Multiple graded stakes winner Papa Clem who took his stud career from California to Turkey died recently, according to his owner Reşat Akkan. The son of Smart Strike was 19.
Bo Hirsch bred and raced Papa Clem, who was the second foal out of the grade 1 winner Miss Houdini, who Hirsch also bred and raced. Trained by Gary Stute, Papa Clem won at 2 and then blossomed at 3. He ran second in the 2009 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) before grabbing the brass ring in the Arkansas Derby (G2). He would go on to finish a good fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Papa Clem made his only start at 4 a winning one, taking the 2010 San Fernando Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park but came out of the race with filling in his left front ankle. Hirsch decided to retire the horse, who he named after his late father Clement Hirsch, and stood him initially at Pete Parrella's Legacy Ranch. He retired with a 3-2-2 record from 13 starts and earned $1,121,190.
Papa Clem stood in California from 2011-17 and was then sold and relocated to Turkey. For his career, he sired 164 winners that include 12 black-type winners worldwide, led by five-time United States stakes winner Cordiality and Turkish runners Zolo Muum and Jefe De Jefes, who both won stakes recognized as group 1 in Turkey. Papa Clem's last foals are 2-year-olds.
