Declan's Moon (foaled 2002 in

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) is a retired

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Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse. He was the leading American two-year-old of 2004, a year in which he was undefeated. His subsequent career was restricted by injuries.

Background

Foaled in Maryland, Declan's Moon was from the second crop of stallion

Malibu Moon Malibu Moon (February 23, 1997 – May 18, 2021) was a Thoroughbred stallion bred in Kentucky. Retired young to stud following a racing injury as a two-year-old, Malibu Moon thereafter sired multiple grade I stakes winners, two Eclipse Award win ...

, whose second crop of foals also included eventual Gr.I winner Malibu Mint. His dam, Vee Vee Star, was graded stakes placed during her career, finishing second in the 1999

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a ...

. A "tall, rangy" gelding, Declan's Moon was bred by Brice Ridgely who named him after his grandson. Jay Em Ess Stable purchased Declan's Moon for $125,000 at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic September yearling sale. Declan's Moon was conditioned for racing by

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Racing career

Declan's Moon won his debut as a two-year-old on July 31, 2004, at California's

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundi ...

. He followed this with wins in the Grade II

Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is a seven-furlong American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade I event since 2007, the race is open to two-year-old horses and offers a purse of $300,000. In 1971, it was ...

and the Grade III

Hollywood Prevue Stakes The Bob Hope Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in November at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event currently carries a pu ...

. The colt ended the season with a win in the Grade I

Hollywood Futurity The Los Alamitos Futurity is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds run over a distance distance of one and one sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt held annually in early December at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, ...

. His undefeated season resulted in Declan's Moon being voted the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

as the American Champion Two-Year-Old of 2004. Declan's Moon began his three-year-old season with a win in the March 5, 2005,

Santa Catalina Stakes The Robert B. Lewis Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses at the distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif ...

and was the early favorite for the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

until a knee injury sidelined him for several months. Back in training in the fall, Declan's Moon sustained a fracture at the top of his

cannon bone Good conformation in the limbs leads to improved movement and decreased likelihood of injuries. Large differences in bone structure and size can be found in horses used for different activities, but correct conformation remains relatively simil ...

that kept him out of racing until July 2006, when he returned to finish a solid second in a non-stakes event at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...

. However, the colt was beaten again in his ensuing four starts, finishing last in three of them. He did not win another race until July 2007, when he captured a six-furlong minor event at Hollywood Park. This was his last win, and he was retired with a record of one win in his final thirteen starts.

Retirement

Declan's Moon was retired to Merryland Farm in

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, w ...

. In late 2012, Declan's Moon was one of four retired Thoroughbred race horses to be selected for the Retired Racehorse Training Project's "100 Day Challenge" designed to demonstrate the versatility of Thoroughbreds by introducing them to new equestrian disciplines, including dressage, eventing, equitation, show jumping, and foxhunting. At the end of the challenge, in March 2013, Declan's Moon, the 2004 Eclipse Award-winning, undefeated two-year-old by Malibu Moon, was voted in a landslide the horse best suited for dressage. He represented Country Life Farm and is owned by Samantha Siegel of Jay Em Ess Racing. "Declan's Moon's incredible movement shatters the myth that the racing industry no longer produces horses suited for sport at the top levels," said RRTP founder and president Steuart Pittman. "He was not only the fastest horse of his crop, but is also exactly what sport horse breeders are trying to produce for the show ring."

References

{{reflist 2002 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 2-i Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners