Star 3-Year-Old Dayoutoftheoffice Makes it Permanent, Retires Suddenly

Dayoutoftheoffice, one of the best juvenile fillies of 2020 and a Grade 1 winner, retired Wednesday, three days before she was set to run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga.

The winner of last year’s Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park, Dayoutoftheoffice just clocked a bullet 59-second workout at Thistledown. That workout put her on track for the Test, one of three Grade 1s on Saratoga’s Saturday card.

But on Wednesday, Siena Farm, which owns the filly with trainer Tim Hamm, posted on its Facebook page that the daughter of Into Mischief didn’t come out of that workout as well as she went into it.

“Unfortunately, she came out of this work slightly off and diagnostic x-rays revealed mild changes which will prevent her from making a start in this Saturday’s G1 Test S. at Saratoga. Due to these changes, Dayoutoftheoffice will be retired from racing to Siena Farm and after days of deliberation, our team has decided to enter her in the Fasig-Tipton November sale.”

Dayoutoftheoffice finishes her career 3-for-6

That closes the book on Dayoutoftheoffice’s six-race career. Three of those put her in the winner’s circle, including two graded stakes: the Grade 3 Schyulerville by six lengths at Saratoga last July, and the Frizette three months later. Dayoutoftheoffice’s Frizette win as the 5/2 second favorite to 4/5 rival Vequist was her third in as many starts opening her career.

It also turned out to be her final one. As the 4/1 third-favorite, she led the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies into the stretch before Vequist took over and pulled away for a two-length victory.

This year, Dayoutoftheoffice raced only twice. She finished second to Obligatory in the Grade 2 Eight Belles on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, then fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn on the Belmont Stakes undercard. That was the only time in her six career races Dayoutoftheoffice failed to hit the board (3-2-0).

Hamm made this call without blinking

Hamm said retiring his star filly after three wins and $642,300 in earnings was his decision. He told the Daily Racing Form that he decided to end Dayoutoftheoffice’s racing career for the same reason you don’t see star colts running past their 3, or 4-year-old seasons.

“She has no major issues,” Hamm told the DRF, which first reported the retirement. “I just believe her broodmare value outweighs her racing value at this point, that it’s just not worth putting her through the wear and tear of campaigning her the rest of the year. I called Siena and told them that, in my opinion, I just think it’s enough. When the time is right, the time is right. I thought it was an easy decision and they were very receptive to that.”