Obituary: A.P. Indy

Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner of 1992, A.P. Indy, whose wins in both races garnered him Horse of the Year honors for that year,  has died at the ripe old age of 31 (technically 30 as his birthday was in late March).  A.P. Indy was not only an outstanding racehorse with an incredible pedigree, he would also be one of the greatest thoroughbred sires in American history.

A.P. Indy was by far the best offspring of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, who, without  this great horse, would not have had as much influence on the breed as had been initially thought.  Slew had a great career as a sire, as we all know, but his sons have fizzled out in terms of impact on racing.  Except, of course, for A.P. Indy, whose influence has been tremendous over the past 20 or so years.

But it isn't just because he was a son of Seattle Slew.  A.P. Indy's dam was the great Weekend Surprise, also the dam of 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall, among other offspring she had.  However, there is more, as we all know.  Weekend Surprise was one of the great broodmares sired by the incomparable Secretariat, in my view the greatest racehorse to have ever lived.  Secretariat, of course, was the son of Bold Ruler, the greatest thoroughbred sire of all time.  A.P., through both his sire's and his dam's sides, was Bold Ruler through and through.  He would be the horse who would carry the Bold Ruler influence into the 21st century.  It had gone dormant since the early 1980s, while the Northern Dancer and Raise a Native lines would ascend, but the line continued, thank God, and returned with a vengeance.

You can read more about A.P. Indy here.

A.P. Indy died peacefully at his home, Lane's End, in Versailles, Kentucky, yesterday.  He was a big attraction at the farm for visitors.  As a yearling he was bought by Japanese businessman Tomonori Tsurumaki, who named him. Breeders Will Farish and William Kilroy bought back part interest in the horse in 1992.

A bruised foot kept him out of the 1992 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but he was fit for the Belmont, winning in the second-fastest time (tied with Easy Goer) of 2:26.  It seemed appropriate for a grandson of Secretariat.

A.P. Indy's offspring include Mineshaft, Bernardini, Honor Code, and Rags to Riches.

As important as this he was the sire of leading sire Pulpit, who unlike Indy did not live very long, and Pulpit in turn is the sire of one of the "hottest" sires in the world,  Tapit.

The strange irony here is both the sire of Pulpit, A.P. Indy, and the dam of Pulpit, Preach, both lived to  be 31 and both died within days of each other.


1992 Belmont Stakes:




1992 Breeders' Cup Classic:



And this tweet:

One of our favorite videos of A.P. Indy with his sons Mineshaft and Honor Code. It’s almost as if he looks at Mineshaft and says can you behave yourself please they’re taking photos 🐎#fathersonmoment #legend pic.twitter.com/6LYlgewyxV

— Lane's End (@LanesEndFarms) February 22, 2020