TORONTO - Wando, who swept Canada's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing in 2003, was retired Thursday (May 12) morning because of a leg injury.

"He has a slight tear in his left hind suspensory," said trainer Mike Keogh. "He suffered it in the Westchester on the turn."

Wando finished seventh in the Grade 3 Westchester, a one-mile race at New York's Belmont Park, on May 4. It would be the last start of his tremendous career.

Keogh said after conferring with the five-year-old's vets late Thursday morning, he called Gus Schickedanz, Wando's owner, and recommended retirement. Schickedanz agreed.

Future plans, which will no doubt include a stud career, have not yet been finalized for the chestnut son of Langfuhr-Kathie's Colleen.

"He was brilliant for us," Keogh said. "It was just a thrill to be around him. He's a very special horse. He gave us a lot."

Wando retires a multi-millionaire with 11 wins, two seconds, two thirds and purse earnings of $2,566,060 from 23 lifetime starts.

He was only the seventh horse in Canadian horse racing history to capture the Triple Crown (Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales, Breeders' Stakes) and the first to do so since Peteski in 1993.

After his electrifying Triple Crown sweep, he was named Canada's Horse of the Year in 2003.

Other career highlights include stakes wins in the Vandal and the Grey Breeders' Cup as a two-year-old, the Woodstock and Marine as a three-year-old and the Mt. Sassafras as a four-year-old.

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