Multiple graded stakes winner Phantom on Tour (Tour d'Or), a Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation retiree, passed away Jan. 29 at the age of 24. He had suffered from complications caused by Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM), a neurological disease that he was first diagnosed with in 2006.
“Phantom was always liked by every inmate that came into the Second Chances program; everyone always wanted to see the horse that had run in the Kentucky Derby,” said Linda Dyer, farm manager. “I would show them his race with everybody commenting on what a good race horse he was. It helped show them what these retired race horses are capable of as athletes.”
Phantom on Tour won the 1998 GIII New Orleans H. and 1997 GIII Rebel S. He was second in 1997 GII Arkansas Derby and third in the 1998 GI Oaklawn H.
Sent to stud in 1998, Phantom on Tour proved to be infertile, he was gelded and returned to racing. After three starts, a group of caring fans purchased him in 2001. The TRF was honored to provide a safe haven at TRF's Second Chances Farm at Blackburn Correctional Facility in Lexington.
Phantom on Tour spent nine years as part of a living exhibit at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville before returning to TRF's Blackburn farm, where he helped teach inmates equine care as part of TRF's Second Chances vocational program.
“He was really an icon for our farm here,” Dyer said. “He was quite a character and sweet as pie when a visitor came into the barn because he knew they usually had carrots or mints.”
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