Cowboy Cal, a millionaire and grade II winner for Robert and Janice McNair, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2010 at Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Stud near Versailles, Ky. His fee is $7,500.
Cowboy Cal, bred in Kentucky by the McNairs’ Stonerside Stable, was named for the couple’s son, Cal, and was one of the few horses retained by them when they sold their breeding, racing, and training operation to Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley in 2008.
Prominent on both the main track and on the turf, Cowboy Cal won or placed in 14 of 19 races and earned $1,037,810 while trained by Todd Pletcher. He experienced his best year at 4 in 2009, when he captured the Strub (gr. II) and Oak Tree Mile (gr. IIT) Stakes and the San Pasqual Handicap (gr. II). He placed four graded stakes, including the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (gr. IT) and the Citation Handicap (gr. IT) Nov. 27 in his last start.
Cowboy Cal won the 2007 Laurel Futurity on grass and the 2008 Bryan Station Stakes (gr. IIIT) and the Tropical Park Derby (gr. IIIT). His stakes-placings at 3 included runner-up efforts in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) and the Hollywood Derby (gr. IT).
By Giant's Causeway , Cowboy Cal is out of the Seeking the Gold mare Texas Tammy, whose grade I-winning half-brother Behrens earned $4.5 million. Second dam is graded stakes winner Hot Novel.
