GEORGETOWN, KY – JANUARY 24, 2011 – Jade Hunter, multiple GR1 winner and sire of Horse of the Year Azeri, was humanely euthanized Sunday afternoon (January 23) at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute due to complications from colic.
The 27-year-old stallion had been pensioned at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, since 2009.
“Jade Hunter was a very proud and confident stallion with an intelligence that matched his beauty,” said Old Friends president and founder Michael Blowen. “It’s very hard on all his caretakers to lose him and Polish Navy [who died Jan. 6] so close together.”
Bred in Kentucky, Jade Hunter (Mr. Prospector-Jadana (IRE), by Pharly) was bought for $700,000 by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud at the 1985 Keeneland yearling sale and raced in both Europe and North America.
Later campaigned by trainer Richard J. Lundy for owners Bruce McNall and Allen Paulson, Jade Hunter won the G1 Donn Handicap and the G1 Gulfstream Park Handicap. In all, he captured six of his 14 starts.
He retired in 1988 at the age of 4 after he fractured his right front cannon bone during a workout. His lifetime earnings total $407,260.
In the breeding shed, Jade Hunter sired such top earners as three-time GR1 turf winner Yagli, World Hunter, and most notably, Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year, who then ranked as North America’s leading female money-earner.
Jade Hunter spent his stud career in Lexington and overseas, but most recently stood for several breeding seasons at Dutchess Views Farm in New York. He was donated to Old Friends by the Paulson Trust.
A memorial service for Jade Hunter and the recently deceased Polish Navy is planned for the spring at Old Friends.
For more information about Old Friends or any of its retirees visit them online at www.oldfriendsequine.org or call the main office at (502) 863-1775.
About Old Friends
Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that cares for more than 100 retired racehorses. Its Dream Chase Farm, located in Georgetown, KY, is open to tourists daily by appointment. Old Friends also has a satellite facility in Greenfield Center, New York, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, which is also open to visitors. For more information on tours, reservations at the Old Friends B&B, or to make a donation, contact the main farm at (502) 863-1775 or see their website at www.oldfriendsequine.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Cynthia Grisolia, (347) 423-7322, cagrisolia@yahoo.com, or Michael Blowen (502) 863-1775, michael@oldfriendsequine.org.