Disco Partner Pensioned After Six Seasons at Rockridge Stud, Heads to ReRun

Disco Partner, Patricia Generazio's New York homebred who set a track, North American and world record time of 1:05.67 for six furlongs on turf, has been pensioned from stallion duty after six seasons at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, N.Y. ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption near East Greenbush, south of Albany, will manage the next phase of his life, with the transition announced by ReRun program director Lisa Molloy on March 25.

Disco Partner, born in 2012, raced from 2014 to 2019. He was sired by Disco Rico out of the Numerous mare Lulu's Number, trained by Christophe Clement, and raced for Patricia A. Generazio, who also bred him in New York. The numbers he posted on the track were difficult to ignore: winning his debut in late October as a 2-year-old and going on to win stakes at ages 4, 5 and 6, his biggest score came in the Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational on the 2017 Belmont Stakes Day undercard, winning the six-furlong stakes in a world and course record 1:05.67. That performance was good for a 109 Beyer Speed Figure. For context on just how fast that clocking was: it shattered the previous six-furlong North American turf record of 1:06.76 and is the fastest six furlongs on any surface in North America.

Disco Partner also won the 2018 Jaipur, upgraded for that running to a Grade 2 stakes, along with the 2017 and 2018 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, and posted back-to-back thirds in the 2017 and 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. His full career record came to 11 wins from 33 starts, with six seconds and eight thirds, and $1,487,560 in earnings.

Trainer Christophe Clement was unambiguous about what he saw in the horse. "He had a tremendous amount of speed, and speed is always dangerous," Clement said. "He also had a fantastic turn of foot, and he's retiring perfectly sound after consistently racing for many years at the highest level."

Rockridge Stud set its 2020 stud fees with Disco Partner listed at $5,000 LFSN as new for that season. The stud career, however, was complicated almost from the start by circumstances beyond the horse's control. Frank Generazio died in the months following Disco Partner's debut season at stud, and Patricia Generazio dispersed the broodmare band at the 2023 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Both events hampered the stallion's modest books of mares.

Erin Robinson of Rockridge Stud, who confirmed the pensioning, was candid about the trajectory. "He didn't breed any mares last year, and he had really small crops, and we kind of knew the writing was on the wall, so we just wanted to do right by the horse," Robinson said.

ReRun is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a record of placing high-profile New York thoroughbreds. The organization's roster has included stakes winner West Hills Giant, multiple stakes winner Saratoga Snacks, and grade 2-placed winner Dowse's Beach. For a horse who rewrote the record books on Belmont Stakes Day, the organization offers exactly the kind of attentive next chapter the Rockridge team wanted for him.