Cigar's Sire, Palace Music, Pensioned in Australia

Palace Music, sire of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, has been pensioned from stud duties at the age of 24 at Rangal Park Stud in Victoria, Australia, according to the Racing Post.

Palace Music, a Kentucky-bred Northern Dancer grandson, topped North America's sires list by progeny earnings the year Cigar captured all of 10 of his races in 1995. Cigar, whose win streak stretched to 16, won the 1995 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) and was Horse of the Year in 1995-96. Cigar remains North America's all-time leading earner, with $9,999,815.

Palace Music, who shuttled from the U.S. to New Zealand in the early years of his stallion career, stood his last season in the U.S. in 1991, then was sent to Australia. In addition to Cigar, his 33 stakes winners include Australian champion Naturalism, plus Palace Line, a champion in South Africa and Singapore.

Bred by Mereworth Farm, Palace Music (The Minstrel--Come My Prince, by Prince John) was both a group I and grade I winner. He won the 1984 Dubai Champion Stakes (Eng-I) for Nelson Bunker Hunt and the 1986 John Henry Handicap (gr. IT) for Hunt and Allen Paulson while trained by Charlie Whittingham. A group winner in France as well, he retired with seven wins from 21 starts and earnings of $918,700. He entered stud at Paulson's Brookside Farm near Versailles, Ky.