Obituary: Forty Niner

Champion racehorse and top sire Forty Niner, winner of the 1988 Travers Stakes with a memorable match with Seeking the Gold, has reportedly died in Japan, where he has lived for 25 years.  He was one of the oldest thoroughbreds in the entire world, and one of the longest-lived in history.  He was an amazing 35 years old and just had his real birthday last week.

Here is a link.

The son of Mr. Prospector had just turned 35 May 11 and had received many birthday wishes from fans, Yusa said on Twitter.

"We are truly saddened to lose him and are grateful for all the support from his fans over the years," he said.

A homebred for Claiborne Farm out of the Tom Rolfe stakes winner File, Forty Niner was a brilliant 2-year-old. He won five of his six starts at 2, putting together a championship season with victories in the Sanford Stakes (G2), Futurity Stakes (G1), Champagne Stakes (G1), and Breeders' Futurity (G2). He kept his top form at 3 when he won the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and was runner-up by a neck to Brian's Time in the Florida Derby (G1) on his way to a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) behind Winning Colors. Forty Niner went on that year to set a track record at Monmouth Park, going a mile in 1:33.80 that set him up for a win in the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1). He also won the Travers Stakes (G1) and the NYRA Mile Handicap before ending his racing career finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

Forty Niner entered stud at Claiborne in 1989 and became the leading North American freshman sire in 1992, getting graded stakes winners Tactical Advantage and Dalhart in his first crop. He also led his sire class as a second-crop sire in 1993 with four stakes winners and $1,914,505 in progeny earnings and again as a third-crop sire with seven stakes winners and progeny earnings of nearly $3.2 million.

Here is the 1988 Travers Stakes:



I visited Claiborne Farm back in 1989, and Forty Niner was one of the stallions I saw. He was a mere four years old then: