Grade 1-Winning Sprinter Imperial Hint Retired

The May 31 news that grade 1-winning sprinter Imperial Hint had been retired is still sinking in for trainer Luis Carvajal Jr.

For the past four years, the son of Imperialism has taken Carvajal and owner, Raymond Mamone, on a wild thrill ride spanning 25 starts across three countries. Records have been broken, grade 1 victories have been plentiful, and more than $2.2 million in purses has been duly earned. Now, asked to think about his stable without Imperial Hint, Carvajal is still coming to terms with sending his "Little Rocket" on to a second career. 

"It's going to be hard. Now that I see the news on Twitter, it's like I have a lump in my throat and it won't let me speak," said Carvajal. "I didn't think it was going to be this hard. I knew it was happening but now that I've read it it's so hard. It hurts." 

Bred in Florida by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds out of the Lahint mare Royal Hint, Imperial Hint has defied the odds of his pedigree and his stature at every turn of his career. The only grade 1 winner sired by Imperialism, Imperial Hint has won seven graded stakes tests for his connections. His greatest victories came in 2018 and 2019, when he won consecutive renewals of the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) and Vosburgh Stakes (G1) in New York. 

Imperial Hint's 2019 Vanderbilt at Saratoga Race Course proved to be his crowning moment when, as one of the oldest runners in the field at 6, he made a three-wide surge on the turn that sent him sailing across the wire in a blistering 1:07.92—a track record. 

The 7-year-old Imperial Hint made his 2020 debut in Saudi Arabia where he finished off the board in the SAUDIA Cup Sprint. Shipped next to Dubai ahead of the World Cup, he was set to contest the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1). But as the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread in earnest, the race was canceled and Imperial Hint made the long journey back to the United States. 

"Before we came home from Dubai the horse worked under Jose Contreras who was there as a rider for Mucho Gusto," said Carvajal. "He gallops for Bob Baffert and he's worked so many good horses but he told me, 'I work so many good horses for Bob but when I worked your horse, I haven't felt anything like that in a long time. He is so fast.' He worked in :46 4/5 before the race. Unfortunately that was canceled.

"When he came back he went to New Jersey then he went to Fair Hill (Training Center) to Bruce Jackson. He got turned out and they do awesome therapy there. But he seemed like he started having some wear and tear. I talked to my vet and Bruce who also looked at him.

"He can probably race but I don't think he would be at the same level. I think this horse did great for us and he took us on a great journey. He is special to me and my family and Mr. Mamone. I don't think he deserved to run below his level. I don't want to run him if he won't be competitive. I want everyone to remember Imperial Hint as one of the top sprinters in the country. We talked to Mr. Mamone and made the decision to retire him. He's sound and he can have a second career as a stud. This was always part of our plan if we thought he couldn't perform."

Carvajal said that Mamone and his team had been approached by interested parties in South Korea regarding a possible stallion deal for Imperial Hint. Carvajal said the only thing that could be a barrier to a career at stud could be the relative shallowness of his pedigree.  

"We don't have the pedigree with him," said Carvajal. "Imperialism … Imperial Hint for him was a one-hit wonder. 

"Imperial Hint is 15.2 hands. But his great grandfather, Danzig, was also small. He wasn't a big horse either." 

While the news that his star sprinter will be leaving the barn has left Carvajal feeling bereft, he feels nothing but gratitude for Imperial Hint and the meaning he's brought to work as a trainer. 

"He is special. I think those really big, quality trainers—the big guys—they get a lot of really great horses," said Carvajal. "For us, it's hard to find the one. I have friends who are older than me who have been training for 40 years and they're still looking for that one special horse. To have a grade 1 winner like Imperial Hint who broke the track record at Saratoga, I hope his name stays up there for years to come."