Mendelssohn, the Breeders’ Cup winner whose stunning UAE Derby success was one of the features of the early part of the season in the Northern Hemisphere, has been retired to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he will stand for a fee of $35,000 for 2019.
The $3 million Keeneland September Sale topper, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in 2017, broke the Meydan track record for 9½ furlongs when he won the $2.5 million UAE Derby by 18½ lengths on Dubai World Cup day in March.
The son of Scat Daddy competed with distinction in some of the best races in North America through the season for the Coolmore Partners and trainer Aidan O’Brien, ending his track career with a creditable fourth under top weight against older horses in Saturday’s G1 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct. He retires with earnings of just over $2.5 million to his name.
“All of our team loved Mendelssohn from the first time we saw him as a yearling and he has developed into a magnificent looking horse,” said Coolmore America manager Dermot Ryan.
“Being by our own Scat Daddy and a half-brother to Into Mischief and Beholder, you couldn’t ask for a better pedigree and he showed real brilliance when wining the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar and the UAE Derby by a street, recording a new track record.
“He also ran some excellent races in defeat this fall, notably in the Travers [where he finished second] and the Jockey Club Gold Cup [third]. We have already had a huge number of enquiries about him and I have no doubt that he will prove extremely popular.”