Multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter Englishman has been retired from racing following a routine end-of-season veterinary examination that revealed a flake in both front ankles, sports.yahoo.com reported.
The colt will stand at Lane’s End Farm for the 2027 breeding season with a stud fee set at $50,000, according to an announcement made Monday afternoon.
Campaigned by Lee and Susan Searing’s C R K Stables LLC, the son of Maxfield out of the Speightstown mare In It for the Gold retires with a record of four wins, two seconds, and $1,134,500 in earnings from six career starts. Bred in Kentucky by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, he sold for $400,000 at the Keeneland 2024 September Yearling Sale.
Englishman began his career in September 2025 with a 7 1/4-length victory at Churchill Downs, earning “TDN Rising Star” honors, as reported by thoroughbreddailynews.com. Following a layoff, he returned in March to win a first-level allowance race at Fair Grounds by 7 1/2 lengths.
After finishing second behind Crude Velocity in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs, Englishman rattled off consecutive victories in Saratoga’s premier sprints. He captured the Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths in 1:20.40, a performance that equaled a track record set in 1978 and earned a 115 Beyer Speed Figure.
He followed that effort by winning the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths, earning a 117 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest mark for a 3-year-old in 2026, according to drf.com.
In his final career start on October 31, Englishman was sent off as the 4-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. He held a three-length lead in mid-stretch before being caught by T O Elvis, settling for a valiant second.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux praised the colt’s rare physical ability following his retirement announcement. “Englishman is the fastest horse I’ve ever worked with,” DeVaux said in a press release carried by drf.com. “When he gets into full stride, he is something to behold. I had an inkling of it when he first started training, but when he broke his maiden I knew the sky was the limit.”
Lane’s End President Bill Farish emphasized the physical traits and pedigree that make the horse attractive to breeders. “There is no doubt about Englishman’s speed, which he displayed every time he stepped on the track,” Farish said in the farm’s announcement.
Veterinarians successfully removed the bone flakes from both of Englishman’s ankles during post-season medical checks. Lane’s End announced that the stallion is anticipated to be available for public inspection beginning the first week of December.
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