Pensioned Sire Citidancer Euthanized

Pensioned Maryland sire Citidancer, the sire of 27 stakes winners including Grade One winners Urbane and Hookedonthefeelin, succumbed to laminitis on August 11 at the age of 23. He was euthanized and buried at the Pons family's Country Life Farm, where he had stood his entire career at stud.

A son of Dixieland Band out of Willamae, by Tentam, Citidancer won his first three races by a total of 36 lengths before finishing second to champion sprinter Housebuster in the 1990 Jerome Handicap (Gr. 1). He suffered a fractured sesamoid in that race, and was retired with earnings of $80,022. He entered stud in 1991.

Inbred 2 x 4 to Northern Dancer, Citidancer encountered fertility problems throughout his career, limiting his foal crops. Nevertheless, he was an immediate success on the national scene. His first crop included millionairess Urbane, winner of the Ashland Stakes (gr. I) and the John A. Morris Handicap (gr. I), and dam of millionaire Suave, a freshman sire of 2010. Citidancer's early crops also included graded stakes winner Latin Dancer, who was the highest-priced auction yearling sold to that date in Maryland when he fetched $210,000 at the 1995 Fasig-Tipton Eastern Fall yearling sale.

Country Life was the breeder of Citidancer's other Grade One winner, 1999 La Brea Stakes winner Hookedonthefeelin, who in turn is the dam of grade one winner Pussycat Doll. Citidancer's other graded stakes winners include millionaires Cherokee's Boy ($1,177,946) and Park Avenue Ball ($1,049,360), as well as Disco Rico ($532,244). Those three sons of Citdidancer are presently standing at stud. Citidancer's average-earnings per starter of $85,218 ranks him second among Maryland sires with current runners.

"That inbreeding gave him a touch of brilliance, at the races and in the stud," said Country Life manager Josh Pons. "but perhaps it also contributed to his infertility. He had a fine libido. He was just unpredictable settling his mares. Otherwise, he might have been a leading sire, as he had eight percent stakes winners from foals. That's rare air for any sire. Like many fine stallions, his influence lives on as a broodmare sire. He has 113 mares with foals of racing age, and 30 of those mares have produced stakes horses. That's a remarkable 33% stakes-producers."