by Jeff Lowe

Stevie Wonderboy, the champion two-year-old male of 2005, has been retired for stallion duty in ’08 at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky.

No stud fee has been announced for the four-year-old Stephen Got Even colt out of Heat Lightning, by Summer Squall.

Stevie Wonderboy clinched his Eclipse Award with a rallying victory in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Belmont Park over Henny Hughes and First Samurai. He also won the Del Mar Futurity (G2) by five lengths for trainer Doug O’Neill and owner Merv Griffin.

The chestnut colt did not race after fracturing his right front ankle in February 2006, weeks after finishing second to Brother Derek in the San Rafael Stakes (G2) in his only start as a three-year-old. He returned to training late last year, before going to the sidelines again with a chip in the same ankle.

“We basically just ran out of time with him,” said O’Neill’s brother and assistant, Dennis. “There was no major setback. His ankle always bugged him and it was just time. We wanted to get some publicity going and make sure we had enough time to get him back on peoples’s minds for next year.”

Dennis O’Neill purchased Stevie Wonderboy on Griffin’s behalf for $100,000 in the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Calder selected two-year-olds in training sale.

Stevie Wonderboy finished on the board in all six of his starts, compiling three wins and earnings of $1,058,940.

“We couldn't be more excited to be bringing Stevie Wonderboy into the stallion barn,” Airdrie’s Bret Jones said. “He did exactly what a champion is supposed to do, beat the best on both sides of the country.

“I really believe the Juvenile field he beat, with Henny Hughes and First Samurai, was as strong as any in recent memory, and he was really getting away from them at the end. It's just a shame we never got to see him in the classics, because as brilliant as he was at two, he was absolutely tailor-made for the Triple Crown trail. We've had a wonderful relationship with Mr. Griffin for a long time, and we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to stand his champion."

John Gunther, Tony Holmes, and Walter Zent bred Stevie Wonderboy in Kentucky.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer