DELRAY BEACH (AP) – Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches was retired on Monday, March 24.
Rags to Riches was the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont, edging Preakness Stakes winner Curlin by a head in a thrilling duel last June at Belmont Park in New York.
The champion 3-year-old filly will be shipped to Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky. She will be bred to leading sire Giant's Causeway. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Rags to Riches finished her career with five wins in seven starts and earned $1.3 million.
Rags to Riches finished second in her last race, the Gazelle Stakes at Belmont last Sept. 15.
The day after, it was discovered she had a hairline fracture of her right front pastern. The 3-year-old champion filly recently re-injured the pastern – an area between the ankle and the hoof.
“It's a sad day for racing and all of her fans,” Pletcher said in a statement. “She will go down in the history books as one of the best fillies ever to run.”
No Comment