Mastery, the undefeated colt who likely would have been the present Kentucky Derby (G1) favorite if not for suffering a condylar fracture while winning the March 11 San Felipe (G2), will stand at Claiborne Farm upon his retirement from racing. The Paris, Kentucky, nursery made the announcement on Tuesday.
A son of Candy Ride and winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) and Bob Hope (G3) at two, Mastery made his season debut in the San Felipe at Santa Anita going 1 1/16 miles. He won by 6 3/4 lengths as the 4-5 favorite after setting a contested pace, but was immediately pulled up by jockey Mike Smith and dismounted. A condylar fracture to the colt’s left front was soon discovered, and the colt underwent successful surgery two days later
Owned by Everett Dobson’s Cheyenne Stables, Mastery is presently recovering at trainer Bob Baffert’s stable.
“He’ll stay there for at least a month,” Baffert said. “We’ll just wait. It takes like 90 days for that to heal up, and then we’ll decide (if he’ll race again). Right now our main concern is to make sure he’s comfortable and happy.”
“We look forward to him standing at Claiborne Farm upon retirement, whenever that may be,” Dobson said. “Given their tradition and reputation in the marketplace for making top stallions, we felt it was a great fit for Mastery.”
