Lane's End Stallion Fit to Fight Pensioned

Fit to Fight, one of the original stallions at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky., has been pensioned from stallion duty. The 26-year-old son of Chieftain will reside at the Grayson family's Blue Ridge Farm in Virginia, where he will join former Lane's End pensioned stallions Lord Avie and Miner's Mark.

"He's just old, but looks good for a stallion his age, and is in good health," said Farish's son, Bill. "He wasn't infertile. He covered 22 mares and got 15 in foal. Blue Ridge is a great place for retired horses."

Fit to Fight arrived at Lane's End for the 1985 breeding season after racing for Paul Mellon. Bred by Bob Courtney and Robert Congleton, Fit to Fight won the 1984 New York Handicap Triple--the Metropolitan (gr. I), Suburban (gr. I), and Brooklyn (gr. I) Handicaps--and earned a career total of $1,042,075. He was one of six stakes winners from his dam, the One Count mare Hasty Queen II, who was voted 1984 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.

Fit to Fight sired a millionaire in Fit for a Queen and a Suburban winner in Key Contender. His other graded stakes winners include additional grade I winner Fit to Scout, plus Scrappy T, who ran second in this year's Preakness Stakes (gr. I). For his career, Fit to Fight has sired 39 stakes winners and the earners of $37 million.