Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Ivan Fallunovalot retired
Ivan Fallunovalot, the $25,000 claim who went on to earn $1 million, has been retired and will be based at the Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Ky., owner Lewis Matthews Jr. said Friday. The popular sprinter is expected to arrive at his new home in September.
Ivan Fallunovalot won eight stakes after Matthews dropped a claim for him during the 2014 meet at Oaklawn Park. He retires with a record of 17 wins from 32 starts, for earnings of $1,010,903. Ivan Fallunovalot is an 8-year-old gelding by Valid Expectations and is the third Texas-bred millionaire in history along with Groovy and Texas Chrome.
“It was a good journey, and it’s time for the next chapter,” Matthews said.
Matthews said Ivan Fallunovalot’s consistent nature and status as a Texas-bred led to the claim, with his stable moving to Lone Star Park after Oaklawn. Tom Howard, who died in March, trained Ivan Fallunovalot for Matthews with the exception of the horse’s last start, which came April 14. Ivan Fallunovalot finished fifth that afternoon in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn. It pushed his earnings past $1 million.
“After the meet at Oaklawn I sent him to Kentucky to have him completely checked over, one end to the other, and they noticed he was developing arthritis in his ankles – the wear and tear of racing,” Matthews said. “After everything he did for us, we decided to retire him.”
Matthews, who has a farm in Arkansas, said Ivan Fallunovalot is currently residing in Kentucky.
“One reason we left him up there is we were working to get him accepted by Old Friends,” said Matthews, noting assistance from trainer Al Stall Jr.
“We thought with his name, his earnings, and his history, it would be a perfect spot, a good retirement spot for Ivan because he’s so friendly.”
Matthews said he got word Thursday that Ivan Fallunovalot had been accepted by Old Friends.
“If that didn’t happen, I was going to bring him to Old Friends Bismarck,” Matthews joked of a nickname a friend long ago had given to his farm in Bismarck, Ark.
Ivan Fallunovalot had a number of memorable moments on the track. Matthews said favorites included his first of two straight wins in the King Cotton at Oaklawn, back in 2015.
“Because that’s on our home turf,” Matthews said.
The owner said another special memory was Ivan Fallunovalot running in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. He was a troubled ninth in the race following a season in which he had earned five tripledigit Beyer Speed Figures, topped by a 107.
“The Breeders’ Cup was quite an experience,” Matthews said. “A $25,000 claim and he takes you to the Breeders’ Cup!”
Other career highlights included Ivan Fallunovalot’s four wins in the David M. Vance Stakes at Remington Park in Oklahoma City and his Grade 3 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Dash victory at Laurel in 2016.
“He ran against X Y Jet and X Y Jet was the prohibitive favorite,” Matthews said. “That probably was his best performance.”
Howard died of cancer the night Ivan Fallunovalot finished third in the Hot Springs Stakes in March at Oaklawn. Ivan Fallunovalot raced one more time – for Howard’s wife, trainer Kathleen Moore Howard.
“With losing Tom, it was an emotional ending,” Matthews said. “The key to that horse was Tom’s patience. This was his favorite horse ever that he trained. We said Ivan had been like something in a movie, or storybook. And a big part of the whole experience was seeing the support he had with the local fans. That made it very special.
“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”
Sphene targets Zia Park Derby
Sphene, the winner of the $70,000 Charles Taylor Derby last month at the Downs at Albuquerque, is being freshened and has a long-range goal of the Zia Park Derby, trainer Miguel Hernandez said Thursday. The $250,000 Zia Derby is a 1 1/16-mile race scheduled for Nov. 21.
Sphene earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 85 for his one-length win in the Charles Taylor, a 1 1/16-mile race run July 21. Earlier this year, Sphene faced older rivals, running second to stablemate Oh So Regal in the $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap in April.
Sphene is a son of Bodemeister and is owned by Judge Lanier Racing.
The Zia Derby will share a program with the $250,000 Zia Park Oaks. The races will be run on a Wednesday.