Sky Jack (foaled April 18, 1996 in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 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 ...

Background

Bred and raced by Rene and Margie Lambert, he was sired by

Jaklin Klugman Jaklin Klugman (1977–1996) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned and bred in California by John Dominguez and actor Jack Klugman. He showed promise as a two-year-old, winning the California Breeders' Champion Stakes. At age three ...

and out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

Sky Captive, a daughter of the 1986

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

winner

Skywalker The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes ...

Racing career

After a successful season in 2000, Sky Jack incurred a knee injury that required multiple surgeries. In addition, he suffered from bouts of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

, all of which kept him out of racing until September 2002. Having recovered from life-threatening illnesses, the

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

enjoyed his most successful season, winning the Grade II

Mervyn Leroy Handicap The Precisionist Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III event open to horses, age three and up, it was contested over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on Cushi ...

and the Grade I

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

. In winning the 2003

Longacres Mile Handicap The Longacres Mile Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race generally held in August at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington. The race is open to horses three years of age and older and is run on dirt over a distance of one mile (eight furlon ...

, Sky Jack set the record for both the fastest time and widest margin of victory. Sky Jack at ''California Thoroughbred Breeders Association'' magazine] (

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)

Retirement

Due to a recurring knee problem, Sky Jack was retired in November 2003 to his owners' farm near

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

. Suffering from malignant melanoma, on June 30, 2016 Sky Jack was humanely euthanized.

References

{{Reflist 1996 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 3-m Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States American Grade 1 Stakes winners