Calif. Farm Owner Injured in Stallion Attack

Ellen Lee Jackson, owner and manager of Victory Rose Thoroughbreds in Vacaville, Calif., suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and numerous bite wounds to her back when she was attacked by a stallion May 14.

Jackson was taken to nearby Vaca Valley Hospital, where she has been stabilized since the attack. She was expected to be released May 19, according to a farm assistant.

The assistant, Monica Jordan, said that Jackson, a well-known horsewoman among California Thoroughbred owners and breeders, was leading the stallion, Corslew, back to his stall after a breeding session when the 16-year-old stud bumped her hard and knocked her to the ground.

"It was pretty bad," said Jordan, who was not present during the incident but was relating what witnesses told her of it. "He had Ellen pinned to the ground and was stomping on her with his knees and biting her in the back."

After several moments, she said Cindy McClinn, a resident veterinarian technician, was able to distract Corslew by swinging a stud chain at him and breeding assistant Jose Rubalcava helped restrain the animal by getting control of the lead shank.

"He was really going," Jordan said of Corslew. "He kept pinning his ears and lunging at Jose. He got him a couple of times but nothing serious."

Corslew, a son of Seattle Slew out of the Native Royalty mare Corsage, was euthanized May 17.

He entered stud in 1997 and previously stood at Rancho San Miguel for a group of partners who made the decision to euthanize the stallion after learning of the attack. Corslew was in his first season at Victory Rose, a 67-acre training and breeding facility west of Sacramento that Jackson has owned for 16 years.

Working with the close-by University of California at Davis, Jackson has established a niche in California breeding thanks to her success with sub-fertile stallions and problem mares.

Jordan said Corslew was known to be dangerous.

"This one came with a warning," she said. "But he'd been okay here. And Ellen has handled these guys for so long, it was a shock. But you never know what can happen."

A half-brother to $1.1 million winner Top Corsage, Corslew sired six crops through November 2005, producing 77 starters from 127 foals of racing age, including 52 winners. Total earnings topped $2.6 million. He produced four stakes winners, including Lethal Grande ($262,068). Racing through his 6-year-old season in California, Corslew won eight of 31 starts, including three stakes, and earned $246,155.