'It's a profound loss' - death of Kentucky Derby winner turned sire Always Dreaming aged ten

The 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming has died in Oklahoma, according to bloodstock agent Chad Schumer and River Oaks Farms co-owner Francisco Bravo. 

The ten-year-old stallion died from a burst cecum, Schumer said, and Bravo noted the horse had been dealing with a recent bout of colic.

A burst cecum is the rupture of the first part of the large intestine, which causes the contents of the bowel to spill into the abdominal cavity.  A cecal impaction most commonly causes it.

The stallion would have stood next year at River Oaks Farms in Sulphur, Oklahoma, after previously standing at WinStar Farm in Kentucky following his retirement from racing. 

Schumer brokered the transaction that sent Always Dreaming to Oklahoma, where he was to become the first Derby winner to stand in that state. He arrived at River Oaks Farms in September, Bravo said.

"He showed some symptoms of discomfort on Thursday, I believe, and we rushed him to the clinic, and he was doing fine," he said. "I picked him up on Monday, and we brought him back to the farm, and he looked like he was doing very well. And Monday night he started getting colic, and he had come back to the clinic, and things went from bad to worse and he was put down early Tuesday morning."

Oakridge Equine Hospital treated Always Dreaming, Bravo said.

A son of Bodemeister, Always Dreaming won four of 11 starts, highlighted by victories in 2017 in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. 

He went winless in five starts after the Kentucky Derby and retired to stud in 2019. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher trained the $2.4 million earner for much of his career. Owners Brooklyn Boyz Stables, Teresa Viola Racing Stables, Siena Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, MeB Racing Stables, and St Elias Stables raced him.

Always Dreaming was bred by Santa Rosa Partners out of the Grade 1-placed mare In Excess mare Above Perfection, who won seven of ten starts, including the 2002 Grade 3 Las Flores Handicap. 

Always Dreaming was a half-brother to Grade 1 winner and stakes producer Hot Dixie Chick  (Dixie Union) and Grade 2 winner Positive Spirit (Pioneerof The Nile). 

The ninth-leading third-crop sire of this year and the sire of 2023 Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown, Always Dreaming was well received following the announcement of his relocation to Oklahoma. 

River Oaks Farms offered a special fee of $2,500 to his first 40 booked mares for the 2025 breeding season. With River Oaks Farms supporting him with mares, he was expected to breed 50-70 mares, "which is quite a large book for Oklahoma," Schumer said.

WinStar Farm president, CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden said: "It's a profound loss. He was a cool horse. 

"His absence will be felt by everybody who ever dealt with him, including those who worked with him here at WinStar."

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