Northern Luck dies at 18 after colic surgery

Northern Luck p,3, 1:49.1 ($907,974), a horse known for his striking dark color, was euthanized at Charles Sturt University in the state of New South Wales, Australia, due to complications following colic surgery on Feb. 13. He was 18.

A son of Camluck and the Big Towner mare Town Sweetheart, Northern Luck was trained by Canadian Jack Darling, who campaigned the horse in partnership with Audrey and Daniel Smith. He was a stakes winner in the Nassagaweya and major Canadian-restricted events as a 2 year old and stepped up at age three to compete against the sport’s best, which included his stablemate Gothic Dream.

Northern Luck and Gothic Dream both won eliminations for the 1997 North America Cup at Woodbine, but Northern Luck hurt himself in the trailer while being shipped home after the eliminations. He was scratched from the final due to lameness but his stablemate went on to put Darling and the Smiths in the winner’s circle.

Northern Luck bounced back and captured the Tattersalls Pace at The Red Mile, taking his lifetime mark and beating Meadowlands Pace winner Dream Away along with Gothic Dream, and a few weeks later he finished third in the Breeders Crown behind Village Jasper. He was retired to stud duty under the ownership and management of Kentuckiana Farms and stood in New Jersey and Kentucky (where he was bred to 161 mares in 2000) before being relocated to Ontario. In 2004 he was shuttled to Australia and returned to Ontario for the 2005 breeding season before permanently being exported in the fall of 2005.

While standing at stud in North America, Northern Luck’s most notable performer has become Silent Swing p, 1:48.4 ($1,668,877), who is still racing. Northern Luck’s North American breeding statistics show 480 starters, with 165 taking marks of 1:55, and purse winnings of $37.7 million.

Northern Luck stood at stud in both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Northern Luck sired more than 80 individual winners and they have won $1.9 million so far. He was standing at stud in Western Australia near Perth, where he was the state’s leading sire of 2 and 3 year olds from his first two crops. (harnessracing.com)

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