Trainer Stanley Hough officially retired from racing for the second time in his career after saddling 2-year-old filly Inject in the seventh race Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs.
Hough, who initially retired from training in 2012, returned to training in 2018 after a six-year hiatus on behalf of Kevin Plank's Sagamore Farm where he had served as racing manger since 2015. His return coincided with the rise of then 2-year-old Global Campaign . Under Hough, the son of Curlin went on to win the Peter Pan Stakes (G3), Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3), and Woodward Handicap (G1) and earn more than $1.3 million for Sagamore and WinStar Farm.
Global Campaign's last start came Nov. 7 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland where he finished third. While there was initial talk that the horse would remain in training in anticipation of the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park, the 4-year-old was retired to WinStar Farm and will stand for a fee of $12,500 in 2021.
"When WinStar decided it was better for the horse to go to stud—because he is being very well received—for me, it was a bittersweet thing, but it helped me make the decision," the 72-year-old Hough said. "I still have some horses I own part of and that will go on for a while, but in terms of training, I'm going to let someone else do it. COVID-19 has been hard for everybody, and I've been away from home a lot. I'm not getting any younger, which is obvious, but I decided I would pack it in for good this time."
Plank, who is the CEO of the sports fitness apparel giant Under Armour, announced Nov. 5 that Sagamore Farm would cease racing horses after Global Campaign's retirement. While Plank said the farm will no longer breed and race Thoroughbreds, he will retain the historic Maryland property that serves as the burial site of Native Dancer, Bed o' Roses, and Discovery.
"It's time to go," Hough said. "'Global' … we thought he was so talented. There were a few things he brought upon himself, like his feet issues, and I think that might have cost him from being one of the best, but we had a very good finish."
With the pressures of training no longer on his plate, Hough said he is looking forward to decompressing while spending time with his family.
"Right now I'm with my youngest son and his family in Atlanta, so I'll spend some days with them and then head home," Hough said. "We've had a pretty good time and accomplished some things we set out to do. That part has been rewarding, and we will all look for some different things to do now. I'll just have to reboot a bit. With training horses, you get on a schedule and you can't just cut it off. It's hard to sleep past 4:30 a.m., so you have to get into a different mentality. So that's where I'm at."
Across his career, Hough has amassed 2,212 wins from 12,921 starts and earned $47,892,444 in purses.
