Happily Unbridled

He’s a millionaire, he’s a Grade 1 winner, he’s one of America’s best sprinters, and now he’s being retired. Benny the Bull, currently being trained by Richard Dutrow Jr, has been diagnosed with an ankle chip ending the racing career of this talented sprinter.

The five-year-old son of Lucky Lionel has won his last five races which includes the Gulf News Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-1) in March of this year. In what would be his final race, the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes at Gulfstream Park, he recorded a Beyer speed figure of 115. His highest Beyer was 119 as a runner-up to champion sprinter Midnite Lute in the Forego Stakes at Saratoga in 2007. He was training toward this year’s Forego to be run on August 30 with the ultimate goal of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in October.

With the retirement of Benny the Bull and the poor showing by Midnite Lute in his race last weekend, the Sprint division may now be wide open. One horse certainly to watch is Fabulous Strike. This is a gelded son of Smart Strike who is the sire of Culin and English Channel along with other outstanding runners; it’s always wise to keep an eye on the offspring of this sire. Also keep an eye on J be K who didn’t run to his potential in the King’s Bishop last weekend but cannot be dismissed. Others that may coming to the head of this class are Street Boss, Bustin Stones, and Lucky Island. Street Boss has proven that he likes the synthetic surface and that’s a definite advantage in the upcoming Breeders’ Cup race.

We wish Benny the Bull much luck in his retirement from the track and his second career as a sire. We’ll look forward to seeing his runners hit the race tracks in a few years … Go Baby Go!