The hard-knocking graded stakes winner Five Star General will begin his stud career at Covilar LLC’s Owl Hollow Farm in Floyd, Va., in 2025.
Five Star General, who earned more than $900,000, will stand at the Owl Hollow of Covilar LLC, founded by Dr. Josep Bassaganya-Riera. Covilar acquired 50 percent of the 8-year-old son of Distorted Humor, and will stand him in partnership with racing owner Kenny Alhadeff of Elttaes Stables. Bassaganya-Riera acquired Owl Hollow in 2021, has made of facility upgrades, and is building a stallion operation as he seeks to establish a premier breeding and racing facility in Virginia’s historic horse country.
“Five Star General is the ideal stallion to begin expanding Covilar and Owl Hollow Farm,” Bassaganya-Riera said in a release. “Thanks to our partnership with Kenny Alhadeff, we’re thrilled to offer breeders a top-class stallion right here in Virginia. Our unique breeding program has already produced two crops of foals from Snapy Halo, sired by top southern hemisphere producer Southern Halo. Our breeding programs are designed to maximize performance, speed, and stamina of the offspring. We believe that the addition of ‘Ike’ as our leading stallion is a natural choice and excellent complement to our emerging Thoroughbred breeding program.”
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Five Star General will stand for an advertised fee of $6,000. Incentive programs will be announced designed to support breeders in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region, and to incentivize broodmares with proven racing or production credentials.
Five Star General concludes his racing career with a record of 39-13-6-9 and earnings of $902,202. He is known for contesting the historic Longacres Mile five years in a row. He finished second in the 2020 edition and third in 2021 when the race was run as a Grade 3 event; and third in the 2022 edition, as a listed event. He broke through to win the 2023 and 2024 editions of the race – the latter in August in his career finale. The Longacres accomplishments were particularly meaningful for Alhadeff, whose grandfather, Joe Gottstein, founded Longacres Racetrack in the Seattle area in 1933.
“Winning back-to-back Longacres Miles with Five Star General is a highlight of my entire career as an owner,” Alhadeff said. “I’ve had the privilege of racing over 100 Thoroughbreds, and Five Star General’s continued display of endurance, desire, and courage has been breathtaking. His improbable stretch run in the last race before retirement is best described by legendary jockey, Joe Bravo, who said, ‘The horse willed it. He’s a warrior.’ When a Thoroughbred runs from ages 2 through 8 — winning every year — it tells you something very important about their durability and desire.”
Five Star General also won the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings in 2019. His other stakes wins came in the 2018 Central Park at Aqueduct, 2019 British Columbia Cup Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial, 2023 Evangeline Mile, and 2023 Tenacious Stakes at Fair Grounds. Along with his Longacres efforts, he placed in nine other stakes races as his career took him to 15 tracks in nine states and Canada.
Five Star General is out of the winning Bernardini mare Party of Interest, a half-sister to Grade 3 winner and stakes producer Criminologist. He is from a Phipps-Janney family responsible for Grade 1 winner Carriage Trail and others.
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