Japan farm paid $10 million for I'll Have Another
July 9, 2012NEW YORK (AP) - The owner of I'll Have Another says he sold his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner to a farm in Japan for $10 million, a price that far exceeded any amount he was offered in the United States.
J. Paul Reddam made his comments in a blog appearing on the bloodhorse.com website. He writes there were two offers from U.S. breeding operations, one valued at just under $5 million, the other at $3 million.
``Certainly greed has something to do with it,'' he wrote, adding that the ``one offer was four times higher in cash than the best offer here,'' and ``I couldn't rationalize not selling him overseas.''
Reddam also notes that the rights of Derby, Preakness and Belmont runner-up Bodemeister ``recently purportedly sold for about 13 million in America.''
I'll Have Another was retired with a tendon injury the day before he was to run in the Belmont Stakes and attempt to become the first Triple Crown champion in 34 years.
The colt made a farewell appearance at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday before heading to a career at stud at Shigeyuki Okada's Big Red Farm on the island of Hokkaido.