Pleasantly Perfect (April 2, 1998 – June 3, 2020) was a Thoroughbred

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who retired as the fourth-richest American horse in career earnings.

Background

Pleasantly Perfect was sired by Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and Preakness Stakes. His dam Regal State, who was sired by the 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed, won the 1985

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

Prix Morny in France.

Racing career

Pleasantly Perfect started his career on August 25, 2002, with a fourth place finish in the

Pacific Classic Stakes The Pacific Classic Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one quarter miles on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The even ...

2003

In 2003, he started the year by coming third in the

San Antonio Stakes The San Antonio Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced on the dirt, it is for horses age three and older. In 2017, the distance was shortened from miles to miles. The race was origin ...

on February 2 and fourth in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 1. At the end of the year, Pleasantly Perfect won the 6 million dollar Breeders' Cup Classic on October 25.

2004

Pleasantly Perfect then won another big race, the 12 million dollar Dubai World Cup on March 27. He then came second in the San Diego Handicap on August 1, before winning the

on August 22. In his last race he finished third behind Ghostzapper and Roses in May in the 2004 Breeders' Cup Classic on October 30.

Stud record

Pleasantly Perfect entered stud in 2005 at

Lane's End Farm Lane's End Farm is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army General. The land was later bought ...

in Versailles, Kentucky. His first offspring to race was

Rapid Redux Rapid Redux (foaled in Kentucky on February 24, 2006) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who set an American record with 22 consecutive wins in 2012. The winter-born gelding was his sire Pleasantly Perfect's first runner. As a two-year-old at ...

, who won a record 22 straight races and was the winner of the

Eclipse Special Award The Eclipse Special Award is part of the Eclipse Award program in United States Thoroughbred horse racing. The Special Award's purpose is to honor outstanding individual achievements in, or contributions to, the sport. It is not awarded every year. ...

for 2011. Pleasantly Perfect was exported to Turkey, where he died on June 3, 2020, at the age of 22. His most successful son, Whitmore, won the Breeders' Cup Sprint a few months later in November 2020.

References

Pleasantly Perfect's pedigree and racing stats

Video at YouTube of Pleasantly Perfect's win in the 2004 Dubai World Cup

External links

"On the Muscle" documentary features Pleasantly Perfect
{{Breeders' Cup Classic Winners 1998 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Classic winners Dubai World Cup winners Thoroughbred family 16-a 2020 racehorse deaths