Dads Caps has been a very competitive horse throughout his career and has earned owner/breeder Vince Scuderi a tidy sum of money. This week Scuderi did the right thing and retired the six year old, it having become apparent that he was on the decline competitively. Scuderi announced the retirement in a press release: “We’ve had a tremendous run with Dads Caps. For four seasons, he took on the best sprinters of his generation, and his record is a testament to his consistency and heart. We could campaign him another season, but we have had a few farms looking into his availability as a stallion, and he has certainly earned that opportunity.” At this point, Scuderi says that he’s not sure what Dads Caps will be up to in retirement though he indicated that a career as a breeding stallion is a possibility.

Dads Caps earned $1.1 million for his career and won the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct twice. He won 5 of 26 career starts and finished second or higher in 14 stakes races. It was apparent that he was losing his form as he was winless in 7 starts this year. In his most recent race, he finished ninth in the Tale of the Cat Stakes on August 12 at Saratoga. His best finish of the year was in the Grade 2 Truth North at Belmont where he finished second.

His back-to-back wins in the Carter Handicap were remarkable to say the least. He won the 2014 race by 1 1/2 lengths paying $23.60 to win. He beat Grade 1 winner Sahara Sky (who finished second) along with other top competitors like Golden Ticket and Strapping Groom. He came back to defend his title in 2015, once again winning by 1 1/2 lengths over Green Gratto and beat Grade 1 winners The Big Beast and Palace who finished further back in the field. He was unable to pull the ‘trifecta’, finishing third in the 2016 race behind Salutos Amigos and Calculator. Ironically, he finished 1 1/2 lengths off the lead. He is one of only is one of only six horses to win the Carter Handicap twice–impressive for a race that has been contested since 1895. The other two time winners are Audacious (1920-21), Osmand (1928-29), Flying Heels (1930-31), Forego (1974-75), and Lite the Fuse (1995-96).