Hansen Retired
The tumultuous racing career of Hansen is over. The flashy gray colt, who burst on to the racing scene with a win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in only his third lifetime start after winning his first two races at Turfway Park by more than 25 lengths combined, has been retired. The announcement was made by owner and breeder, Dr. Kendall Hansen and is the result of a tendon injury that kept him from an expected date in this year’s Travers.
Hansen took the racing world by storm last year when his perfect record in three races including an exciting victory over Union Rags in the Breeders’ Cup carried him to an Eclipse Award as 2011’s Champion Juvenile. This year would prove to be less successful, but with the help of his less than shy owner, he remained a horse that was constantly talked about.
His undefeated streak ended this year in his seasonal debut with a second in the G3 Holy Bull to Algorithms at Gulfstream Park. Hansen fans were given renewed hope for him as a Kentucky Derby contender with a strong win in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in his next start, but a return to Kentucky did not prove kind to the son of Tapit. First he was swept past by Dullahan in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes, before tiring to finish ninth in the 2012 Kentucky Derby.
A summer campaign was kicked off the right way, as Hansen won the Grade 3 Iowa Derby by 10 lengths, but then met with disappointment at Mountaineer Park. In what would turn out to be his final career start, Hansen checked in fourth as a big favorite in the Grade 2 West Virginia. To the surprise of many Dr. Hansen still pointed his star for the Grade 1 Travers, and another shot at the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles, but the race was not to be, due to the tendon injury.
Hansen retires from his racing career with five wins in nine lifetime starts, earnings of $1,810,805, and leaves behind thousands of miniature Hansen squishy toys courtesy of Dr. Hansen. The horse will be missed ... I'll leave it up to you decide on the antics of his owner.