Radiant Ring, a Canadian Broodmare of the Year, was euthanized May 3 at age 23 at because of complications from old age. She had resided at Helen Alexander’s Middlebrook Farm near Lexington. Her last foal, an unnamed Stephen Got Even yearling filly, was bred by Alexander and Double K.
An Ontario-bred, Radiant Ring (Halo—Gleaming Stone, by Gleaming) raced as a homebred for Ernie Samuel’s Sam-Son Farm, winning or placing in 20 stakes in Canada and the United States. Racing on dirt and turf, she achieved her greatest success on grass, winning such stakes as the Matchmaker Stakes (gr. IIT) and consecutive runnings of the Woodbine Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap. Trained by Jim Day she was retired with 11 wins from 33 starts and earnings of $775,478.
Radiant Ring was voted 2003 Broodmare of the Year the year her daughter Seeking the Ring (by Seeking the Gold) won the Labatt Bison City Stakes and the Northernette Stakes and ran second in the Labatt Woodbine Oaks. Three years earlier Seeking the Ring’s full sister Catch the Ring had earned a Sovereign Award as best 3-year-old filly. Both fillies raced as Sam-Son homebreds. As a broodmare, Catch the Ring produced Catch the Thrill (by A.P. Indy), a Sam-Son homebred who was named Canada’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2006.
Sam-Son sold Radiant Ring in foal to Seeking the Gold at the 2003 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Consigned by Anderson Farms, agent, Radiant Ring was bought by Jon Kelly for $1.1 million. The resulting foal, Diamond Fever, a gelding, became a stakes winner for Jon and Sarah Kelly and Alexander.
During her career Radiant Ring produced a dozen foals, including stakes-placed runners Earth Shadow and Lucky Old Sun.