Nest, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2022 who had been in light training toward a return to racing, has been retired from racing, according to owner Mike Repole. He said she would be bred to Uncle Mo .
Before her retirement, in anticipation of joining Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher this month at Saratoga Race Course, the now 5-year-old daughter of Curlin had recorded several unpublished breezes at Stonestreet Farm's training center near Ocala, Fla. But before being sent to Pletcher, a diagnostic exam showed "a slight abnormality in her hind ankle," Repole told Daily Racing Form, which first reported her retirement.
Repole added to DRF that she was shipped and arrived May 8 at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky.
Her planned mating with Uncle Mo results in a pairing of Repole Stable-raced champions. Uncle Mo is now one of the top sires in North America. He stands for a $150,000 fee at Ashford Stud, also in Versailles.
Nest was a three-time grade 1 winner, though a defeat in 2022 was also one of her defining moments. Facing males in the Belmont Stakes (G1), she finished second to stablemate Mo Donegal with a less-than-ideal trip that had her in traffic for much of the race. The Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal captured the Belmont for Donegal Racing and Repole Stable.
In 2022, Nest won the Ashland Stakes (G1), Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), and Alabama Stakes (G1). In total, she earned $2,172,675 from a record of 8-2-2 in a 14-race career for owners Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House. Out of the A.P. Indy mare Marion Ravenwood, she was bred by Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables.
Last fall, Repole bought out his partners in Nest for $6 million at the 2023 The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton.
Following a disappointing second half of her season at age 4, Repole told BloodHorse last fall that he felt she had "unfinished business." He was hopeful she could return to her peak form from earlier in her career.
At 2, Nest was always on the board, including winning the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) in December at Aqueduct Racetrack. The next year, at 3, during her Eclipse Award-winning season, in addition to her aforementioned grade 1 victories, she took the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, the Beldame Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct, and was second in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.
At age 4 in 2023, she won the Shuvee Stakes (G2) in July at Saratoga and ran third in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) later in the summer. She then ran a flat fourth in the Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland in October, after which her connections bypassed a start in the Breeders' Cup and instead ran her through The November Sale.
"She was a multiple grade 1 winner, a champion, and the most talented filly I have ever owned," Repole said. "We look forward to racing her foals in the future. She will be a Repole Stable foundational mare."
