City of Light, Accelerate Settle in at Lane's End
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
City of Light at Lane's End
Just before sunrise Jan. 28, Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) winner City of Light and 2018 Eclipse champion older dirt male Accelerate , who was third in the Pegasus, arrived at their new home at Lane's End Farm.
The two stallions are part of a trio entering stud at the Farish family farm near Versailles, Ky. Multiple grade 1 winner West Coast was already at the farm, after shipping in to stay following the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
"City of Light ran a huge race. Once the speed cleared him, he went to the inside and cruised around there," said Bill Farish of the Pegasus performance Jan. 26 on a sloppy Gulfstream Park track. "To me, he was always the favorite with his running style and his sire Quality Road having set two records at the track."
Quality Road , who's stall at Lane's End is directly across the aisle from City of Light, set nine-furlong records in the grade 1 2009 Florida Derby (1:47.72) and the following year in the grade 1 Donn Handicap (1:47.49).
City of Light, raced by William Warren Jr. and his wife Suzanne, with trainer Mike McCarthy, retires with four grade 1 stakes victories. He also placed in two other top-level stakes. His grade 1 victories include the Malibu Stakes, Triple Bend Stakes, Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and the Pegasus World Cup. His lifetime record is 6-4-1 from 11 starts with earnings of $5,662,600. He enters stud at $35,000.
Accelerate at Lane's End
Accelerate, a son of Lookin At Lucky , earned his championship title by winning five grade 1 stakes last year. He started with the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino (G1) and followed with consecutive victories in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1), $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), Awesome Again Stakes (G1), and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Campaigned by Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler, he retires with a 10-5-6 record out of 23 starts and earnings of $6,692,480. Accelerate enters stud at a $20,000 fee.
West Coast is a two-time grade 1-winning son of Flatter and out of champion Caressing. Raced by Gary and Mary West and trained by Bob Baffert, the 5-year-old horse won the Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) and Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at 3 and added another $3.66 million to his bankroll this year with runner-up finishes in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), Pegasus World Cup, and Awesome Again Stakes (G1). He retired with a 6-5-1 record out of 13 starts and $5,803,800 in earnings. West Coast will also stand for $35,000.
City of Light arrives at Lane's End Farm
Farish said the three stallions are comparable in quality to the quartet of Honor Code , Liam's Map , Tonalist , and Mr Speaker , who are freshman sires this year.
"They were good to go before the weekend. Once we set the stud fees, we had a pretty immediate response," Farish said. "All three horses are already full. It is a definite relief to have them on the farm. They look great."
The three stallions have all been syndicated with Lane's End's standard 40-share agreement, according to Farish.