Lure (KY)

Biography

Lure set a track record in his career debut on the dirt at Belmont Park, but it was the son of Danzig’s prowess on the turf, highlighted by consecutive Breeders' Cup Mile victories, that led to his impressive legacy.

Bred in Kentucky by a partnership between Claiborne Farm and The Gamely Corp., Lure won his first two starts as a 3-year-old at Aqueduct, including a thrilling dead-heat with Devil His Due in the Gotham Stakes. But after Lure finished second in the Lexington Stakes and sixth in the Riva Ridge Stakes, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and co-owner Seth Hancock of Claiborne decided to switch the colt to the grass.

Lure’s pedigree suggested he would take to the turf. Besides being a grandson of Northern Dancer, his dam, Endear, by Alydar, was a half-sister to the top turf runner Tiller. In his first start on grass, Lure crushed an allowance field at Belmont by 10¼ lengths. Following a second in the Kelso Handicap a month later, Lure won the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Gulfstream from gate to wire by three lengths, smashing the course record in the process.

As a 4-year-old in 1993, Lure opened with an allowance win at Keeneland then followed with Grade 3 victories in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs and the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico. Lure defeated the standout Star of Cozzene in both of those races, but his rival got the best of him in their next two meetings, the Manhattan Stakes and Caesars International Handicap. Lure then bounced back with victories in the Daryl’s Joy and Kelso before taking aim at a repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

In the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Mile, Lure overcame an outside post position at Santa Anita by taking an early lead and was hand-ridden by Mike Smith to a 2¼-length victory.

Lure won three of seven starts as a 5-year-old in 1994, but a third consecutive Breeders’ Cup mile victory eluded him as he finished a disappointing ninth at Churchill Downs and was retired to Claiborne Farm with a career record of 14-8-0 from 25 starts and earnings of $2,515,289.

Although he never won an Eclipse Award, Lure was ranked No. 85 in The BloodHorse’s top 100 racehorses of the 20th century.

Achievements

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the Mile — 1992
Won the Mile — 1993

Notable

Won the Gotham Stakes — 1992
Won the Daryl's Joy Stakes — 1993
Won the Dixie Handicap — 1993
Won the Kelso Handicap — 1993
Won the Turf Classic Stakes — 1993
Won the Bernard Baruch Handicap — 1994
Won the Caesars International Handicap — 1994
Won the Elkhorn Stakes — 1994

Horse Profile for Lure | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information