Breeding


Grade 1 Stakes Winner Far Niente Euthanized
Far Niente, a three-time graded stakes winner at Los Alamitos, was euthanized on Wednesday.

© Scott Martinez
Grade 1 Stakes Winner Far Niente Euthanized

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—OCTOBER 13, 2017—Far Niente, a three-time Grade 1 stakes winner at Los Alamitos and one of the top horses in his division dating back to 2013, was euthanized on Wednesday after an accident in his stall on Saturday night.

Owned by Tom Atwood and John Wells, Far Niente had head trauma and a loss of vision as a result of the accident.

"It’s hard for me to talk about him because he meant the world to me," said Wells, who trained Far Niente for many of his 28-career starts. "I had him for six years. He’s the horse that brought me back to training horses. He was more than just a horse to me."

Far Niente won the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity in back-to-back years in 2014 and 2015 and the Grade 1 Golden State Derby in 2013. He also finished second to AQHA World Champion Heza Dasha Fire in the 2015 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship and was fifth in that year’s Champion of Champions. The 7-year-old gelding, who was sired by champion FDD Dynasty and out of the stakes winner Shahayla, won 11 races and earned $484,923 during his racing career. He participated in 15 stakes races during that time and was part of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity field in 2012. He also competed in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity as a 2-year-old, and the PCQHRA Breeders Derby. He also qualified to the Los Alamitos Winter Championship in 2015.

"He was a beautiful individual," said Wells, the leading Quarter Horse trainer during the 1972 summer meet at Los Alamitos. "Everyone at the track knew Far Niente. He was a show off. He was a good looking gray horse. It’s a tough deal. He’ll always be one of the highlights of my life."

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.