by Jeff Lowe

Anabaa, the prominent French stallion who in 2007 spent a season at Castleton Lyons in Lexington, died on Monday from acute peritonitis following colic surgery. He was 17.

Goldikova (Ire), last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner, is among Anabaa’s 67 stakes winners in ten crops of racing age.

The Kentucky-bred Danzig stallion out of Group 1 winner Balbonella (Fr), by Gay Mecene, covered 85 mares during the 2009 season at the Head family’s Haras du Quesnay in Deauville for an advertised fee of approximately $41,690 (30,000 euros). Anabaa stood for $40,000 in his lone season at Castleton Lyons.

Anabaa also shuttled regularly to Australia for Southern Hemisphere seasons and sired that country’s 2003 champion sprinter Yell and ’06 Australian Derby (Aus-G1) winner Headturner.

Anabaa’s top French-bred progeny include Precision, a gelding fomerly named Anabar who earned champion honors as older horse and stayer in Hong Kong, 2001 Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-G1) (French Derby) winner and sire Anabaa Blue, and Group 1 winner Rouvres.

Goldikova, a four-year-old filly bred in Ireland, won two Group 1 races in France last year before defeating males in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park for trainer Freddie Head.

Through Monday, Anabaa has sired 31 group or graded stakes winners among 543 winners from 807 starters that have earned $45,936,578. Besides Goldikova, his top North American stakes winners include Amonita (GB), Taikun (Aus), and Tsigane (Fr).

Bred in Kentucky by Gainsborough Farm, Anabaa was Europe’s champion sprinter of 1996, when he won the Darley July Cup (Eng-G1) and Prix Maurice de Gheest (Fr-G1) for trainer Criquette Head.

Haras du Quesnay also recently lost leading sire Highest Honor (Fr), who died in June after being pensioned in ‘08.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer