Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty dies at age 16

Plum Pretty, who won the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in 2011, died at age 16.

She had a 12: 5-2-3 career record and earned nearly $1.7 million. Raced by John Fort’s Peachtree Stable, Plum Pretty began her career with a victory in her 2-year-old debut in 2010. At age 3, she placed in the Santa Ynez (G2) and Las Virgenes (G1) stakes before dominating the Sunland Park Oaks by 25 lengths. Building off that performance, she captured the Kentucky Oaks.

Additionally, Plum Pretty won the 2012 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) and the 2011 Cotillion (G2). She also finished in the money in the Hollywood Oaks (G2), Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and La Troienne (G2) under trainer Bob Baffert.

Bred in Kentucky by Silent Indy Stables & DDS Stables, Plum Pretty was a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro out of the A.P. Indy mare Liszy. She was purchased by John Fort at the 2010 OBS March sale. She went through the ring again in the 2012 Keeneland November sale, where she sold for $4.2 million to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm as a broodmare prospect from the consignment of Taylor Made.

As a broodmare, she initially lived at Wayne and Cathy Sweezey’s Timber Town Farm and then at Antony Beck’s Gainesway Farm. Her lone winner so far is Pretty at War, a 9-year-old daughter of War Front, who won twice at Arlington Park in 2019 and is now a broodmare in Japan.

“She was a pleasure to be around and always a great mom.” Pope remembered. “We are blessed to have several fillies out of her still to race and one that has already produced a foal. The colts have gone on to secondary careers in the show world and have her awesome personality.”