Champion and Grade 1 Winner Perfect Soul Pensioned

Perfect Soul  has been pensioned from stallion duty at Darby Dan Farm and will reside at owner Charles Fipke's farm near Paris, Ky., the farm announced Nov. 15.

The 21-year-old Fipke homebred and son of Sadler's Wells sired 25 black-type performers, including grade 1 winners Seeking the Soul and Perfect Shirl. His progeny earned nearly $19.6 million from 12 crops of racing age and averaged $50,767 per starter.

Perfect Soul's leading earner is multimillionaire Seeking the Soul, who won the 2017 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) and this year won the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) and was runner-up in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1). He also was grade 1-placed in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) en route to earnings of $3,414,153 for Fipke and trainer Dallas Stewart.

Perfect Shirl made Perfect Soul the sire of a Breeders' Cup winner when she captured the 2011 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) over an international field for owner/breeder Fipke and trainer Roger Attfield. Perfect Shirl banked $1,390,729 while finishing on the board 11 times in 16 starts.

Perfect Soul's runners made noise in the North American classics, too, with Perfect Shower winning the 2009 Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine and Golden Soul finishing second in the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) to Orb .

As a racehorse, Perfect Soul earned more than $1.5 million while winning seven of 21 starts. He was named Canada's champion grass horse for 2003 and set a course record at Keeneland in the 2004 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G2T), going a mile in 1:33.54. In 2003, he won the Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) and the King Edward Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2T) at Woodbine. Perfect Soul placed three other times in grade 1 competition, finishing third in the Atto Mile Stakes (G1T) in 2003 and improving to second in the same race in 2004. He was runner-up as well in the 2002 Niagara Breeders' Cup Handicap (G1T).

Seeking the Soul emulated his sire in 2017 when he set a track record at Keeneland, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.36. Now 6, Seeking the Soul is one of the early probable entrants for his year's Clark Handicap Nov. 29. The horse began serious preparation for the race with a half-mile breeze in :48 4/5 the morning of Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs.