Sanabelle Island: A Great Pacing Mare Retires

She was unquestionably one of the most durable and talented mares ever. Now, at age eight, her sparkling racing career is complete and she will concentrate on motherhood. Sanabelle Island, a career winner of $1,614,676, has been retired by Steve Warrington and Lloyd Arnold. "She had a cyst removed from her throat recently, but she bounced back fine. The fact that she is 90 days in foal to Artsplace was the deciding factor. Lloyd and I always wanted her to get in foal, and felt now was the time. She's done enough. There's nothing to prove. She certainly doesn't owe us anything," Warrington said. Sanabelle Island is fourth on the all-time pacing female earnings list behind just Eternal Camnation ($1,975,411), Shady Daisy ($1,807,751) and Miss Easy ($1,777,656). She won 57 of her 110 career starts, and 90 times was in the money.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing was the fact that she took her lifetime mark in her 109th career try-a 1:50.4 upset at Mohawk on May 4, 2002 in her next to last ever start! Steve Warrington continued, "It's funny because she trained in 2:00 here at the farm, and she could really go on racing. But we thought this was the best way to go."

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