By Steve Sherack
ARCADIA, CA — Practical Move (Practical Joke–Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex), winner of this spring's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and 3-1 second choice for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, died after suffering an apparent cardiac event following a routine gallop early Tuesday morning at Santa Anita. His rider was uninjured.
Practical Move collapsed suddenly while jogging back along the outer rail in the stretch and was immediately tended to by the onsite veterinary team as well as his trainer Tim Yakteen.
A statement from Breeders' Cup read, “Breeders' Cup is saddened to report the loss of Practical Move after what is suspected to be a cardiac event while returning from his gallop this morning at Santa Anita Park. His rider was uninjured, and the horse was immediately tended to by veterinarians from the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), 1/ST Racing, and Breeders' Cup.”
“Heartbroken,” Yakteen texted.
Forced to miss the GI Kentucky Derby after developing a slight fever just two days out, Practical Move returned from a six-month layoff in style with a dominating performance against older horses at Santa Anita Oct. 6.
A $230,000 OBS April purchase (:10 1/5 breezer) by Leslie and Pierre Amestoy and Roger Beasley out of the Eisaman Equine consignment, Practical Move posted a career record of 8-5-1-2 and earnings of $923,200. In addition to his game nose victory in the Santa Anita Derby, his resume also included wins in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity and GII San Felipe S.
Bred in Kentucky by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown and Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners, Practical Move previously RNA'd for $90,000 as a KEESEP yearling. From the second crop of promising young sire Practical Joke, Practical Move was produced by the grassy, multiple stakes-placed, New York-bred Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex), who brought $500,000 from Chester and Mary Broman in foal to Upstart earlier this year at Keeneland January.
Update from Will Farmer on Practical Move pic.twitter.com/QdT1YCTxJF
— TVG (@TVG) October 31, 2023
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
