Darley Sire Quiet American Pensioned

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Photo: Tony Leonard/Darley

Quiet American

Quiet American  , whose champion son Real Quiet won the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), has been pensioned at Sheikh Mohammed's Darley near Lexington. The son of Fappiano out of the winning Dr. Fager mare Demure is 27.

Quiet American, bred in Florida by Tartan Farms Corp., was purchased for $300,000 at the 1987 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale by Darley Stud Management. Lightly raced at 2 and 3, Quiet American excelled at 4 in 1990, winning the NYRA Mile Handicap (gr. I) and the San Diego Handicap (gr. III) and finishing second in the Woodward Handicap (gr. I) and the Charles H. Strub Stakes (gr. I). He entered stud at Sheikh Maktoum's Gainsborough Farm near Versailles, Ky., where he stood until 2006. He was moved to Jonabell at the beginning of 2007 when Darley consolidated its stallion operation at that farm.

"His retirement marks the end of an era," said Darley head of sales Charlie Boden. "He has been a special horse from the beginning and has done it all, siring champions and Derby winners and has emerged as one of the most sought after broodmare sires of his generation. He is as healthy as a 27-year-old can be and is an easy keeper who has earned his time off and certainly will be in good company with the likes of Cherokee Run and Holy Bull."

As a stallion, Quiet American achieved early success, siring 16% stakes winners from foals in his first three crops. His first crop included Hidden Lake, the 1997 champion older female, and his third crop yielded champion Real Quiet, who remains the closest thing to a Triple Crown winner in the past 35 years when beaten a nose in the 1998 Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

Quiet American's other major performers include grade I winners Switch, Seattle Smooth, and Cara Rafaela, plus English and Irish highweight Warrior Queen. Switch, a multiple grade I winner, sold for $4.3 million at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November select mixed sale.

Quiet American, whose stud fee reached as high as $35,000, has sired 56 stakes winners and the earners of more than $57 million.

As a broodmare sire, Quiet American's is represented by such successful runners as champion and leading sire Bernardini   and Horse of the Year Saint Liam.

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