Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Trinniberg dies in Uruguay

Eclipse Award winner Trinniberg, whose division championship was punctuated by his 2012 Breeders’ Cup Sprint victory, died this week at a stud farm in Uruguay.

“It is with the deepest sadness we regret to report that (Monday), Trinniberg passed away,” Haras San Miguel Queguay said on its social-media pages. “The farm’s leading stallion left us at age 16 due to natural causes.”

The Parbhoo family owned and trained Trinniberg through a season that included his 17th-place finish in the 2012 Kentucky Derby. By then it was clear he was a sprinter, which was validated at Santa Anita when Willie Martínez rode the Kentucky-bred son of Teuflesberg to a 13-1 upset in the Breeders’ Cup. It was the last of Trinniberg’s five wins, four of them in graded sprints.

After going 5: 0-1-0 in 2013, Trinniberg was retired to Rockridge Stud in Hudson, N.Y. Bought as a 2-year-old for $21,000, Trinniberg earned $1,553,086 for the Parbhoos from a career record of 18: 5-5-0.

Trinniberg was shuttled between upstate New York and Brazil early in his stallion career and later to and from Uruguay. That was where he was bought by a group of breeders in 2019. His peak season was 2020-21, when he was named Uruguay’s top stallion, and champion 2-year-old filly Nopaya Naa was his most productive foal.

“This news hits us hard at this time of the year before the start of a new breeding season after a brilliant (2024-25),” Haras San Miguel Queguay said in its social-media notice and its tribute to Trinniberg. “The only thing we can do now is give thanks for the privilege of watching you fly the San Miguel flag high. You made it clear you were a true champion both on the track and as a stallion. Your noble star will continue to shine wherever you are.”