Lion Heart, the runner-up of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and a prominent sire in the U.S. and Turkey, has died Turkey due to complications from heart failure.
The stallion's death was announced by the Turkish Jockey Club on June 18.
Bred in Kentucky by Sabine Stable, the son of Tale of the Cat landed in the hands of the Coolmore partnership for $1.4 million at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Florida Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He was placed in the barn of trainer Patrick Biancone and he won on debut at Santa Anita Park in October of his 2-year-old season.
Lion Heart completed an undefeated 2-year-old campaign with victories in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes and the G1 Hollywood Futurity, both at Hollywood Park.
At three, Lion Heart traveled down the Kentucky Derby trail with runner-up efforts in the G2 San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita Park and the G1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
Despite entering the 2004 Kentucky Derby without a win during his 3-year-old season, Lion Heart left the gate as the betting public's second choice at odds of 5-1. He set the fractions through the first mile of the race before relenting to post time favorite and eventual winner Smarty Jones by 2 3/4 lengths.
Lion Heart returned two weeks later to face Smarty Jones once again in the Preakness Stakes, but after once again setting the early pace, he faded to fourth behind the eventual Eclipse Award winner.
He got back to his winning ways in his return start two months later at Monmouth Park, where he dug in to win the G3 Long Branch Breeders' Cup Stakes by a head. Then, he took the G1 Haskell Invitational Stakes at the same track by a length.
Lion Heart made his final start in the G1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, where he again clocked the early fractions, but he gave way at the top of the stretch and faded to last of seven behind winner Birdstone. It was discovered after the race that he'd suffered a broken bone in his right-front foot, and he was retired, finishing with five wins in 10 starts for earnings of $1,390,800.
Lion Heart was retired to Coolmore's Ashford Stud for the 2005 breeding season, where he was also an annual shuttle stallion to Coolmore's Australian stud farm for the Southern Hemisphere season.
His runners of note from his time on Coolmore's stallion roster include 2012 Canadian Horse of the Year Uncaptured, 2010 Breeders' Cup Turf winner Dangerous Midge, and Grade 1 winners Bradester, Line of David, and Tom's Tribute.
Lion Heart was sold to the Turkish Jockey Club and relocated ahead of the 2010 breeding season. His standout Turkish-born progeny are led by Last Chance Lady, the country's champion 2-year-old filly of 2019.
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