King for a Day to Begin Stallion Career in New York

King for a Day , the only horse to beat 2019 champion 3-year-old male Maximum Security  to the wire at 3, was officially retired from racing, Red Oak Farm vice president and general manager Rick Sacco announced.

King for a Day will start his stud career in 2021 under the management of Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions in Saratoga, N.Y. He will stand for $6,000 live foal stands and nurses. Stephen Brunetti's Red Oak Stable campaigned the talented son of Uncle Mo  and will remain actively involved in his stallion career, including sending several quality mares to him. 

King for a Day broke his maiden in his second start as a 2-year-old in a highly competitive Belmont Park maiden special weight that included future graded stakes winner Tacitus. From there, it was on to a career in stakes company. 

The Red Oak Stable homebred made his 3-year-old debut a winning one in the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard. Drawing off by 2 1/2 lengths, King for a Day just missed the Pimlico Race Course track record for 1 1/16 miles. Less than a month later, he put in a brilliant, sustained effort to defeat Maximum Security by a length in the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Todd Pletcher, who trained King for a Day and his sire, was quick to compare the two, saying, "King for a Day displayed big talent from day one. He not only strongly resembles his sire, Uncle Mo, but he had a great mind to go with the talent. 'King' had a high cruising speed just like his sire." 

Pletcher said King for a Day "was precocious to win at 2 a tough maiden special weight race at Belmont Park over Tacitus and others. His win over Maximum Security at 3 in the Pegasus elevated him to another level, and there is no doubt in my mind that this horse had the ability to win grade 1 races."

Uncle Mo is emerging as a stallion maker. His sons Nyquist , Laoban , and Outwork  are three of the top four leading freshman sires of 2020. Nyquist is the sire of impressive Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Vequist as well as Summer Stakes (G1T) victor Gretzky the Great. Laoban has sired Darley Alciabades Stakes (G1) winner Simply Ravishing and grade 1-placed Keepmeinmind, who recently captured the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2).

King for a Day also comes from a strong female family, which includes the black-type-winning mare Feel That Fire, the dam of multiple grade 1-winning millionaire Mind Control.