- Vindication (horse)
Thoroughbred racehorse infobox
horsename = Vindication
caption =
sire =Seattle Slew
grandsire =Bold Reasoning
dam = Strawberry Reason
damsire =Strawberry Road
sex = Stallion
foaled = 2000
country =United States flagicon|USA
colour = Dark Bay
breeder = Payson Stud Inc.
owner =Padua Stables
trainer =Bob Baffert
record = 4: 4-0-0
earnings = $680,950
race =Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes (2002)Breeders' Cup wins:Breeders' Cup Juvenile (2002)
awards=American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (2002)
honours =
updated= September 14, 2007Vindication (foaled January 28, 2000 in
Kentucky - died July 10, 2008) was an AmericanThoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred by Payson Stud Inc., he was sired by the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown Champion,Seattle Slew . Out of the mare Strawberry Reason, Vindication's damsire wasStrawberry Road , the international star who raced inAustralia ,Germany ,France ,Japan and theUnited States and who was voted the 1983Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year and 1984Champion Older Horse in Germany .Vindication was purchased for $2.15 million at the 2001 Keeneland September yearling sale by Satish Sanan's
Padua Stables ofOcala, Florida who would hand him over to trainerBob Baffert for race conditioning. Sent to the track at age two, Vindication won his first two races atDel Mar Racetrack inCalifornia then on September 14th atTurfway Park inFlorence, Kentucky he captured the Grade IIIKentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes by six lengths. He was then sent to Chicago'sArlington Park for the 2002Breeders' Cup Juvenile . Normally run at a distance of 11/16 miles, the track setup at Arlington Park meant that year's Juvenile was raced at 1⅛ miles. Ridden by Mike Smith, Vindication won the race by two-and-three-quarter lengths over Kafwain and Hold That Tiger, the latter a highly-regarded colt fromIreland trained byAidan O'Brien .The runaway winner in the voting for 2002
American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors, Vindication was the winterbook favorite for the following spring'sKentucky Derby . However, as a result of a serious injury sustained early in 2003, Vindication was never able to race again and was retired.A 2003 "Keeneland Magazine" article by Deirdre B. Biles called Vindication "one of the hottest stallion prospects in the country." [http://www.hillndalefarms.com/OLD/john-sikura.pdf]
John G. Sikura purchased a one-third interest in the breeding rights to Vindication and since 2004 the horse has been standing at stud at hisHill 'n' Dale Farms inLexington, Kentucky . The horse demanded a stud fee of $60,000 US dollars. Vindication had covered 78 mares in the 2007 season.Vindication was euthanized on July 10, 2008 after suffering from a stomach rupture.
References
* [http://www.pedigreequery.com/vindication3 Vindication's pedigree and partial racing stats]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vitfKle0Dvk Video at YouTube of Vindication winning the 2002 Breeders' Cup Juvenile]
* [http://drf.com/news/article/96232.html News article alerting the public of Vindication's sudden death]
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