By DRF.com
BUELLTON, Calif. (Nov. 26, 2024) — Five years after shocking the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 45-1 odds, the 2019 champion juvenile male Storm the Court has been retired to stud in California. Trainer Peter Eurton said the 7-year-old was relocated to Eclipse Thoroughbred Training Center in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he will begin stud duty next spring.
Storm the Court paid $93.80 winning the BC Juvenile in 2019 at Santa Anita; the payoff is a Juvenile record. Storm the Court, however, never won again. He started 26 more times, including a last-place finish Nov. 17 in a Del Mar allowance that was his career finale.
Sired by Court Vision, Storm the Court retires having won two races and $1,426,503 from 30 starts. His juvenile campaign was his highlight.
“He matured early,” Eurton said. “The advantage you [need] to win a Breeders’ Cup with a 2-year-old is a head start on some of the horses who just aren’t developed yet.”
Storm the Court won his debut in summer 2019 at Del Mar, then unseated jockey Flavien Prat in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in his next start. Storm the Court got back on track by finishing third in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita, after which Prat rode him to victory in the Juvenile.
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“That was fun,” Eurton said referring to the colt’s 2-year-old campaign. “Unfortunately, it didn’t continue. But we’ll take what we got, and it was great.”
Storm the Court subsequently placed in four graded stakes and finished a respectable sixth in the Kentucky Derby in September 2020.
Storm the Court is one of five runners from the 2020 Kentucky Derby that made at least one start in 2024. He was the last remaining runner from the 2019 BC Juvenile.
A 2025 stud fee for Storm the Court has not been announced.