California pensioned stallion Cutlass Reality, who was one of the stars of California racing as a 6-year-old in 1988, was euthanized in early October because of laminitis and complications from the infirmities of old age. The 25-year-old son of Cutlass stood his entire career at John C. Harris' Harris Farms near Coalinga, Calif.
Cutlass Reality had been a solid rather than spectacular performer the first four years of his racing career when based on the East Coast. He won a restricted stakes at Aqueduct and placed in such added-money events as the Laurel Futurity (gr. I) and Dwyer (gr. I), Peter Pan (gr. I), and Vosburgh (gr. I) Stakes. His owner at the time also ran him in both the Preakness (gr. I) and Belmont (gr. I) Stakes, but he finished unplaced.
All that changed when new owners Howard Crash and Jim Hankoff sent Cutlass Reality to California in May of 1988. Once with new trainer Craig Lewis, he started to shine.
Taking on defending Horse of the Year Ferdinand and the previous year's champion 3-year-old male, Alysheba, in the Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (gr. I), Cutlass Reality won the 1 1/4-mile race by 6 1/2 lengths in the good time of 1:59 2/5. In the Californian Stakes (gr. I), he beat the speedy Gulch, with Ferdinand running fourth.
Cutlass Reality also won that year's Bel Air (gr. II), Goodwood (gr. III), San Diego (gr. III), and Native Diver (gr. III) Handicaps. Supplemented to that year's Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at a cost of $360,000, he finished unplaced to winner Alysheba, who was voted Horse of the Year.
A son of Cutlass, Cutlass Reality raced once in 1989 and ran unplaced. He was retired with 14 wins from 66 starts and earnings of $1,405,660.
As a stallion, Cutlass Reality sired 10 stakes winners and the earners of $10.3 million.
Bred in Florida by Jaime S. Carrion, Cutlass Reality was the sole stakes winner from the In Reality mare Landera. His half-sister, Wanted Again, produced grade I winner Ten Most Wanted.