2003 Haskell Invitational Winner
Peace Rules was one of the standout three year olds of 2003, a tough and consistent colt who battled in the Triple Crown trail and shone on through his older years. He was foaled in 2000, a son of the stallion Jules out of the mare Hold to Fashion. He raced for owner Edmund Gann and was trained by the late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, one of the sharpest minds in the game. From the start, Peace Rules showed grit and a willingness to run hard from gate to wire.
Peace Rules kicked off his Triple Crown campaign with a powerful win in the 2003 Louisiana Derby, then added the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland to stamp himself as one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby. With Jerry Bailey in the saddle, he ran a brave race in the Kentucky Derby but had to settle for third behind the gelding Funny Cide and the favored Empire Maker. He skipped the Preakness and pointed instead toward the rich summer stakes, where his style of pressing the pace paid off in a big way.
That summer Peace Rules captured the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, beating a strong field and confirming his place near the top of his crop. He kept running well as a four year old in 2004, picking up another big win in the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park against older horses. Bobby Frankel placed him carefully and got the best out of him, and the colt rewarded that patience with earnings of more than $3.4 million across his career.
After retiring from the track, Peace Rules went to stud and sired a number of stakes winners. He stood at several farms over the years and proved a useful sire of runners who, like him, showed honesty and stamina. Peace Rules is remembered as a hard knocking standout from a very strong 2003 generation, the kind of horse trainers love because he always brought his best to the racetrack.
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