Canadian Great With Approval Dies

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With Approval, a Canadian Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner as a homebred for the Willmot family’s Kinghaven Farm and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, died June 21. The 24-year-old son of Caro stood at Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud near Newmarket, England.

“We will greatly miss With Approval at Lanwades,” Rausing said in a statement. “He was a true gentleman to work with; very fertile and a most attractive horse. We hope that the several fillies he sired whilst at Lanwades will continue to keep his name in lights, both whilst racing and in the future, as broodmares.”

Rausing privately acquired With Approval prior to the 2006 breeding season because she wanted to re-introduce the Grey Sovereign sire line to England. With Approval, who was standing at the time at Fred Seitz’s Brookdale Farm near Lexington, was a great-grandson of Grey Sovereign (by Nasrullah).

With Approval captured the 1989 Canadian Triple Crown (the Queen’s Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and the Breeders’ Stakes) and was voted Canadian Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male. His dam, Passing Mood (by Buckpasser), was voted Canada’s Broodmare of the Year that same year.

As a 4-year-old, With Approval mainly competed in the United States. Excelling at lengthy distances, he set a world record on turf for 1 3/8 miles in the Bowling Green Handicap (gr. IIT) and also won the Tidal Handicap (gr. IIT). He placed in such grade I turf fixtures as the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Arlington Million, the Sword Dancer Handicap, and the Turf Classic Handicap. Trained throughout his career by Roger Attfield, he exited racing with 13 wins from 23 starts and earnings of $2,863,540.

With Approval, who entered stud at Live Oak Stud near Ocala, Fla., is represented by 50 stakes winners and the earners of $45 million. He got off a fine start, with his first crop including 1994 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Talkin Man. Later crops included such graded winners as Silverfoot and T. H. Approval and Italian topweight Sajana. With Approval’s stakes winners as a broodmare sire are led by 2006 Eclipse Award winner and NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner Miesque’s Approval.

With Approval’s four stakes-winning half-siblings include 1997 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Touch Gold  .