By Pete Denk

Real Quiet, dual classic winner and champion three-year-old colt of 1998, has been sidelined from stud duty at Dr. William Solomon’s Pin Oak Lane Farm in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, after showing signs of lameness in both of his hind feet.

The 13-year-old Quiet American horse was taken to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center on February 19. A nuclear scan indicated heat in both of Real Quiet’s hind feet, syndicate manager Mike Jester said.

“The nuclear scan on Friday showed he was carrying heat on both of his hind feet, but no one really had the reason,” Jester said. “As of Monday, he had good progress. They did get an abscess to pop out of his hind left foot on Sunday, and he’s more comfortable on that now. I’m hoping we get the same thing out of his right foot and get him back 100% here.”

Doctors at New Bolton were soaking Real Quiet’s right hind foot on Tuesday night, said Jester, who received a condition report from Dean Richardson, D.V.M., chief of surgery at New Bolton.

“Dean said he’s bright and pretty happy, and they’re working on the right hind foot,” Jester said. “They’ll be doing some soaking and those kinds of treatments tonight. If nothing pops out of there, then they’ll start looking at things like blood flow.”

Real Quiet covered four mares before his condition worsened. He was expected to be bred to about 80 mares this year, Jester said.

Real Quiet won five Grade 1 races including the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1). He lost his bid for the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop beat him by a nose in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Real Quiet won six of 20 starts and earned $3,271,802.

Real Quiet spent six years at stud in Kentucky before moving to Regal Heir Farms, in Grantville, Pennsylvania, for the 2006 season. His fee for 2007 at Pin Oak was $5,000.

Real Quiet has sired 142 winners, 12 stakes winners, and four graded winners from 432 foals of racing age. His progeny have earned $8,728,979.

Real Quiet is out of the Believe It mare Really Blue. He was bred in Kentucky by Little Hill Farm.

Pete Denk is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer