Pleasantly Perfect Dies in Turkey at 22

American expatriate stallion Pleasantly Perfect, who won the 2003 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and 2004 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (G1), died June 3 at the age of 22 following a brief illness, according to Levent Sarikaya, who purchased the horse in 2014 for stud duty at the Turkish National Stud.

"My only solace is that he did not suffer long and much, and he was taken with the best care possible all throughout his time in Turkey," Sarikaya said. "It was a pleasure and a privilege to stand such an immortal champion and a successful but underrated stallion."

Pleasantly Perfect sired 20 black-type winners and 23 stakes-placed performers out of 13 crops of racing age. He had seven graded stakes winners, led by grade 1 winners Whitmore and Shared Account. Whitmore is a gelding who has won six graded stakes and earned $3,146,350. Raced by Robert LaPenta, Southern Springs Stables, and Head of Plains Partners, Whitmore has raced three times this year and won the Hot Springs Stakes and Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park. Shared Account's best performance was her victory in the 2010 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

In Turkey, Pleasantly Perfect continued to sire top runners. His 4-year-old son King of the Sun won the Anafartalar Stakes, which is a listed stakes internationally but considered a group 1 stakes in Turkey. Pleasantly Perfect also sired 3-year-old colt Secret Lover, who is undefeated in two starts this year, with both wins coming in listed stakes that are also considered group stakes within Turkey.

Bred in Kentucky by Clovelly Farms, Pleasantly Perfect was a son of Pleasant Colony out of the group 1-winning Affirmed mare Regal State.

Gerald Ford, who raced as Diamond A Racing, bought Pleasantly Perfect at the 1999 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $725,000 from Clovelly Farms. He was trained by Richard Mandella, who wouldn't test the horse seriously at the track until his 4-year-old year, when he broke his maiden in his third start of the season and became a graded stakes winner by the end of the year in the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2). He only made four starts at 5 but had victories in the Goodwood Breeders' Cup prior to taking the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park by 1 1/2 lengths over Medaglia d'Oro . Without missing a beat, Pleasantly Perfect started 2004 by winning the San Antonio Handicap (G2) and then was shipped to Dubai, where he won the World Cup, again defeating Medaglia d'Oro.

Pleasantly Perfect was retired with a 9-3-2 record from 18 starts and earned $7,789,880. He entered stud at Lane's End in 2005 with a $40,000 stud fee. By 2011, his stud fee slid to $7,500. That year he was sold at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale as part of the Edward P. Evans dispersal for $32,000 to Fleetwood Bloodstock.

Sarikaya recalled his efforts to buy Pleasantly Perfect for stud duty. Ford, who still owned an interest in the stallion, was hesitant to sell.

"He was no longer commercially appealing in the American bloodstock market, and relocating to Turkey was a new chance for Pleasantly Perfect to build his legacy," Sarikaya said. "It was never a financial decision for Mr. Ford. Choosing his horse's legacy over financial gains was a true proof of his love for his horse. And with already top-class colts here, his progeny will get opportunities to become stallions in Turkey. We are truly grateful to Mr. Ford for giving Pleasantly Perfect and us this great opportunity."