Tag: obituary

Dual Champion Heart’s Cry Dies At 22

Japanese and UAE champion and top sire Heart's Cry (Jpn) (Sunday Silence–Irish Dance {Jpn}, by Tony Bin {Ire}) died on Mar. 9, the Japanese Racing Association (JRA) announced on Friday. The 22-year-old was in good health until he passed, due to a sudden inability to stand.

Teruya Yoshida, CEO of Shadai Farm, said in a statement, “Hearts Cry ran out of steam last night [Thursday]. I heard from the person in charge of the Shadai Stallion that he left nobly and without showing any weakness until the very end.

“When training, he had a unique gait, but the difference in the springs shown on the training course was obvious. I had worked on many Sunday Silence progeny before, but the way they bounced, agility, and propulsion were so different that I handed them over to trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi with great confidence.”

Bred by Shadai Farm, the April foal went into training with Hashiguchi and carried the Shadai Racing Horse silks with honour in three countries. Best known for his defeat of paternal half-brother Deep Impact (Jpn) in the 2005 Arima Kinen (video), he showcased his quality on the world stage, taking the 2006 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai, and finished a respectable third in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. later that year.

Yoshida added of the dark bay's racing career, “The highlight of my racing life is probably his three races from the end of [his] 4-year-old year to early in his 5-year-old season, especially when he defeated Deep Impact in the Arima Kinen. I was worried that the opponent would be the only rival and Heart's Cry would have a dirty image after that, but the overwhelming victory in the next round of the Dubai Sheema Classic proved that the level of horse racing in Japan has progressed to a tremendous level, and it has been a great opportunity for the officials, fans and media. Everyone was happy.”

Retired to stand at Shadai Stallion Station in 2007 after five wins from 19 starts and over $8 million in earnings, Heart's Cry would spend his entire stallion career there. The sire of 63 black-type winners (44 group), his best runner was versatile mare Lys Gracieux (Jpn), who won the Arima Kinen in 2019, as well as the G1 Cox Plate, G1 Takarazuka Kinen, and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Of his 11 top-tier winners, G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and G1 Yasuda Kinen hero Just A Way (Jpn) also traveled to the deserts of Dubai, and left with a victory in the G1 Dubai Duty Free.

Stateside, his son Yoshida (Jpn) is one of two stakes winners from just four to race. An ¥94,000,000 (£578,299/€653,571/ $696,836) purchase out of the JRHA Select Yearling Sale, the young sire won the GI Woodward S. on dirt and the GI Turf Classic S. on turf. Currently a resident of WinStar Farm, his first 2-year-olds run this year.

Added Yoshida after Heart's Cry was pensioned in 2020, “After retiring as a stallion, he spent his time comfortably on the pasture. I wanted you to enjoy this comfortable life for a longer time, and I wanted you to live forever, but I am sorry that it was a sudden parting. I hope you rest in peace.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all the people involved in his life, the fans who supported us, and the breeders who chose us as our compounding partners. Thank you very much for your help so far. Thank you.”

As a broodmare sire, Heart's Cry is responsible for seven stakes winners anchored by Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) and G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Tagaloa (Aus) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}).

Heart's Cry with jockey Christophe Lemaire win the Arima Kinen | Horsephotos

 

 

Regular rider Christophe Lemaire tweeted, “Very sad to hear [of] the passing of my champ. It all started with him for me in Japan. Big thoughts to Teruya Yoshida and Shadai Farm staff. Legends never die.”

Out of the dual Japanese stakes winner Irish Dance, Heart's Cry was the best foal of his dam. A half-sister by El Condor Pasa produced G3 Fairy S. heroine Omega Heart Rock (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}). Eclipse Champion Sprinter My Juliet (Gallant Romeo) is under the third dam, as is four-time Grade I winner Stella Madrid (Alydar), GI Ashland S. winner Lilacs And Lace (Flower Alley) and GI Shuvee H. scorer Tis Juliet (Alydar) while his extended family features G1 February S. hero Nonkono Yume (Jpn) (Twining), G1 Irish Oaks victress Winona (Ire) (Alzao), and dual Grade I winner Super Quercus (Fr) (Hero's Honor).

 

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Tweenhills Stallion Havana Gold Sustains Fatal Pelvis Injury

Group 1 winner and top-level sire Havana Gold (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}–Jessica's Dream {Ire}, by Desert Style {Ire}), passed away at the age of 13 after sustaining a fatal pelvis injury, Tweenhills announced on Thursday afternoon.

Bred by Sir Eric Parker in Ireland, the bay was a 50,000gns buyback at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale turned 80,000 gns Tattersalls October yearling. Bearing the colours of Qatar Racing Limited and CSH on the racecourse, Havana Gold won his first two starts, and by the end of his juvenile season was a victor of both the G3 Somerville Tattersalls S. and the Listed Ascendant S. for Richard Hannon. At three, he added the G1 Prix Jean Prat and was second in the G3 Craven S. and retired to Tweenhills with a mark of 11-5-2-0 and earnings $625,567.

Retired to stud in 2014 where he stood initially for £8,500 and commanded as high a fee as £15,000 in 2018 and 2019, Havana Gold became both the leading UK-based first-season sire in 2017 and the leading UK-based sire of 2-year-olds in 2021.

His first son to stud, Havana Grey (Ire), 3-year-old hero of the G1 Flying Five S. at the Curragh (Ire), was crowned leading UK-based first-season sire last year. Havana Gold was also the sire of 14 other stakes winners including Group 2 winner El Caballo (GB) and Group 3 winners, Tabdeed (GB) and Treasuring (GB). He also is responsible for last season's unbeaten 2-year-old Streets of Gold (Ire).

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Hall of Fame Trainer John Veitch Passes Away at 77

John Veitch, a Hall of Famer who trained numerous stars, including Alydar, whose legendary battles with Affirmed were part of one of the sport's greatest rivalries, passed away Tuesday in Lexington, Kentucky. He was 77.

The news of Veitch's passing was first reported by the Blood-Horse.

Veitch's training career ran from 1974 through 2003. According to Equibase, he had 410 career winners and his stable amassed earnings of $20,097,980. He won 76 graded stakes and 93 stakes races overall.

Veitch's best years came as the head trainer for Calumet Farm. For Calumet, he trained three champions, Before Dawn, Davona Dale and Our Mims. But he was best known for being the trainer of Alydar, who finished second behind Affirmed in all three Triple Crown races in 1978.

“At this point, I'm not going to concede anything to Affirmed,” Veitch told the New York Times prior to the 1978 GI Belmont S. “Affirmed is a damn fine race horse. We're looking forward to meeting him again in the Belmont, and I'm confident it will be the most favorable race for Alydar.”

In what many regard as one of the best races ever, Alydar battled Affirmed all the way to the wire in the Belmont, but lost by a head.

Alydar went on to become one of the greatest sires of his generation.

In 1982, Veitch parted ways with Calumet and became the private trainer for Darby Dan Farm. For Darby Dan, he campaigned Proud Truth, the winner of the 1985 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. While with Darby Dan, he also won the GI Florida Derby with Brian's Time and the GI Yellow Ribbon S. and the GII Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup with Plenty of Grace.

The son of Hall of Fame trainer Sylvester Veitch, Veitch was born in Lexington in 1945. After attending Bradley University, where he was a member of the football team, the trainer worked as an assistant to his father and Elliott Burch before going out on his own.

In 1998, Veitch closed his small public stable and took the job of racing consultant to a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family. He returned to the United States in April 2000 and trained for Calumet Farm's new owner Henryk deKwiatkowski in 2001.

He stopped training in 2003 and accepted a job as the chief steward for the Kentucky Racing Commission. His tenure as a steward ended in controversy after Life At Ten was allowed to compete in the GI Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Churchill Downs even though jockey John Velazquez told a televised audience that he was concerned with the way his mount was warming up. Life At Ten trailed the field throughout as the favorite and was not selected for a post-race test. The KHRC charged Veitch with five administrative violations for not reacting appropriately to Velazquez's comment. Some seven years later, Veitch reached a settlement with the commission and his one-year suspension was removed from his record.

He was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Eclipse Award Winning Owner Diana Firestone Passes Away at 91

Diana Firestone, who, along with her husband Bert campaigned a number of champion horses, including 1980 GI Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk, passed away peacefully at her home in Florida on Feb. 12. She was 91.

In 1980, the Firestones won an Eclipse Award as the nation's top owners. Bert Firestone passed away in 2021.

“I can't say enough good things about her and Bert and the opportunity they gave me when I shifted from the Midwest to New York,” said Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who was hired by the Firestones to be their private trainer in 1986. “They gave me the opportunity to break into New York and they treated me like family. She was a wonderful person and a very good horse person herself. She was very knowledgeable about racing and breeding. She always conducted herself so well and was a very kind person.”

Firestone was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1932 and was the granddaughter of Robert Wood Johnson, the founder of the health products manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. She was the daughter of John Seward Johnson, an executive with Johnson & Johnson, and Ruth Dill Johnson, a native of Bermuda.

A lifelong equestrienne, Firestone learned to ride in England with her siblings. While in prep school in Washington, D.C., she rode hunters and jumpers and fox hunted across Virginia's northern landscape. After graduating from Bennett Junior College, Firestone had a renowned equestrian career, representing the United States in horse shows worldwide.

“Horses, with the single exception of my family, have been the most important thing in my life,” Firestone once said.

“She was an amazing mother and an amazing horse woman,” said Firestone's daughter Alison Robitaille. “Pretty much every animal loved her. Whether it was dogs, horses, whatever, when it came to animals she was like a magnet. She gave to me my love of horses and introduced me to them at an early age, which I am very grateful for.”

In recognition of Firestone's commitment to equestrian sports, the American Horse Shows Association awarded her the Walter B. Devereux Trophy for having exemplified the ideal of good sportsmanship through commitment, dedication and service.

The Firestones were perennially among the top owners in the sport in the 70s and 80s and horses running under their familiar green and white silks accounted for 51 graded or group stakes wins.

Teaming up with trainer Leroy Jolley, they landed their first Eclipse Award with Honest Pleasure, the champion 2-year-old of 1971. He was followed by 1977 champion sprinter What a Summer.

But the Firestones will always be best remembered for winning the Derby with Genuine Risk, who, at the time, became only the second filly to win the sport's most prestigious race. She finished second in a controversial running of the GI Preakness S. and was then second in the GI Belmont S. She is the only filly to win or place in all three Triple Crown races. In 1986, Genuine Risk was enshrined in the Racing Hall of Fame.

Two years after Genuine Risk, the Firestones had another Eclipse Award winner. Already a champion in France, April Run (Ire) won an Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding turf mare in 1982. In 1987, the Firestone's Theatrical (Ire) won six Grade I races, including the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, and was named champion turf male. He was the first Breeders' Cup winner and Eclipse champion for Mott.

The Firestones were also active in Europe. In 1981, their Blue Wind (Ire) was named champion 3-year-old filly in both England and Ireland and April Run was named champion 3-year-old filly in France. That same year, Play it Safe (Ire) was named champion 2-year-old filly in France.

The Firestone homebred Winchester became the couple's final top-level victor with four Grade I wins from 2008 to 2011, and they completed the dispersal of their bloodstock in January 2020. The Firestones, who owned both Gulfstream Park and Calder Racecourse from 1989 to 1991, began scaling back their racing ventures in the late 1980s.

Firestone is survived by four children, Robitaille, Lorna Stokes, Christopher Stokes, Cricket MacDonald and three stepsons, Matthew Firestone, Ted Firestone and Greg Firestone. She is also survived by 16 grandchildren.

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