Photo:

Sue Kawczynski / Eclipse Sportswire

Always Dreaming, whose four-race winning streak was climaxed
by his triumph as the 9-2 favorite in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, died of colic
this week in Oklahoma.

“Yes, unfortunately that is a fact,” Francisco Bravo of River
Oaks Farm in Sulphur, Okla., said in a text message Friday afternoon. He
confirmed details reported first by Thoroughbred Daily News.

Flashback: Always Dreaming wins 2017 Kentucky Derby.

A 10-year-old stallion, Always Dreaming was diagnosed with
colic this month and taken to a clinic, TDN reported.

“The horse was sick. … They didn’t have to do any surgery
on him. Everything was fine. He seemed to be OK. He turned the corner,” bloodstock
agent Chad Schumer told TDN. “They sent him back to the farm, and I
think it was the cecum in his stomach (near the large intestine). It just
burst.”

Schumer put together the deal that sent Always Dreaming from
WinStar Farm in his native Kentucky to River Oaks, TDN said.

Bred by Santa Rosa Partners, Always Dreaming was by
Bodemeister out of In Excess mare Above Perfection and was sold as a yearling
for $350,000. Campaigned by MaryEllen and Anthony Bonomo’s MeB Racing and
Brooklyn Boyz stables, Animal Kingdom raced twice as a maiden at age 2 for co-owner
and trainer Dominick Schettino.

Before the 2017 season, Vinnie Viola joined the partnership,
and Always Dreaming was transferred to trainer Todd Pletcher. With John
Velázquez riding, the colt collected all four of his wins between January and
May that 3-year-old season. They included a maiden-breaking score at Tampa Bay
Downs, an allowance victory and then the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream
Park followed by the Kentucky Derby.

Always Dreaming raced five more times over the ensuing year.
He finished third in the 2017 Jim Dandy (G2) and second at age 4 in the
Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) before he was retired to stud after a fifth-place
result in the 2018 Alysheba (G2). That race came almost exactly one year after
his Kentucky Derby triumph.

WinStar Farm, which had joined the racing partnership by
then, announced in September 2018 that Always Dreaming would be added to its
stallion roster. Of his five crops of progeny, 2023 Pennsylvania Derby (G1)
winner Saudi Crown has been the standout.