Japanese Filly Cesario, Won American Oaks, Retired

Cesario, whose victory in the 2005 American Oaks Invitational (gr. IT) was the first in a grade I test for a Japanese-bred runner in the United States, has been retired because of an inflamed ligament in her right front leg. The 4-year-old Sunday Silence granddaughter had not started since winning the $750,000 race last July.

"I checked her condition April 3," said trainer Katsuhiko Sumii. "Unfortunately her inflamed ligament seems to be chronic. It probably will take at least one year to come back.

"I'm very sorry not to see her run again, but I hope she will enjoy her second life and produce good foals at her hometown, Northern Farm."

Bred by Northern Farm, Cesario earned an Oaks invitation following a win in the Yushun Himba (Jpn-I, Japanese Oaks) about six weeks earlier. She made easy work of her 11 rivals in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Park feature in stakes-record time of 1:59.03 . Her four-length margin over runner-up Melhor Ainda could have been triple that if her rider, Yuichi Fukunaga, had wished, according to The Blood-Horse.

Cesario (Special Week--Kirov Premiere, by Sadler's Wells) retired with five wins from six starts and earnings of $2,578,568 for Carrot Farm. Her sole loss had come by a head in the Oka Sho (Jpn-I, Japanese One Thousand Guineas). Breeding plans are undecided.