Racing Loses a Legend, A.P. Indy Dies at Age 31

Horse of the Year and one of the world's great stallions, A.P. Indy died peacefully Feb. 21 at his long-time home at Lane's End, near Versailles, Ky.

Bill Farish, of Lane's End, said everyone at the farm was leaning on one another on a difficult Friday. He noted how much A.P. Indy meant to his father, William S. Farish, who bred A.P. Indy with William S. Kilroy and later came back to own the 1992 Horse of the Year as part of a partnership. 

"Any time dad visits the farm, his first stop is to go visit A.P. Indy," Bill Farish said, adding that Friday was a tough day for his dad.

The 1992 Horse of the Year, a son of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, A.P. Indy twice finished as leading sire, once finished as leading broodmare sire, and has finished among the leaders on both of those lists multiple times.

Bill Farish said there was no specific illness ahead of A.P. Indy's passing, just the infirmities of old age. He said the loss of A.P. Indy had been especially tough on long-time groom Asa Haley.

"There's no way to put into words what A.P. Indy has meant to my family and Lane's End," Farish said.

On the track, a foot bruise and blind quarter crack cost A.P. Indy a chance to run in the Kentucky Derby (G1), which he would have entered off of five straight wins including a clear victory in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) over Bertrando. Trainer Neil Drysdale regrouped and, after determining that the Preakness Stakes (G1) came up too quickly on the calendar, he entered A.P. Indy in the Peter Pan Stakes (G2)—eight days after the Preakness—where he rolled to a 5 1/2-length score over Colony Light at Belmont Park. 

That effort prepped A.P. Indy for his classic moment and he would deliver, rallying from fourth to post a three-quarter length victory over My Memoirs (GB) in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes (G1).

That classic victory under regular rider Eddie Delahoussaye affirmed what many had seen from the start for the colt who boasted a pair of Triple Crown winners close up in his pedigree: Seattle Slew—Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat. Purchased by BBA (Ireland) for $2.9 million from the Lane's End consignment, A.P. Indy topped the 1990 Keeneland July Summer Selected Yearling Sale.

Bidding for BBA (Ireland) was Noel O'Callaghan, who outlasted D. Wayne Lukas, to purchase A.P. Indy on behalf of Tomonori Tsurumaki, who would campaign him for the majority of his career until a partnership was formed ahead of his final start. Tsurumaki had raced horses for 20 years in Japan and was credited for being completely understanding about the ill-timed injury ahead of the Derby.

A.P. Indy would come up short in his first two starts after the Belmont, finishing fifth in the Molson Export Million Stakes (G2) at Woodbine and third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont, where he finished 6 3/4 lengths behind Pleasant Tap. But three weeks later at Gulfstream Park, A.P. Indy would turn the tables on that rival and register a two-length score in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). He would be named champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year.

That Breeders' Cup would be the final racing start for A.P. Indy, who was getting ready for even more success as a stallion at Lane's End, where in 1993 he would stand for $50,000. By 2002 that fee would reach $300,000, where it would stay for seven seasons. 

DAUGHERTY: Living Legend A.P. Indy

A.P. Indy would finish as leading sire in 2003 and 2006 and finish among the leading sires six other times in that decade. He would finish as leading broodmare sire in 2015 and he's finished among the leaders on that list seven other times.

His champions include classic winner Bernardini , Horse of the Year Mineshaft , Honor Code , and filly Rags to Riches, who beat the boys in the 2007 Belmont, edging eventual two-time Horse of the Year Curlin . Other champions include Tempera, two-time Canadian champion Marchfield, Canadian champions Eye of the Leopard , Catch the Thrill, and Serenading, and Dubai Horse of the Year Festival of Light.

"A stallion like A.P. Indy is something you dream about," William S. Farish told BloodHorse after the sire topped the stallion list for a second time in 2006. "Mr. Kilroy and I bred him and sold him. He was a sale topper and went on to be a champion. We syndicated him and now he's a two-time leading sire. He's one of those dream horses that you hardly ever come by."

A.P. Indy currently has 29 sons standing at stud. 

A.P. Indy would close out his stallion career in 2011. Even in retirement, he would remain a star as Bill Farish noted he was the highlight of every tour at the farm. No one was any closer to A.P. Indy than Haley.

"He's not a horse to me—he's a person," Haley said in a 2019 BloodHorse story. "But when people come, that's who they want to see—A.P. Indy. If people see me out in public and recognize me, they always ask how he's doing. He's very close to my heart." 

In a that same story last year, Bill Farish summed up A.P. Indy's impact at Lane's End.

"For Lane's End, he really is the franchise-maker. The farm had been in existence for 20 years before he was born, and the last 30 years with him have been incredible."