Champion Wonder Wheel Retired, Will Be Sold in the Fall

D. J. Stable's millionaire champion Wonder Wheel  has been retired and will be offered in the fall at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, its boutique mixed sale in Lexington, confirmed Jon Green, who manages the family-owned racing and breeding operation.

"We constantly monitor our horses to make sure that they're feeling physically 100%. It seemed that after her last race, Wonder Wheel came out of it with more of what they are calling bone bruising and also a minor issue with a front ankle that seems to be a recurring issue with her," said Green. "She's so special and has done so much for us and for the sport, we just felt like that it was time to give her the opportunity to launch into her next career."

Wonder Wheel's retirement, first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, follows an eighth-place finish in the July 1 Selene Stakes (G3) at Woodbine. 

The 3-year-old filly by Into Mischief   has not been able to repeat the brilliance she showed last year when she won four of five starts and scored consecutive victories in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), both at Keeneland. Her sterling 2022 season earned her honors as Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly.

Wonder Wheel started her sophomore season with a close second in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, finishing a neck behind Dreaming of Snow  in the Feb. 11 race. She next finished sixth in the Ashland Stakes (G1) and ninth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). Green said the stable's star filly has shown less focus in her performances this year compared with last year.

"It is not to say that Wonder Wheel didn't want to run because her first race back was very good, and we certainly had high expectations for her. But I really think that she was telling us after the Ashland that something was bothering her. She was sound, but just wasn't focused on racing, and you don't want to force her to do something she is not comfortable doing," he said. "It was an easy decision for her sake, even though it is a monumental decision for most programs to retire a champion."

Bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm and Clearsky Farms and out of the grade 1-placed stakes winner Wonder Gal  (Tiz Wonderful ), Wonder Wheel sold for $275,000 to D. J. Stable at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale out of Clearsky's consignment. She was the last horse named by the late Lois Green, Jon Green's mother who started D. J. Stable with her husband, Leonard. Lois Green died May 31 at 84. She named the filly after a 150-foot-high ferris wheel at Coney Island that she loved.

Wonder Wheel made her debut at Churchill Downs with trainer Mark Casse a winning one, taking a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight by 2 1/4 lengths. She became a stakes winner in her next start when she won the Debutante Stakes and then was second to Leave No Trace  in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. She followed with a gate-to-wire win in the Alcibiades that set her up with another showdown against Leave No Trace, whom she beat by three lengths in the Juvenile Fillies.

Green said Wonder Wheel is definitely a "Mount Rushmore horse" for the stable that has been breeding and racing horses for 40 years and captured seven leading owners titles at various racetracks. When asked why the family would not add Wonder Wheel to its own broodmare band, Green said the decision was an economic one.

"As much as I would love to keep Wonder Wheel because she is by Into Mischief and a champion, it's the right business decision because it helps fund everything else we do," Green said. "We have two dozen broodmares that we own solely and with partners, and we have 62 2-year-olds and various other horses at different levels. At some point in time, you have to sell off the top and that is exactly what we're doing—selling our best."

Green also acknowledged that the November Sale will be an emotional one for the family.

"It's going to be very bittersweet. It's going to be very emotional for me and my father because Mom named this filly and because of all the great memories we have together as a family while we were campaigning her," he said.

Taylor Made Sales Agency, who has a long history working with D. J. Stable, will be the consignor. The filly is now settling in at the farm near Nicholasville, Ky.