Three Rules to Stand in Florida at Wesfield in 2022

Three Rules , named the Florida-bred Horse of the Year and Florida's champion 2-year-old male in 2016 after sweeping the male division of the prestigious FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes that year, has been retired and will stand the 2022 breeding season at Robert Smith's Wesfield Farm near Ocala, Fla.

The graded stakes-winning son of Gone Astray  out of Joy Rules , by Full Mandate, won the first five races of his career for trainer Jose Pinchin, including the Birdonthewire Stakes by five lengths at Gulfstream Park in his second start in July of 2016. He then went on to dominate the FSS Dr. Fager in early August, winning the six-furlong test by seven lengths while earning a 92 Beyer Speed Figure and setting the stakes record in 1:09.49 that continues to stand today. He then won the FSS Affirmed by 5 1/2 lengths over seven furlongs in September before crushing his rivals with a 10-length romp in the FSS In Reality going 1 1/16 miles.

Three Rules finished his juvenile year by traveling to Santa Anita Park for the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and finished sixth behind winner and 2016 champion 2-year-old male Classic Empire   with now popular stallions Not This Time   and Practical Joke   finishing second and third.

Three Rules was bred in Florida and raced for Bert Pilcher in the name of his Shade Tree Thoroughbreds in partnership with Geoff Roy and Tom Fitzgerald, both of Toronto, who are all still partners in the horse.

"Robert Smith at Wesfield will stand Three Rules for us," Pilcher said. "He wants to breed some of his mares to him and some of his clients have inquired about breeding some of their mares. Of course, I will be supporting him and I have clients who are excited to see him at stud and plan to breed their mares to him. I think he will be very popular in Florida and I think he will produce a very nice race horse.

"He was a fabulous 2-year-old who only lost one race that year and that came in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and he beat some nice horses in that race. And then he competed well in the preps (for the Kentucky Derby) at Gulfstream before becoming a graded stakes winner later that year."

He began his sophomore year on the Kentucky Derby trail with a second-place finish to Favorable Outcome  in the Swale (G2) before finishing third behind winner Gunnevera   and Practical Joke in the Xpressbet Fountain of Youth (G2), both at Gulfstream Park in February and March, respectively. He then finished fifth in the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) won by eventual Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming   at Gulfstream in April.

Later in 2017, Three Rules was third in the Chick Lang Stakes won by future graded stakes winner Recruiting Ready  at Pimlico Race Course before winning the Carry Back (G3) at Gulfstream in July, defeating future multiple stakes winner Mo Cash .

Three Rules last raced in July of 2020 and his last recorded work was at Wesfield Farm in August of this year. He finished his career with a 6-2-2 record from 19 starts while earning $971,825.

His fee has not been announced.