Fly So Free (March 3, 1988 – September 21, 2003) was an American Thoroughbred Champion

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. A grandson of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

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, he was owned by New York City Broadway theatre producer and music publishing company owner Tommy Valando and his wife Elizabeth. In 1990, Fly So Free capped off a successful two-year-old racing campaign with a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Voted 1990's U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt, he went into the 1991 racing season ranked as a top contender for the U.S. Triple Crown series of races. En route, Fly So Free won the spring 1991

Hutcheson Stakes The Hutcheson Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. An event raced on dirt, it is open to three-year-old horses. Historical notes Inaugurated on March 31, 1954, the Hutcheson ...

the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Florida Derby in which he defeated two other top three-year-olds,

Strike the Gold Strike the Gold (March 21, 1988 – December 13, 2011) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1991 Kentucky Derby. Upon the death of 1987 Derby winner Alysheba in March 2009, Strike the Gold became the oldest living Ke ...

and

Hansel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...

. A few weeks later, in mid-April's Blue Grass Stakes, Fly So Free finished second to Strike the Gold. For the 1991 Kentucky Derby, bettors made Fly So Free the second choice to Hansel but both horses disappointed, Fly So Free finishing fifth and Hansel tenth to winner Strike the Gold. Fly So Free was not entered in the 1991 Preakness Stakes or the 1991 Belmont Stakes as trainer Scotty Schulhofer felt he was unable to run longer races. Instead, he competed in and won the Riva Ridge and the Jim Dandy Stakes. Racing at age four, Fly So Free met with modest success, most notably a second to Strike the Gold in the 1992 Pimlico Special. At age five, near the end of the 1993 racing season, he won the Fall Highweight Handicap at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

, a race in which a horse's ability to carry weight is put to the test. After a 9th-place finish in that year's Breeders' Cup Sprint, Fly So Free was retired to stud duty at

Three Chimneys Farm Three Chimneys Farm is an American Thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Midway, Kentucky, established in 1972 by Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Clay. Three Chimneys has been home to a number of famous horses including U.S. Triple Crown champion Se ...

Midway, Kentucky Midway is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, in the United States. Its population was 1,641 at the time of the year 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town sits just off ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life. Fly So Free sired five Group/ Graded stakes race winners, including the 1999 Canadian Female Turf Horse Champion

Free Vacation Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to proc ...

and the 2001 Dubai World Cup winner, Captain Steve. In November 2002, Fly So Free was pensioned as a result of cardiac problems. He died of congestive heart failure on September 21, 2003, at Three Chimneys Farm, where he is buried.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist
Fall Highweight Handicap at the NYRA

Fly So Free's pedigree and racing stats
1988 racehorse births 2003 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 27-a