Champion LOOKIN AT LUCKY retires to Ashford Stud for 2011

It takes a horse of rare talent and great soundness to win a Triple Crown race after securing the title of champion two-year-old male. Ashford Stud is therefore delighted to announce that it has secured the stallion services of Lookin At Lucky, winner of the 2009 Eclipse Award for Two-Year-Old Male. The son of Smart Strike is also a leading contender for another Eclipse Award following further Gr.1 victories in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational, the latter by 4 lengths. Lookin At Lucky retires a winner of nine of his 13 starts, with earnings in excess of $3.3 million, and his two-year-old championship looks all the more meritorious when his birthday of May 27 is factored in. He was sound enough to race every month from July through December, racking up five victories, including the Gr.2 Best Pal Stakes, Gr.1 Del Mar Futurity, Gr.1 Norfolk Stakes and Gr.1 Cashcall Futurity. The colt’s appetite for racing was again very evident at three, when he added four more Graded victories to his collection, and he was still short of his actual third birthday when he won the Preakness. “This horse is such a warrior,” Bob Baffert said after the Preakness. “He wants to win; he tries so hard. He’s got a great mind. He’s a cool horse, a really great athlete with a very long incredible stride. He’s one of the best horses I’ve ever had.” Coolmore’s Demi O’Byrne was just as impressed with Lookin At Lucky stating that “Lookin At Lucky is the most striking of individuals and he is without doubt the best stallion prospect I saw in America all year.” Ashford’s new stallion also has a great pedigree. His sire Smart Strike was the champion sire of 2007 and 2008 and Lookin At Lucky represents the Mr. Prospector/Danzig cross, as does Distorted Humor, one of the most accomplished stallions of the past decade. Lookin At Lucky’s dam Private Feeling also produced dual Grade 2 winner Kensei. Private Feeling’s half-sister Grand Charmer, winner of the Gr.3 Pucker Up Stakes, is the second dam of another Eclipse Award winner in Wait A While. Lookin At Lucky’s third dam, Sharp Belle, was another Gr.1 winner, successful in the Monmouth Oaks. Ashford Stud’s manager Dermot Ryan enthused "The purchase of Lookin At Lucky underlines Coolmore's commitment to stay at the forefront of American breeding, and we couldn't be more delighted to add him to the team. His race record is outstanding and his pedigree contains Mr. Prospector and Danzig, two of the most potent forces of the last 30 years or so. We would also like to thank trainer Bob Baffert and his owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul and Michael Weitman for the wonderful job they have done with this horse.”