obituary

Kheleyf (Green Desert--Society Lady, by Mr. Prospector) has died at Haras des Faunes. He was 20. The news was first reported by the Jour de Galop. Bred by Darley and a great grandson of bluehen Fanfreluche (Northern Dancer), Kheleyf made his first four starts for the David Loder yard, with a second in the G3 Norfolk S. and a conditions win his best performances. Transferred to Saeed bin Suroor for his 3-year-old year, he won the G3 Jersey S. first out at three and was also third in the G2...

Darius Racing's Group 3 winner Isfahani (Ger) (Isfahan {Ger}--Identity {Ger}, by Manduro {Ger}), who was runner-up in the 2021 G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks), died suddenly on Thursday. An autopsy is pending. Dr. Stefan Oschmann's Racing Manager Holger Faust said in a statement, "Unfortunately we have to announce that Isfahani passed away suddenly and surprisingly today. We requested an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. It's very sad, she was Dr. Oschmann's favorite horse." Bred by Gestut Karlshof, the chestnut filly was purchased by Faust for €36,000...

Christopher Spence,  a former senior steward of The Jockey Club, died on Monday  after a brief illness. An owner-breeder from his Chieveley Manor Stud near Newbury, he was 84.    Born in 1937, Spence became a Jockey Club member in 1986 and served as Chairman of The National Stud from 2008 to 2011. Also Chairman of the Racecourse Holdings Trust, Spence was a merchant banker by trade and one of the founding directors of the British Horseracing Board, among other important roles in the UK racing industry.    A former...

Dr. Lee Cyphers, Oaklawn's longtime Association Veterinarian, passed away at age 66 Sunday, Sept. 5 following complications from a brain aneurysm. He was a fixture at the Oaklawn starting gate and in the paddock spanning three decades. He was a local Hot Springs veterinarian with a highly successful small animal clinic. He is preceded in death by his parents and two brothers Steve and Chuck Cyphers. Survivors include his wife and best friend Kristi; children, Morgan Lee (Summer) Cyphers, Margaret "Meggy" Beatrice (Joseph) Boone, the mother of his children, Viki...

B. Wayne Hughes, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist who resurrected Spendthrift Farm and turned it into one of the leading stallion farms in North America, died Wednesday at his residence on the farm surrounded by his family. He was 87 years old. Born Bradley Wayne Hughes on Sept. 28, 1933, in the small town of Gotebo, OK, he was known by his middle name since childhood. The son of a sharecropper who fled Oklahoma's Dust Bowl and resettled in California shortly after he was born, Hughes grew up poor in...

The fifth-leading rider of all time in wins, David Gall passed away Sunday at the age of 79. The news was confirmed by his former agent, Mark Cooper. Riding primarily at Fairmount Park (now known as Fanduel Sportsbook & Horse Racing) and now-defunct Cahokia Downs, two lower-level Illinois tracks that serve the St. Louis area, Gall rode for 43 years and piled up 7,369 wins, more than Hall of Famers like Chris McCarron, Angel Cordero Jr. and Jorge Velasquez. Yet, because he never ventured to the major tracks, Gall's accomplishments...

Classic winner and leading sire Bernardini (A.P. Indy-Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American) was euthanized July 30 at Darley's Jonabell Farm in Central Kentucky due to complications from laminitis. The 18-year-old stallion, a homebred for Sheikh Mohammed's operation, has stood at Jonabell since he was retired for the 2007 breeding season. "Bernardini was one of a kind," said Michael Banahan, director of farm operations for Godolphin USA. "From the day he was born, he exuded class. He was that crop's best foal, best yearling, and best racehorse. His brilliance was only...

Like tens of thousands of racing fans in the Northeast, I became addicted to Harvey Pack when he began broadcasting his "Pack at the Track" radio program during the 1970s. Anyone who could get away with the kind of the totally 'Noo Yawk' attitude he put forth in a sport that always prided itself on being serious about its "Sport of Kings" sobriquet had to be someone who could probably get away with anything--and for the most part, that's what Harvey Pack did. When I first met him in the...

Classic-winning jockey Eric Eldin passed away at 89 on Sunday, Racing Post reported. Apprenticed to Ryan Jarvis, Eldin rode his first winner, Penfair (GB) (Fair Trial {GB}), in 1950, and his greatest win as a reinsman was aboard Front Row (Ire) (Epaulette {GB}), in the Irish 1000 Guineas. The Yorkshireman was also in the saddle for Lucasland (GB) (Lucero {Ire})'s wins in the 1966 July Cup and Diadem S. Abroad, Eldin also rode Derby winners in India and the Netherlands. All told, Eldin celebrated about 1,200 winners before hanging up...

Haras de Saint Pair's Group 1-winning foundation mare Pearly Shells (GB) (Efisio {GB}-Piffle {GB}, by Shirley Heights {GB}) has passed away from natural causes. The Lord Harrington-bred bay was 22. A Ir£265,000 Goffs October yearling, she was raced by 6C Racing Ltd. and trainer Francois Rohaut. She graduated in her second start at three in early May of 2002, then added the Listed La Coupe des Pouliches later that month. Pearly Shells captured the G2 Prix de Malleret at Saint-Cloud in June, and took Deauville's G3 Prix de la Nonette...

Denise Martin, the co-owner of California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), passed away June 14 at the age of 61. Martin and partners found the heights of success with the two-time Horse of the Year. The popular seven-time Grade I winner, whose victories included the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Dubai World Cup, currently stands in Japan. Martin was the wife of Perry Martin, who also co-bred California Chrome. The couple split from their partners in the horse and founded Martin Racing in 2016, the same year California Chrome won his second Horse...

Former trainer and professional punter Barney Curley has passed away at the age of 81. The Irishman, known for his famous bets, carried off arguably the greatest betting coup of all time when Yellow Sam won at Bellewstown for Curley in June of 1975. Born in Northern Ireland on Oct. 5, 1939, Curley found much success beating the bookies as a racehorse owner and also trained from 1984 to 2012. In 1996, Curley launched the Direct Aid for Africa charity (DAFA), which aims to improve the education and healthcare of...