Wondrwherecraigis, a three-time stakes winner that gave Laurel Park-based trainer Brittany Russell her first graded-stakes triumph in the 2021 Bold Ruler (G3), has been retired from racing.

Owned by the partnership of Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso, the 6-year-old Munnings gelding had lost four straight races after opening the season with an optional claiming allowance victory in mid-April at Laurel.

“We retired him,” Russell said. “He’d just lost a step and we didn’t want to keep banging his head in. Rather than try to run him for a tag and win a race, and watch somebody take him, we just kept him. He was always going to stay with us.”

Wondrwherecraigis finished with eight wins, four seconds, one third and $540,170 in purse earnings from 20 starts, with additional stakes wins in the 2021 Tale of the Cat at Saratoga and 2022 Fire Plug at Laurel. He was second three consecutive years in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, starting in 2021, when he crossed the wire first but was disqualified for interference.

Six weeks later Wondrwherecraigis earned graded credentials in the Bold Ruler, the day before Russell gave birth to a son, Rye, the second child with her husband, jockey Sheldon Russell. Daughter Edy was born in August 2019.

“He’s special to us. He was always going to have a soft landing,” Brittany Russell said. “It’s sad we’re not racing him anymore, but he retired healthy, and sound and he still has a lot of life ahead of him. Hopefully, we can have some fun with him.”

Following this year’s De Francis, Wondrwherecraigis ran fourth in his final two starts, the six-furlong Lite the Fuse Sept. 16 at Pimlico Race Course and an open 5 ½-furlong allowance Oct. 20 at Laurel, both times as the favorite. He also brought the connections to Dubai for the 2022 Golden Shaheen (G1).

“He’s just sort of hanging out right now being a horse, but next spring I don’t know what we’re going to do. He might come to the track and we might try to make him a pony, I don’t know,” Russell said. “But we love that horse, he’s not going anywhere. He’s down at a friend’s farm, so he’s actually out enjoying himself. If we can get him trained up a little bit, by the time [Edy] is ready for a proper horse he should be ready.”

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