By Bill Finley
Grindstone, the winner of the 1996 GI Kentucky Derby, passed away at age 29. The news was reported by Oakhurst Equine of Oregon, which acquired the stallion in 2009.
“RIP Champ,” Oakhurst Equine posted on its Facebook page. “Thank you for providing us with the thrill of a lifetime. You changed our lives when you joined us and will always be missed.”
Grindstone was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, a status he enjoyed for just a few days. At age 31, 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin died Mar. 8. Silver Charm, the 1997 Derby winner, now holds that distinction. He resides at Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, Ky.
A son of Unbridled who was trained by Wayne Lukas and owned by William T. Young, Grindstone raced just twice as a 2-year-old, winning a June 1, 1995 maiden at Belmont by five lengths. After finishing second in his 3-year-old debut in an allowance race at Santa Anita, he won the GIII Louisiana Derby and then finished second in the GII Arkansas Derby.
Sent off at 5-1 in the Kentucky Derby and ridden by Jerry Bailey, he closed relentlessly in the stretch to nip Cavonnier by a nose at the wire. The photo was so close that Lukas wasn't sure that he had won the race.
“When we hit the wire we erupted,” Lukas said. “Then it hit me right between the eyes–hell, maybe we didn't win it.”
A chip was found in Grindstone's knee after the race and he never ran again. He became the first Derby winner since Bubbling Over in 1926 to be retired after winning the Derby.
“The chip was described to me as being half as big as the end of your little finger,” Young said. “The injury isn't life-threatening, but if he wasn't going to come back to his present form, I didn't want to take the chance of racing him anymore. I said that after we lost Grand Canyon that I wouldn't go through that again.”
Grindstone began his stud career at Young's Overbrook Farm in Kentucky. His most notable offspring was Birdstone, the winner of the 2003 GI Champagne S, the 2004 GI Belmont S. and the 2004 GI Travers S. He also produced Ekolu Place, who made $1,326,760 racing in Japan.
But Grindstone was not particularly successful at stud. When Young died his heirs closed the farm and dispersed the stallions. Not exactly in high demand, Grindstone was acquired by Jack Root, who owns Oakhurst Thoroughbreds, and sent to Oregon. His initial stud fee there was $2,500 and he became the first Derby winner to stand in the Pacific Northwest.
“To have Grindstone, a Kentucky Derby winner, is a dream come true,” Root said in 2014. “I just never thought it would happen to me. It's a thrill of a lifetime.”
The move to Oregon gave him a new lease on life and he was among the top three leading stallions in that state every year from 2009 through 2020.
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