Hall of Fame: Lure Lives On

Bay Horse, foaled May 14, 1989

Danzig-Endear, by Alydar

Owner: Claiborne Farm & Nicole P. Gorman

Breeder: Claiborne Farm & The Gamely Corp. (Ky.)

Trainer: Claude R. McGaughey III

Record: 25-14-8-0

Earnings: $2,515,289

 

Notable Accomplishments: Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner, 1992-93

 

Dell Hancock of Claiborne Farm: "His very first race, he set a track record up at Belmont and we were all really excited. We thought, here's a horse that has speed and could go on to be a classic type! He was good on the dirt and won the Gotham (gr. III), but when Shug switched him to the grass he developed into the horse we thought he might be.

 

"One of the main things that was so thrilling to all of us about him winning the Breeders' Cup Mile was that we were partners with (co-breeder) Mr. (William Haggin) Perry since dad drew up that three-line agreement in 1959. It had been a most wonderful partnership and we'd had a lot of good horses together. But to come up with a horse like this when Mr. Perry was not well...I think it added to his life. To have a horse like that gave him something to look forward to.

 

"In the second Breeders' Cup Mile, when he drew outside, there were a lot of naysayers who said he couldn't do it from there, but everything fell into place for him. Pat Day, sitting on Paradise Creek, said he got to the quarter pole and thought, 'I can beat this horse,' but (Lure) just dropped down and hit a whole other gear. He was just brilliant when he was right and he was certainly a wonderful end to a wonderful chapter in Claiborne history. Now he'll be remembered as being in the Hall of Fame. The Breeders' Cup wins helped get him there, and now he has his place in history.

 

"It was the biggest disappointment for us when he didn't hit the fertility mark. Coolmore bought him from the insurance company and he stood several years in Ireland, but they sent him back to Ashford in 2003 when his fertility didn't pick up very much. That's when we asked if we could please have him back, and he was pensioned. He'd done more for us than he'd done for anybody.

 

"I fed him a peppermint this morning and it's lovely to have him at home on the farm. There's a lot of activity going on around him now because we've got some sales yearlings in the barn where he is, and I think he enjoys that."

 

Lure is a pensioner at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky.