Imagination, a Grade 2 winner in both the United States and Saudi Arabia, has officially retired from racing and has arrived at Mountain View Farm in Gansevoort, New York, where he will stand at stud starting with the 2027 breeding season. The 5-year-old son of Into Mischief was welcomed to the farm as announced on Thursday through their social media channels.
Over his career, Imagination secured four victories in 18 starts and earned a total of $2,218,150 for trainer Bob Baffert and a large ownership group including SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan. He broke his maiden at Santa Anita Park in January of his three-year-old season and went on to win the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes shortly after. Imagination then placed second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and finished seventh in the Preakness Stakes. Later that season, he earned placings in the Listed Shared Belief Stakes and the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes.
As a four-year-old, after an eight-month absence, Imagination returned to win the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes. He carried that form into the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar, where he finished second. He began his five-year-old season with a victory in the Grade 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the Saudi Cup card overseas.
Bred in Kentucky by Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, Imagination is out of Magical Feeling, a Grade 2-winning mare by Empire Maker, who has produced seven winners from eight foals to race. He is a full brother to Grade 3 winner Occult and a half-brother to stakes winners Exulting and Magical. Purchased as a yearling for $1.05 million, Imagination belongs to the family of distinguished Grade 1 winners such as Dream Tree, Golden Ticket, and Well Chosen, as well as Grade 2 winner Academy Award.
This report was initially published by Paulick Report on October 2, 2026, under their News section.
Fan Take: Imagination’s transition to the breeding shed marks an exciting new chapter for the sport, as his impressive pedigree and proven speed should inspire fresh talent on the track. Horse racing enthusiasts will be eager to see how his offspring influence the future of sprint racing nationwide.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
