'He deserved the dignity of leaving us while still having that glint in his eye' - Breeders' Cup Classic regular Perfect Drift dies aged 25

Perfect Drift, the popular gelding who won or placed in 32 of 50 starts from 2001-08 and earned more than $4.7 million, was euthanised on Thursday due to complications from a years-old paddock injury, according to Dr Bryan Reed of Stonecrest Farm. He was 25.

The son of Dynaformer was as durable as he was talented, hitting the board in 21 Graded races for Stonecrest Farm, including a third-place finish in the 2002 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Most of those starts came for trainer Murray Johnson before he joined the California stable of Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella late in his racing career.

For Johnson, he won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap in 2003, the 2002 Spiral Stakes, the 2003 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap and two runnings of the Washington Park Handicap in 2003 and 2005. Often following a similar racing schedule from year to year, Perfect Drift "kept showing up," said Reed. Remarkably, he contested five consecutive Breeders' Cup Classics. 

Hall of Famers Pat Day and Eddie Delahoussaye were among the jockeys who rode him.  

He made his final start in September 2008, finishing third in the Windy Sands Handicap at Del Mar. Later, he greeted visitors at the Kentucky Derby Museum, spent time as a stable pony and enjoyed years of pasture life at Stonecrest Farm outside of Kansas City. Though far from a racing centre in Missouri, he continued to draw visitors to see him long after his racing retirement.

Reed, 60, a small animal veterinarian who has headed Stonecrest Farm since the deaths of his parents Mary and Dr William Reed, marvelled at the journey on which Perfect Trip took his family. 

His best finish from the five consecutive editions of the Breeders' Cup Classic he contested was a third in the 2005 renewal. Later, Perfect Drift benefited from the tutelage of Monnie Goetz, the Kentucky horseperson who gained fame for riding the 2,100-pound pony Harley. 

"I have a photo of [Perfect Drift] taking California Chrome to post," said Bryan.

He added that Perfect Drift knew racing so well he would prick his ears when his cell phone rang playing 'The Call to the Post'.

Following his life as a pony, Perfect Drift became a pasture mate with Proven Cure, an 89-race veteran who won a stakes race as a 12-year-old in 2006 for Stonecrest Farm. 

Reed said he feared Perfect Drift might not recover from a 2020 paddock injury to a right hock, but the aging gelding was resilient. Complications from that injury recently reappeared.

"We knew there would come a time when those issues would progress to the point of a difficult decision needing to be made," Reed wrote in a message announcing Perfect Drift's death. "He deserved the dignity of leaving us while still having that glint in his eye."

Before Perfect Drift was euthanised, "I walked him out the west end of the barn and onto the east turn of the half-mile oval where he learned how to first change leads,” added Reed. “Told him it was okay to prick his ears now. It's the last sixteenth, you're well in front, and in hand."

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