Broken Vow (Unbridled–Wedding Vow, by Nijinsky II) passed away peacefully from natural causes on Sept. 3 at his birthplace and longtime home, Pin Oak Stud. He was 25 years old.
The Pin Oak homebred won nine of his 14 starts, and won or placed in six graded stakes, earning $725,296. Trained by Graham Motion, Broken Vow won the Grade 2 Philip H. Iselin Handicap and G3 Ben Ali Stakes and placed in the G1 Gulfstream Park Handicap, G3 Fayette Stakes, and the G2 Meadowlands Cup Handicap, etc., before retiring to start his career at stud.
“He was an incredibly influential horse on my career and was probably my first 'big' horse,” commented Motion. “I'm so glad that I got to visit him in his field this past spring. He was a happy horse enjoying his retirement. This truly is the end of an era.”
Broken Vow stood some 20 years at Pin Oak, climbing the ranks to be among the top 15 active sires, with an impressive 15 percent black type horses from starters. He is the sire of 159 black type horses in total, 80 of those black type winners, as well as six champions.
His six Grade 1 winners include Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse champion Champagne Room, the co-topweight female sprinter of her year Sassy Image, as well as Cotton Blossom, Unbridled Belle, and Rosalind.
Additionally, Broken Vow has made a name for himself as a broodmare sire, as his daughters have already produced three champions and some 100 black type horses, including Eclipse champion Runhappy.
“Words cannot express the loss of Broken Vow to everyone here at Pin Oak,” said longtime manager Clifford Barry. “We had been with him from birth to breaking, his races and his stud career.”
Barry continued, “as we reflect on the many great memories he provided, how we cheered for him in the royal blue and gray silks of Pin Oak, and we cheered even louder for his offspring as if they were ours and for the loyal breeders that supported him. He was a very special horse to be around – smart, classy and a huge will to succeed. And if he could speak, he would have said thank you to the vets and grooms that cared for him throughout his life. It's testament to Ms. Abercrombie's program that he spent his whole life here at the farm. I know she's getting to feed him sugar again.”
Broken Vow will be buried alongside other former Pin Oak stallions Sky Classic, Peaks and Valleys, and Maria's Mon.
The post ‘A Very Special Horse To Be Around’: Pin Oak Stud’s Broken Vow Dies At Age 25 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
