Aurora, Dam of Arch, Dies at Age 23

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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

Aurora with her 2005 Empire Maker filly, future grade I winner Acoma.

Aurora, a stakes-winning daughter of Danzig whose four stakes winners include successful stallion Arch  , died March 3 after producing a filly by Empire Maker.

The 23-year-old mare was in good condition after an uneventful delivery at Middlebrook Farm near Lexington and was turned out in a paddock with her foal following a post-foaling examination, according to a release from the farm. But she died a few hours later due to a suspected hemorrhage of the uterine artery, the release said. She will be buried at Middlebrook Farm.

Produced from 1983 champion 2-year-old filly and successful broodmare Althea, Aurora was bred and raced by the partnership of Helen Groves, Helen Alexander, and David Aykroyd, Aurora won seven of 15 starts, including the Aqueduct Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap, and earned $285,286.

The first foal produced from Aurora was Arch, a son of Kris S. whose five wins from seven career starts included the Super Derby (gr. I) and Fayette Stakes (gr. III) in 1998. Arch, who stands at Claiborne Farm, is the sire of 2010 champion older male and Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Blame  .

Aurora produced 11 other foals including millionaire and 2010 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (gr. I) winner Acoma, United Arab Emirates Horse of the Year Festival of Light, and multiple stakes winner Alisios. In addition to her 2011 Empire Maker filly, Aurora is the dam of Arania, a 2-year-old daughter of Dynaformer who has not started.

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