

most brilliant filly sprinters that I've seen," Brothers said. "She was probably

the best (sprinter) of her generation for sure, and maybe the best of a lot of

generations. It was her raw talent. You just don't see many horses with speed

like that."