Volatile and Ricardo Santana Jr. winning the Alfred G. Vanderbilt
Three Chimneys Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbreds announced today that Grade 1 winner and stakes record setter Volatile, winner last time out in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap against a field comprised of all Grade 1 winners at Saratoga, has been retired due to a hairline fracture of his right front cannon bone. He will take up stud duty at Three Chimneys for the 2021 breeding season.
By Violence (Medaglia d’Oro), who ranks first in 2020 by Grade 1 winners, Volatile was his sire’s most expensive yearling sold at public auction when hammered down for $850,000 at Keeneland September in 2017.
The ultra-talented and stunningly-gorgeous gray, was the model of consistency, compiling a record of five wins and a second from six starts. Undefeated this year, he rose to the top of the sprint division with dominant victories culminating in a Grade 1 win in the Vanderbilt where he clocked a final quarter :22.94, the fastest in the race’s history.
His two starts prior to that saw a combined margin of victory of nearly 16 lengths, including a stakes record and near-track record performance in the listed Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs which earned him the highest Beyer Speed Figure of the year, a 112. His final time of 1:07.57 while being throttled down, was just .02 seconds off the track record, running the final eighth mile in :11 and change.
Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, a winner of over 9,000 races, said of Volatile, “He reminds me very much of Mitole in his championship season. Volatile is as fast as any horse I have ever trained. His brilliant performances this year would have made him the likely favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and a tough horse to beat. I trained his mother and his grandmother, the incredible Lady Tak who won multiple Grade 1 races for us. You will not find a better looking individual than Volatile, nor one with as much speed and raw talent.”
“Volatile is a beautiful horse that breeders will like when they see him. He exudes class and is a great physical. He was brilliant and that is what can make a stallion special,” said farm owner Gonçalo Torrealba, adding, “Three Chimneys will proudly support him with plenty of quality mares, I can guarantee that.”
A stud fee has not yet been announced. The farm will send a release informing breeders as to when he will be available for inspection.
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