Three Rules, named the Florida-bred Horse of the Year and champion 2-year-old male in 2016 after sweeping the male division of the prestigious FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes that year, has been retired and will stand the 2022 breeding season at Robert Smith's Wesfield Farm in Ocala, Fla.
The graded stakes-winning son of Gone Astray out of Joy Rules, by Full Mandate won the first five races of his career for trainer Jose Pinchin including the $75,000 Birdonthewire Stakes by five lengths at Gulfstream Park in his second start on July 2 of 2016. He then went on to dominate the $100,000 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Dr. Fager in early August, winning the six furlong test by seven lengths while earning a 92 Beyer Speed Figure and setting the stakes record in 1:09.49 that continues to stand today. He then won the $300,000 Affirmed by five-and-a-half lengths over seven furlongs on Sept. 3 before crushing his rivals with a 10-length romp in the $500,000 In Reality going a mile-and-one-sixteenth.
Three Rules finished his juvenile year by traveling to Santa Anita for the $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile and finished sixth behind winner Classic Empire with now popular stallions Not This Time and Practical Joke finishing second and third.
Three Rules was bred in Florida and raced for Bert Pilcher in the name of his Shade Tree Thoroughbreds in partnership with Geoff Roy and Tom Fitzgerald, both of Toronto, who are all still partners in the horse.
“Robert Smith at Wesfield will stand Three Rules for us,” Pilcher said. “He wants to breed some of his mares to him and some of his clients have inquired about breeding some of their mares. Of course, I will be supporting him and I have clients who are excited to see him at stud and plan to breed their mares to him. I think he will be very popular in Florida and I think he will produce a very nice race horse.
“He was a fabulous 2-year-old who only lost one race that year and that came in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and he beat some nice horses in that race. And then he competed well in the [Kentucky Derby] preps at Gulfstream before becoming a graded stakes-winner later that year.”
He began his sophomore year on the Kentucky Derby trail with a second-place finish to Favorable Outcome in the Grade 2 Swale before finishing third behind winner Gunnevera in the G2 Fountain of Youth, both at Gulfstream Park in February and March respectively. He then finished fifth in the G1 Xpressbet Florida Derby won by eventual Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming at Gulfstream on April 1.
Later in 2017, Three Rules was third in the $200,000 Chick Lang Stakes won by future graded stakes-winner Recruiting Ready at Laurel before winning the Grade 3 Carry Back at Gulfstream in July, defeating future multiple stakes-winner Mo Cash.
Three Rules finished his career with six wins, two seconds and two thirds while earning $972,825.
His fee has not been announced.
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