Half Ours, a record-priced purchase and grade II winner, has been retired from racing to stand in 2008 alongside his sire, Unbridled's Song, at the Taylor family's Taylor Made Stallions near Nicholasville, Ky. He will remain the property of Aaron and Marie Jones. His fee will be announced later.
"He'll be the first son of Unbridled's Song to stand at the farm," said Frank Taylor about the 4-year-old Unbridled grandson. "Half Ours has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his sire. He is a great looking horse who established a new record in the sale ring. He was an outstanding undefeated 2-year-old with brilliant speed who was bred for the classics. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are heavily invested in the family and will be supporting Half Ours the same way they have supported their other stallions at the farm."
Campaigned initially by the Joneses and Barry K. Schwartz, Half Ours was a 10 3/4-length winner as a 2-year-old at the 2005 Keeneland spring meeting first time out. He then won the five-furlong Three Chimneys Juvenile Stakes in stakes-record time of :57.07 at Churchill Downs in May.
The following year, in order to the dissolve the partnership, the Joneses and Schwartz consigned Half Ours to the 2006 Keeneland November breeding stock sale through Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. Aaron Jones bought Half Ours for $6.1 million, the highest price ever for a horse in training sold at Keeneland. The next month, Half Ours won an optional claiming race at Aqueduct.
Half Ours started 2007 with a victory at Gulfstream Park, and then took the Richter Scale Sprint Championship Handicap (gr. II) at seven furlongs after fractions of :21.76 and :43.72. He next ran second in the Alysheba Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs.
In what was his last start, Half Ours ran unplaced in the May 28 Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I). Trained by Todd Pletcher, he retired with five wins and one second from seven races and earnings of $319,680. The Joneses also own Half Ours' 2-year-old full brother, Zong, who is in training with Pletcher.
Bred in Kentucky by Brilliant Stables, Half Ours is out of the winning Storm Cat mare Zing, who is a full sister to promising young sire Yankee Gentleman . Second dam is grade I winner Key Phrase.
