Obituaries | Horse Racing Free Tips

Champion Boston Harbor Dies In Japan At Age 27

Boston Harbor, the champion 2-year-old male and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner of 1996, died March 9 in Japan from the infirmities of old age. He was 27.

The announcement was made on social media by Shigeki Yusa of the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders Association.

Racing as a homebred for Overbrook Farm, the son of Capote proved himself to be the best in his class as a juvenile, securing the Eclipse Award with wins in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Woodbine, the Grade 2 Breeders' Futurity, the G3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes and Bashford Manor Stakes, and the listed Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes.

He raced just once at three, finishing fourth in the listed Santa Catalina Stales at Santa Anita Park. He suffered a fractured cannon bone in training a few weeks later, and he retired to Overbrook Farm in Kentucky for the 1998 breeding season.

Boston Harbor has sired 18 crops between his time at Overbrook and his eventual sale to Japan for the 2001 breeding season, with 431 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $54.7 million.

His top domestic runner was Healthy Addiction, winner of the G1 Santa Margarita Invitational. Other U.S.-born runners of note included Grade 2 winners My Boston Gal and Boston Common, and Grade 3 winners Mark Four and Boston Bull.

After moving to Japan, Boston Harbor was led by Group 3 winners Daiwa Bandit and Wonderful Days.

Boston Harbor passed away from old age on March 9. We are truly saddened to lose him and are grateful for all the support from his fans over the years. pic.twitter.com/vRKoaU20Hu

— shigeki yusa (@yusas) March 11, 2021

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Kind, Dam Of European Stars Frankel And Noble Mission, Dies At Age 20

It is with regret that Juddmonte Farms announces the passing of Kind (Danehill – Rainbow Lake), the dam of Group 1 winners Frankel and Noble Mission, on March 8 due to complications after foaling a colt by Kingman on March 2.

Kind was a second-generation Juddmonte homebred. Her family came into the Juddmonte Stud Book through the mare Rockfest – who was purchased privately in 1983 as part of a bloodstock package from the John 'Jock' Hay Whitney dispersal.

When mated with Rainbow Quest, Rockfest produced the Lancashire Oaks winner Rainbow Lake who went on to compile an enviable record as a broodmare as the dam of three group/graded stakes winners: G1 winner Powerscourt, G2 winner Riposte and G3 winner Last Train. However, it was her dual listed-winning daughter Kind who was to have the biggest impact.

Kind's legacy is to have five stallion sons at stud and her daughter Joyeuse and granddaughters Jubiloso and Jovial are in the broodmare band. Her 3-year-old Galileo filly Chiasma is currently in training with John Gosden. Due to her rare achievement of producing two Group 1 winners and a further group winner in Bullet Train, Kind's name is on the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' International List of Protected Names.

Juddmonte's UK stud director Simon Mockridge commented: “I cannot thank the Rossdales and Juddmonte team enough for the tireless care they have given Kind. To many, she will rightfully always be best remembered as the dam of Frankel and Noble Mission, to us at Juddmonte she will always be Kind by name and kind by nature.”

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Longtime NYRA Assistant Starter Jimmy Tsitsiragos Dies

James (Jimmy) Tsitsiragos, a longtime assistant starter at the New York Racing Association, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the age of 71.

Born Aug. 6, 1949 in Leonia, New Jersey, Tsitsiragos graduated from Leonia High School in 1967 where he was a beloved football legend nicknamed by his classmates as “Zorba the Greek.” He then attended Texas A&M University as a walk-on for the football team and quickly earned a full scholarship under Head Coach Gene Stallings. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1972, he began his career as an assistant starter for NYRA, loading horses in the starting gate. He said he loved the “spirit” of the horse and built a stellar reputation within NYRA. He can be seen at the 3:05 mark of this video of the 1981 Whitney H. improbably keeping hold of eventual winner Fio Rito after he broke through the gate.

Tsitsiragos is survived by sisters Christine Tsitsiragos and Paula Tsitsiragos, his adored nieces Stella Tsitsiragos and Nota Tsitsiragos, first cousins Louise Ermides and Maria Tsitsiragos and extended family in Greece. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation to support the care and well being of retired racehorses. Gifts may be made in Jimmy's name by mail at P.O. Box 834, Saratoga Springs, NY, or by phone at (518) 226-0028.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

The post Longtime NYRA Assistant Starter Jimmy Tsitsiragos Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Canadian Horse Of The Year Sealy Hill Dies At Age 17

Sealy Hill, the 2007 Canadian Horse of the Year and successful broodmare, has been euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, BloodHorse reports.

The daughter of Point Given resided at Bonne Chance Farm in Versailles, Ky., where she spent nearly her entire broodmare career, owned either by Bonne Chance or Regis Farms. She will be buried on the farm.

Sealy Hill raced as an Ontario-born homebred for Eugene Melnyk, trained by Mark Casse, winning seven of 18 starts for earnings of $1,747,081.

She is best known for her 2007 campaign, where she secured the Sovereign Awards as Canada's Horse of the Year, champion turf female, and 3-year-old female. Her season started in the U.S., including a win in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks, then she moved back to Woodbine for the summer, where she became the first – and so far, only – horse to sweep Canada's Triple Tiara: the Woodbine Oaks, Bison City Stakes, and Wonder Where Stakes. She added runner-up efforts in the G2 Canadian Stakes and G1 E.P. Taylor Stakes in the fall.

Sealy Hill raced for one more season, where she earned placings in three graded stakes, including a runner-up effort in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita Park.

As a broodmare, Sealy Hill had nine foals, with seven starters and five winners; four of which won in graded stakes company.

The most prominent among them is Cambier Parc, by Medaglia d'Oro, whose four graded stakes victories for owner Larry Best's OXO Equine include two against Grade 1 competition.

Sealy Hill passed the mantle of Sovereign Award success on to her first foal, the Distorted Humor filly Hillaby, who was named Canada's champion female sprinter of 2014. Other notable runners out of Sealy Hill include Grade 3 winners Belle Hill (by Sky Mesa) and Gale Force (by Giant's Causeway).

Sealy Hill's final foal, the Into Mischief colt Eleven Central, was born in 2018 and is working toward his first start at Palm Meadows Training Center. He was purchased as a yearling by Best for $950,000. The mare did not catch when she was bred to Distorted Humor in 2019, and she had not been bred since then.