Coronado’s Quest retires Nov. 7

Ralph Siraco

Friday, Sept. 11, 1998 | 9:23 a.m.

It seems more often than not as soon as a horse reaches the superstar status in racing than that horse is sent to the breeding shed to create more superstar offspring. Two such equine stars are heading to that coveted next career after this year's Breeders' Cup Classic.

As reported here Thursday, the leading contender for this year's Horse of the Year title, Skip Away will retire from the racing wars after defending the Classic at the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 7.

Now comes word that one of the leading sophomore stars of this year will head to stud after a pair of scheduled final starts. Coronado's Quest, recent winner of the prestigious Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga, will retire from racing following a start in the Grade I Woodward at Belmont Park on Sept. 19 and the swan-song appearance in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Syndicated for $15 million -- $3 million less than the reported figure for Skip Away -- the 3-year-old son of Forty Niner has amassed $1,910,790 with 10 wins from 14 career starts.

The Travers was Coronado's Quest's fifth consecutive victory, having won the Grade I Haskell Invitational, Grade II Dwyer, Grade II Riva Ridge and Grade II Wood Memorial in succession before that. A promising prospect from the first time he stepped onto the race track with a daylight victory at Saratoga last year, the striking chestnut soon became racing's most famous head case.

After victories in five of his first half dozen outings Coronado's Quest became unruly and at times uncontrollable in Florida while wintering at Gulfstream Park. Shug McGaughey made one of the toughest decisions a trainer had to make when he took one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby out of the running while sending his equine psycho back to New York to regroup.

Bypassing the hectic rigors of the Derby and the crazy crowds at Churchill Downs is more likely than not the move that gave Coronado's Quest a chance to become the outstanding race horse his connections thought he could become, and in the process the major contender he is now.

Although Skip Away will move away from the track to the farm, it should be noted that trainer Sonny Hine kept his gray champion in training and competing for two more seasons than his counterpart. After winning the 1997 Breeders' Cup Classic, but, bypassed for Horse of the Year, Hine declared he would campaign Skippy this year in quest of the all-time money earnings title and a deserving Horse of the Year trophy.

Skip Away has responded with a perfect 6-for-6 record this year and will meet Coronado's Quest in the Woodward, then the Oct. 10 Jockey Club Gold Cup before the Breeders' Cup Classic. With earning of $9,206,360 -- just $793,455 short of Cigar's all-time record -- the son of Skip Trial has won 17 races from 35 starts and is favored to get the record and title before his career comes to an end.