Hall of Famer PRINCESS ROONEY (Verbatim), who was humanely euthanized on
October 7 at the age of 28, has earned a resting place at the Kentucky Horse
Park, near the graves of great race mares Allez France and Sefa’s Beauty.
Specific burial plans for Princess Rooney have not been finalized.
John Nicholson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park, said it was a
very easy decision.
“Princess Rooney was a Kentucky-bred mare who made a significant contribution
to the sport,” Nicholson said. “She will be remembered by racing fans for her
big talent, and by the people who loved her for her kind heart. We are honored
to offer Princess Rooney a final resting place where the public will be able to
pause and remember a fine mare who always gave her best.”
Other legendary Thoroughbreds buried at the Kentucky Horse Park include Man
o’ War, War Admiral, Forego, Bold Forbes and John Henry.
Princess Rooney’s most stunning triumph came in the inaugural running of the
Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Hollywood Park in 1984. The gray romped in grand
style, by seven lengths, a full second faster than that year’s Breeders’ Cup
Classic (G1) winner, Wild Again. As a result, she earned a permanent place on
the list of Thoroughbred racing’s great mares, and went on to become the first
Breeders’ Cup winner to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall
of Fame.
Princess Rooney was bred by Dr. Ben Roach and Tom Roach at their Parrish Hill
Farm in Midway, Kentucky, which sold her as a yearling. She won 17 of 21 starts,
including five Grade 1 races, and finished out of the money only once, earning
$1,343,339 and the Eclipse Award for champion older mare for owner Paula Tucker
under the tutelage of trainer Neil Drysdale. In the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, she
defeated the brilliant champion three-year-old filly Life’s Magic, who won the
Distaff and another Eclipse Award the following year.
When she retired from the track Princess Rooney was sold for $5.5 million,
the third-highest price ever paid for a broodmare at that time.
Matt Howard, farm manager at Gentry Farm, where Princess Rooney spent the
last several years of her life reminisced about her.
“Princess Rooney was not only an extraordinary athlete, but something truly
special to many people,” Howard said. “To her fans she was an amazing runner, a
real ham in front of the camera, and an instant friend. The horsemen who worked
with her found her to be very patient, gentle, and easygoing, yet found she
still had that air of royalty about her. But to the family she made here at
Gentry Farm, she was all of that and more.
“She made herself her own little niche by being ‘Grandma’ to the weanling and
yearling fillies, leading by example on how to behave, and enforcing her rules
if necessary,” Howard continued. “She was a tremendous teacher to the fillies
and people alike. She taught patience frequently by coming to the gate at her
own pace. She was fiercely loyal and showed us that no matter what someone has
done to wrong you, you should forgive them. Most of all she taught us love. She
had not had a baby in four years, yet each year welcomed a new set of babies to
teach, fuss over, and love. We at Gentry Farm will truly miss this one-of-a-kind
mare, but will remember all the lessons she taught us.”
“This lovely mare was a fighter on the racetrack and a lover in her
retirement,” Nicholson said. “She enjoyed visitors and attention at Gentry
Farms, so we think it is only fitting that she will continue to have visitors
and attention at her gravesite here at the Kentucky Horse Park.”