A standardbred stallion standing in the United States has passed away after a mysterious illness changed the horse's skin pigment and caused complete loss of his coat.
Prominent Florida sire Arapa Victory, whose sons and daughters have made a solid impact in Florida Stakes program, has died at age 13 according to owner Laurie Lee Poulin.
The royally-bred son of Valley Victory, out of the Speedy Crown mare Rap Girl, passed away from an undiagnosed illness which began last November with hives, continued with the loss of his entire coat, and ended with the near complete erasure of skin pigmentation.
Veterinarians from two Universities were completely puzzled by the illness after blood samples and other tests produced negative results.
A foal of 2000, Arapa Victory was the sire of several successful Stakes performers, including Open trotter Prairie Big John, What About Brian, J S Victory, Prairie Treasure and Coconspirator, among others.
Prairie Big John took a mark of 1:59.1 as a two year-old and won three legs of the Sunshine State Stakes. Since then, he has taken a mark of 1:55.4.
What About Brian also lowered his lifetime mark in 2012 to 1:55.3.
As a racehorse, Arapa Victory saw limited action but took a mark of 1:56.2 as a three year-old in a season in which he competed in stakes events such as the Reynolds, Transylvania and Yonkers Trot.
(Pompano)