Hall of Famer Lure dies aged 28

Lure - the dual Breeders' Cup Mile winner and US Hall of Famer - died on Wednesday morning due to infirmities of old age. The son of Danzig was 28.

Lure set a track record on his debut on the dirt at Belmont Park, but it was his proficiency on the turf, punctuated by consecutive Breeders' Cup Mile victories, that led to his remarkable legacy.

Bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm and the Gamely Corporation, Lure won his first two starts at three at Aqueduct in 1992, including an exciting dead-heat with Devil His Due in the Grade 2 Gotham Stakes.

Later that year, trainer Shug McGaughey and co-owner Seth Hancock of Claiborne decided to switch Lure to the turf, winning an allowance race at Belmont by an eye-catching ten and a quarter lengths.

Following a second in the Grade 3 Kelso Handicap a month later, Lure made all to win the Breeders' Cup Mile at Gulfstream by three lengths, establishing a new course record in the process.

As a four-year-old in 1993, Lure scored Grade 3 victories in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, Dixie Handicap at Pimlico, Daryl's Joy at Saratoga and Kelso at Belmont Park. He then overcame an outside draw to successfully defend his title in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

"In the second Breeders' Cup Mile, when he drew outside, there were a lot of naysayers who said he couldn't do it from there, but everything fell into place for him," Dell Hancock of Claiborne told the BloodHorse.

"He was just brilliant when he was right and he was certainly a wonderful end to a wonderful chapter in Claiborne history. Now he'll be remembered as being in the Hall of Fame. The Breeders' Cup wins helped get him there, and now he has his place in history.”

Lure, a son of the Alydar mare Endear, retired from racing with a record of 14 wins from 25 starts, earning prize-money of more than $2.5 million.

Retired to stud at Claiborne Farm, Lure sired 119 foals, including three Pattern winners among his six stakes winners. He was pensioned in 2004 due to fertility issues.

In 2013, Lure was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and the US Hall of Fame.

His most successful offspring were Irish champion and French Group 1 winner Orpen from his first crop and Grade 1 winner England's Legend from his second. England's Legend won the 2001 Beverly D Stakes.

Lure will be buried at his birthplace, Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.

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