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VINDICATION'S FIRST FOAL
FIRST MARE IN FOAL
STALLION ANNOUNCEMENT
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OUT OF THE DERBY
VINDICATION'S FIRST FOAL 
Photo by Kathy
The first foal by undefeated champion, VINDICATION, was foaled in Citra, Florida at McKathan Brothers Farm. This good looking filly is out of Chilosa by Tabasco Cat.
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FIRST MARE IS IN FOAL TO VINDICATION
Multiple stakes winning daughter of Forty Niner, FOOTING, is the first mare confirmed in foal to undefeated champion VINDICATION.
FOOTING, winner of over $300,000, is the dam of Infantry, the $750,000 Barretts 2-year-old colt by Seattle Slew. Appropriately, she is owned by Karen and Mickey Taylor and Albert Finney, the same connections that raced Triple Crown Winner and sire of Vindication, SEATTLE SLEW.
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CHAMPION VINDICATION TO STAND AT HILL 'N' DALE IN 2004 for $50,000.
Although every stop was pulled out by Padua Stable to return Vindication to the track following an injury early in his 3 yr old season, it has been determined that there is not enough time to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup so he will be retired.
“We have always held Vindication in the highest regard, and he never once let us down,” said Satish Sanan, principle owner of Padua Stables. “His comeback from injury has been nothing less than remarkable and he continues to go to the racetrack with zest and verve. But we have really run out of time to achieve our ultimate goal, which has always been the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”
Regardless of the outcome of Vindication’s three-year-old campaign, the champion son of Seattle Slew will retire at the end of the year and will enter stud in 2004 at John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm near Lexington. “He will be retired after the Breeders’ Cup, whether he’s a participant or not,” Sikura said on Thursday. “We’re hopeful he’ll make it back; the Padua [Stables] team has done a magnificent job of availing the horse of every chance to succeed. The only thing that’s a question mark is the time element. It’s unclear whether there’s enough time for him to make it back for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).” Vindication clinched championship honors with a convincing 23/4-length win in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). About five weeks later, he suffered an injury to his left front suspensory ligament that kept him out of this
year’s classic races. Vindication resumed jogging at the Padua training center near Summerfield, Florida, in early June, and progressed up to a two-furlong work in early July. He will continue to work up to a half-mile before Padua returns him to trainer Bob Baffert, most likely in late July or early August.
—Ed DeRosa
Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Times Daily News
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VINDICATION - 2 YEAR OLD MALE ECLIPSE WINNER returns to the track at Padua Stables
Vindication, 2002 champion two-year-old male who has been sidelined this year due to a suspensory ligament injury, has returned to work for Padua Stables, going two furlongs last weekend at Padua’s training facility near Summerfield, Florida. Padua officials hope the son of Seattle Slew will be able to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park on October 25.
“We’re going to continue to breeze him on a regular schedule and see how he responds before sending him to [trainer] Bob [Baffert],” said Padua General Manager Nadia Sanan. “We’re on a tight schedule because we’ll want a couple of preps [before the Classic], but we’re very optimistic right now.” Vindication will probably remain at Padua through July and breeze up to four furlongs before heading to Baffert’s Southern California base. Sanan said she is unsure which races Vindication might use as preps for the Classic. Padua purchased Vindication for $2.15-million at the 2001 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. The threeyear- old is undefeated in four starts, including wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes (G3), and has earnings of $680,950.—
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No Kentucky Derby for Injured Vindication; May Return for Travers, Breeders' Cup
by Steve Haskin
Date Posted: 2/6/03 12:47:56 PM
Last Updated: 2/6/03 6:48:56 PM
The Blood Horse
Odds-on favorite Vindication pulled from Derby race.
Padua Stables' Vindication, champion 2-year-old of 2002 and early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, has been taken off the Derby trail due to an injury to his left front suspensory.
The son of Seattle Slew had been battling a slight foot bruise following his five-furlong work in :58 2/5 on Jan. 25, but had recovered and returned to the track on Feb. 3. A precautionary ultrasound, however, revealed a "minute spot" on the suspensory, which was unrelated to the bruise.
"We are not yet sure the extent of the injury until we ultrasound in 60 days," said Padua general manager Nadia Sanan. "Unfortunately," Sanan continued, "this derails his training for the Derby. This is obviously a devastating blow to my family and Padua Stables, but we remain hopeful that we will soon know what the problem is, and he will be able to resume training as soon as possible."
Sanan said the Travers and Breeder's Cup Classic are the ultimate new goals for Vindication.
"Vindication has been in the hearts of many of his fans and the racing public," Sanan said, "and that is why we are being so open about what is going on from the beginning."
"We just found it by accident," trainer Bob Baffert said. "He had been moving a little choppy from the foot bruise, and we had been fighting that. We took the scan just to make sure everything was all right, and we noticed a suspicious spot on the suspensory, indicating there was some trauma. We've been working on it with a high-powered magnetic machine, and after only two days, the area already is 50% better. Everyone at the barn and at Padua are devastated. We're still in denial. These horses are so fragile, and that's why I didn't want to talk about the horse too much. You never know what's going to happen. The highs in this game are really high, but the lows are horrible."
Veterinarian Dr. Norman Rantanen, who took the ultrasound, said they really won't know much until the ultrasound is taken in 60 days. "There's some inflammation there, and when we get that under control we'll have a better idea what's going on," he said. "There are some changes in the ligament, and right now we're not sure what that means. That's why we need to get the swelling under control first, then take another ultrasound."
Vindication captured all four of starts in 2002, winning the Kentucky Cup Juvenile and Breeders' Cup Juvenile to nail down the Eclipse Award. In the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he defeated his stablemate, Kafwain, by 2 3/4 lengths, covering the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.61.
Bred by Payson Stud, Vindication was purchased by Satish and Anne Sanan's Padua Stables at the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale at Saratoga from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment for $2,150,000.
In December, John Sikura Jr.'s Hill 'n' Dale Farms bought a portion of the breeding rights in Vindication from Padua Stables. Vindication is set to enter stud at Hill 'n' Dale near Lexington, Ky. following his racing career and Padua will retain complete ownership and continue to manage the son of Seattle Slew while racing.
"Obviously we're disappointed," Sikura said. "We were confident in his ability to compete in the 3-year-old classics. Hopefully he'll come back for the fall classics and other significant races, but if his injury precludes him from doing so, you can't take away the fact he's a brilliant and undefeated champion.
"If he had won the Kentucky Derby, he would have become the most valuable horse in the world, but some of the best horses of our time either didn't compete in that race or were not mature horses and continued to grow in stature afterwards. His reputation is not damaged.
"We are not involved in his racing career. Our job has been and continues to be cheerleader for the horse. When he's retired, we'll take over from there. I'm most disappointed for Satish and his family. He's put up a tremendous amount of money in the business and, despite all the setbacks, he's continued to move on. There aren't enough guys like him in this industry."
At the time of the syndication, Satish Sanan said Padua retained a majority interest of Vindication's breeding rights but declined to say the specific percentage that was sold.
Sikura declined to state the exact amount he paid for his interest in Vindication, but said the horse was valued "well in excess of $20 million." The Blood-Horse has learned that contractual clauses put the potential total value on Vindication at close to $30 million.
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