Lane’s End Farm announced earlier today that Honor A. P. suffered an injury while finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby and has been retired.
The son of Honor Code will stand at stud for the 2021 breeding season at the farm based in Versailles, KY. The 3-year-old colt retires as a Grade 1 winner of the Santa Anita Derby and is his sire’s top money earner to date.
His last race was a troubled experience from start to finish, not jumping well from the gate, steadied along for a few jumps as Ny Traffic broke to the outside, then raced wide throughout the entire trip.
He made up some ground late to finish fourth in the seventh fastest Kentucky Derby in history. In his other starts at 3, he finished second in the G2 San Felipe and finished well in the money in the listed Shared Belief Stakes, his final Derby prep.
“Honor A. P. showed brilliance as a 2-year-old from the first time I saw him train and replicated it as a 3-year-old defeating the future Kentucky Derby winner,” trainer John Shirreffs said later of the only horse to defeat Derby-winning Authentic.
At $850,000, he was the highest-priced Honor Code offspring to be sold at auction.
Hold Your Horses
Meanwhile, Santa Anita’s fall meeting, scheduled to open Saturday, has been postponed because of the poor air quality created by the climate-change fires. The track will try to lift the lid again a week from Friday.
