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CHAMPION
STAKES-WINNER GULCH TO RETIRE AT OLD FRIENDS
A
press release from Old Friends
GEORGETOWN, KY—DECEMBER
22, 2009—Gulch, the six-time Grade 1-winning son of Mr.
Prospector, will arrive today at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred
Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, where he will
permanently retire. The 25-year-old stallion has stood at
William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near
Versailles, KY since leaving racing in 1988. He was pensioned
from stud duty just this year.
Gulch (Mr.
Prospector–Jameela by Rambunctious) was owned and bred by
Peter M. Brant and trained by Hall-of-Famers LeRoy Jolley and
D. Wayne Lukas. He retired with 13 wins from 32 starts and
career earnings of over $3 million.
As a two-year-old, the dark
bay captured five starts, including the GR1 Hopeful Stakes at
Saratoga. As a dazzling three-year-old he claimed the GR1 Bay
Shore Stakes at Aqueduct and the GR1 Wood Memorial at Belmont,
making him a top contender in the 1987 Kentucky Derby.
At four, with new trainer
Lukas, Gulch went on to win the Metropolitan Handicap and the
Carter Handicap (both GR1), and capped the year with a victory
in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, which helped him earn
the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter.
He now joins Old Friends’s
other Eclipse winners Black Tie Affair, The Wicked North,
Hidden Lake, and Sunshine Forever.
A leading stallion at Lane’s
End, Gulch’s progeny have been outstanding. They include
1995 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers winner Thunder
Gulch, Bluegrass Stakes winner The Cliff's Edge, and Super
Derby winner Wallenda, who was retired at Old Friends in 2007
after returning from stud duty in Japan.
“When Lane’s End
announced Gulch’s retirement, I called the farm and
explained we would be thrilled to have him,” said Old
Friends founder and president Michael Blowen. “I know his
legion of fans would love to visit him here. Lane’s End
has their lovely facility and a professional staff to give
Gulch a great home, but we’re overjoyed that he’s
coming.
“Lane’s End has
contributed significantly to Old Friends ever since we
started,” Blowen continued, “but Gulch is one of
the greatest contributions we’ve ever received. It’ll
be great to have him in a paddock next to Commentator.”
“Gulch has had a long
and wonderful career here,” said Bill Farish, a principal
of Lane’s End Farm. “We wanted to make sure that he
was well taken care of in his retirement and we thought our
nearby neighbor Old Friends would be a great place for him.”
Farish added that Gulch’s
popularity with fans influenced the farm’s decision to
send him to Old Friends, which is open to tourists daily.
“He was a
horse that was well known to the public having been through the
Triple Crown trail and having been a top two-year-old and a
champion sprinter,” said Farish. “He was a horse
that people always wanted to see. Plus, he’s kind of a
ham, and he will enjoy the attention immensely.”
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