Kaleem Shah's 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild–Alittlebitearly, by Thunder Gulch) has been officially retired and will take up stud duties next season at John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farms.
“Bayern was a super talented horse,” said trainer Bob Baffert. “He had tremendous speed and carried that speed to win the Breeders' Cup Classic over a very good field and won the [GII] Woody Stephens wrapped up in near track-record time. He is a great-looking horse and a rarity in that he could beat the best sprinters and carry his speed a mile and a quarter. Not many horses can do that. On his day he was a super brilliant horse. Something was bugging him this year that we could never figure out even though he trained great. It's time to retire the horse and be thankful of all he has accomplished.”
Bayern romped home by 7 1/2 lengths in the Woody Stephens S. last year, completing the seven furlongs in 1:20.75. He also dominated the GI Haskell Invitational and GII Pennsylvania Derby, both over nine furlongs, before ending his campaign with a dramatic victory in the 1 1/4-mile Classic.
In 2015, he was third in the GII San Diego H., as well as Saturday's GI Awesome Again S.
Bayern was a $320,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile of 2013.
“Bayern is a great type, medium sized, beautifully balanced and very powerful,” said Donato Lanni, who selected the colt out at the Midlantic sale. “His work was fantastic at the Maryland sale and I told Bob we had to buy him. He was our pick of the sale and everyone loved the horse. He cost $320,000, but we were determined to buy him whatever it took.”
Bayern joins a Hill 'n' Dale stallion roster which recently added top sire Curlin to its line-up.
“I love the brilliance, the physical horse and the fact that he hails from the Courtly Dee pedigree,” Sikura said of his roster's newest addition. “His race in the Woody Stephens was breathtaking. I was there and was awed by how fast and easy he won in near track-record time. I love deep reproducing pedigrees and I don't think there is a more prolific family in the stud book than Courtly Dee and her daughters. Bayern has all the parts and we can't wait to receive him here at the farm.”
Bayern, whose third dam is the blue hen mare Courtly Dee, is also from the family of group winner Bertolini and graded stakes winners Assateauge, Kindergarten Kid and Rainha da Bateria. His half-brother by Scat Daddy sold for a sale-topping $1.4 million at this year's Fasig-Tipton Florida sale.
On the board in 10 of 15 starts, Bayern retires with six wins and earnings of $4,454,930.
“Bayern gave me and my family great joy, I am looking forward to breeding my best mares to him and can't wait to see his foals,” Shah said. “He gave me the
ultimate thrill winning the Breeders' Cup Classic and I hope to win important races with his progeny. I keep my mares at Hill 'n' Dale, so I will get to visit him regularly.”
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