Not for Love. Photo Northview Stallion Station.
Nutshell: Top Maryland sire Not for Love has been pensioned at age 25.
From a Northview Stallion Station release
Not For Love, Maryland’s leading sire for the past 12 years, has been pensioned at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, Md.
Northview owner Richard Golden has been advised by the farm’s veterinarian Dr. Jayson Layfield that the 25-year-old stallion has a reproductive hematoma that would “take too long to heal at this time in the breeding season to consider going forward.”
Not For Love, a son of Mr. Prospector out of the Northern Dancer mare Dance Number, was purchased as a 5-year-old by Golden from breeder Ogden Mills Phipps. A stakes-placed runner initially trained by Shug McGaughey, Not For Love was transferred to the barn of H. Graham Motion and through a career that spanned four seasons, from 2 to 5, he made 29 starts, won six races and earned $178,870.
A full brother to champion 2-year-old Rhythm and graded stakes winner Get Lucky, granddam of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, he represents a tremendous stallion family descending from the famed *La Troienne. His second dam was champion 2-year-old filly Numbered Account.
The bay stallion entered stud at Northview Stallion Station in 1996 and made his mark with his first crop, which included the $2 million juvenile La Salle Street, who equalled the record for a 2-year-old sold at public auction in 1999. With 16 crops to race, Not For Love has sired at least one stakes winner per crop, and 79 stakes winners total. His runners have earned in excess of $68.6 million, topped by millionaire son Eighttofasttocatch.
An incredible 80 percent of his foals of racing age have started, 80 percent have won and the average earnings per starter is more than $91,000. He was the leading North American sire standing outside of Kentucky for eight consecutive years. He leads all Maryland sires by lifetime progeny earnings, lifetime juvenile earnings and is the all-time leading sire by Maryland Million wins, his offspring having won 32 Maryland Million races, including the featured Classic six times, three won by Eighttofasttocatch. Three times he had as many as four winners on the Maryland Million Day card.
In 2014, Not For Love made headlines as the broodmare sire of California Chrome, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and the 2014 Eclipse Award-winning Horse of the Year. California Chrome is currently in Dubai preparing for the $10 million World Cup on March 28.
“Not For Love will set the bar in Maryland for all stallions standing there in the future,” said Golden. “We tried to give him another year or two with a very limited book but he sent us a message that we read loud and clear. He will now retire to his home that he has loved for the last 20 years.”
