Nine-year-old Key Lory, who was unbeaten in four career turf starts, left Monmouth Park this week headed for retirement. Key Lory was shipped by van to his new home, owner Mac Fehsenfeld's farm in Zionsville, Indiana, where he will have a private stall and a field all to himself. He will become the personal riding horse of Fehsenfeld's daughter Debby. The chestnut horse made his 21st and final start on May 25, 2002, when he won the Red Bank Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Monmouth. That capped a perfect career on the grass, during which Key Lory made four starts and won four stakes – the Red Bank and Oceanport (gr. IIIT) at Monmouth, the Sussex at Delaware, and the Da Hoss at Pimlico. Those were the final four starts of his career.He also won the 1 1/16-mile Creme Fraiche at Meadowlands in 1999, when he set a track record of 1:53.88. He was stakes placed in three other races, all at Meadowlands. Trainer Dennis Manning was pointing Key Lory for the United Nations Handicap (gr. IT) after last year's Red Bank, but a stone bruise knocked him out of the race and nagging infirmities kept the son of Key to the Mint - Halory, by Halo, on the sidelines. Elmendorf Farm, Inc., in Kentucky bred Key Lory, who retires with a record of 10 wins, two seconds and a third and earnings of $418,935.Key Lory spent the winter with Manning in Florida, and was scheduled to be retired, but was doing so well that the trainer decided to bring him back to Monmouth this spring and put him in training. Key Lory was nominated to this year's Red Bank 'Cap, but didn't make it to the entries. "He was acting like a 3-year-old early in the spring," Manning said, "and Mr. Fehsenfeld decided to give him a chance to run again this year. But the weather was bad, and I wasn't able to train him like I wanted.
"His arthritic ankle started giving him problems again, and it was evident that he was never going to be as good as he was last year. Mr. Fehsenfeld didn't want to run him if he couldn't compete at the same top level. He's been good to us, and we didn't want to diminish his accomplishments."
