Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm, announced March 1 the arrival of graded stakes-winning multi-millionaire C Z Rocket to its facility in Georgetown, Ky. The 10-year old bay gelding campaigned by Tom Kagele, Madaket Stables, and Altamira Racing Stable arrived at the farm Feb. 29 from the barn of co-owner/trainer Peter Miller.
“C Z Rocket has captured the affections of countless race fans throughout his many years on the track,” said John Nicholson, president and CEO of Old Friends. “After such a successful career, this special gelding has earned the right to enjoy being pampered and celebrated here at Old Friends. We are grateful to his connections for seeking such a well-deserved happy retirement for him.”
Farm III Enterprises bred C Z Rocket, a Florida-bred son of City Zip out of the grade 3-placed winner Successful Sarah (Successful Appeal).
C Z Rocket made his racing debut at 3 in 2017 for Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and under the care of trainer Albert Stall Jr. He broke his maiden in his first start, winning by two lengths at Saratoga Race Course, and followed that performance with two more wins. At 4, he became a stakes winner in the 2018 Kelly’s Landing Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.
After fifth-place finish in a claiming race at Oaklawn Park April 30, 2020, the then 6-year-old gelding was claimed for $40,000 by Miller for Kagele, who would race him for the rest of his career. Kagele would take on other partners over the years that included Gary Barber, Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, and Miller’s Altamira Racing Stable.
Following that claim, C Z Rocket won five straight races for his new connections that included the his first two graded stakes wins in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar and the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park.
His other career graded stakes win came in the 2021 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park, where he also won the Hot Springs Stakes that year.
C Z Rocket ran in three Breeders’ Cup Sprints (G1), finishing second in 2020 and 2022 at Keeneland, and seventh in 2021 at Del Mar.
As a 10-year old in 2024, he raced only two times. In his first start, he finished third in an allowance race at Santa Anita, and then he finished sixth in a starter allowance at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 19. Following that race, C Z Rocket was retired by Miller and Kagele at the same track they had claimed him at in 2020. C Z Rocket closed out his career with 13-9-7 record from 46 career starts and $2,144,691 in earnings.
Miller and Kagele then decided to retire C Z Rocket to Old Friends.
“C Z was a special horse that took us to two great finishes in the Breeders’ Cup and became one of the best claims of all times,” said Miller, who also donated Stormy Liberal to Old Friends in 2019. “He was a pleasure to be around and train.
“We chose Old Friends for his retirement because of the care and love these horses receive and the chance for the public to visit and enjoy this magnificent animal as much as we did.”
“C Z Rocket meant the world to myself, my family, and my friends,” said Kagele. “He gave us so many great experiences and a lifetime full of memories. Bringing family and friends together on numerous occasions. I will miss watching him train and compete, but I am so grateful he is going to Old Friends, which is one of the prestigious aftercare facilities for Thoroughbred race horses. I look forward to visiting him with a bag full of peppermints the next time we make our way to Kentucky. Thanks again C Z, it’s been a great ride ‘Old Friend.'”
Added Michael Blowen, founder of Old Friends, “We are very grateful to Peter Miller and Tom Kagele for donating C Z Rocket to Old Friends. When I saw that he was in a race, I always knew he would give everything he had every time he stepped for on the track. He was a lot of fun to watch.”
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.