Stephen Foster-G1 winner Kingsbarns injured, retires to Spendthrift

Leading older horse Kingsbarns, who had earned a berth into the Breeders’ Cup after an impressive victory in the $1 million Stephen Foster S. (G1) at Churchill, has exited a recent workout with an injury and has been retired from racing.

The 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo will ship from Saratoga to Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, where he will begin his stud career in 2025.

“We got to see Kingsbarns’ most recent breeze, and it was terrific. Unfortunately, he did not come out of that work 100 percent. Veterinarians examined him and discovered a strained ligament in his left front leg,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “This will cause him to miss the races we had planned for this year, so we have made the decision to retire him to stud, as he was likely going to do so after the Breeders’ Cup anyway.

“It’s a tough blow because we were very excited about Kingsbarns’ chances in races like the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was coming off a lifetime best performance in the Stephen Foster, where he ran a 4 on the (Ragozin) Sheets. I can count on one hand the number of horses that have run that fast this year. But these are the hard realities of the game, and we are extremely grateful that the horse will be fine. We will get him home to the farm and ready for the breeding season,” Toffey said.  

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Kingsbarns captured the Grade 1 Stephen Foster by a decisive 2 ½ lengths in his last start on June 29, ascending to the top of the older horse division. He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.09, earning a 100 Beyer and 4 Ragozin. Prior to his breakthrough victory in the Foster, Kingsbarns won the Ben Ali S. (G3) at Keeneland and was a narrow runner-up in the Pimlico Special S. (G3). He also won a 7-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park in his seasonal debut, giving the talented bay colt 3 wins from 4 starts this year as a 4-year-old.

As a 3-year-old, Kingsbarns began his career 3-for-3, including a debut victory at Gulfstream. He won an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs by 7 ¾ lengths in his second start before scoring a gate-to-wire victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds in just his third start, defeating runner-up Disarm by 3 ½ lengths and becoming the first horse in 18 years to win the Louisiana Derby in three or fewer starts.

Kingsbarns retires with earnings of $1,559,060, ranking him only behind Nyquist and Golden Pal among sons of Uncle Mo at stud. As a 2-year-old, Kingsbarns was purchased by Spendthrift for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale after breezing a quarter mile in 20.3 seconds, which marked the fastest time by a colt at the sale. He is out of the Grade 3-placed Tapit mare Lady Tapit, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Gozzip Girl.  

“Kingsbarns had tons of talent and a terrific disposition,” said Pletcher. “The timing of this is especially unfortunate. He was a pleasure to train and will definitely be missed around the barn.”

Another announcement will be made as soon as Kingsbarns is available for inspection at Spendthrift, and his introductory stud fee will also be determined and announced at a later date. For more information about Kingsbarns, please contact Des, Mark, Brian, or Daniel at 859-294-0030.