Bold Chieftain, a California champion and grade II winner, has been retired from racing for stallion duty. He retires with 17 wins and 11 placings from 38 starts and earnings of $1,542,151. He ranks 17th on the list of Cal-bred earners.
“We're letting him down now,” said trainer William J. Morey Jr., who also is a co-breeder/owner in the 7-year-old son of Chief Seattle.
Morey said Bold Chieftain would be shipped to Applebite Farms near Stockton, Calif., to await final plans for a stud career. “They have shown a lot of interest in him, so we're sending him there now,” he said. “There has been other interest shown but a final decision hasn't been made. He's been a wonderful horse for us. He's never left California.”
Morey's partners in Bold Chieftain are Duane Hall, Langbein Trust, and Ken Robinson.
Bold Chieftain was enjoying his best year. He won the San Francisco Mile Stakes (gr. IIT) and the Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes and his earnings of $419,740 were more than he earned in any other year. In his last race, the July 25 California Dreamin' Handicap, Bold Chieftain finished last of six.
Bold Chieftain, out of the stakes-placed Seattle Dancer mare Hooked On Music, was a California grass champion in 2008
“He always did his job, and we hope he enjoys phase two of his life,” Morey said. “We're not interested in standing him ourselves, but we’d like to have a couple of breeding rights for our own mares.”