Sunshine Forever is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Champion

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

 Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. Bred by Darby Dan Farm

Darby Dan Farm

Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath , it was expanded from an original farm into a 4,000...

 owner John W. Galbreath who owned his dam, Outward Sunshine, and his damsire, Graustark

Graustark (horse)

Graustark was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was a favorite to win the 1966 Kentucky Derby until an injury prematurely ended his career.-Background:Bred by renowned sportsman John W...

, Sunshine Forever was sired by Galbreath's 1972 Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

 winner, Roberto

Roberto (horse)

Roberto was an American-bred Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed in Ireland and England.-Background:Roberto was bred by Galbreath at his Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The son of the successful sire Hail To Reason out of the dam Bramalea, Roberto's grandsire was Turn-To, a...

.

Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 inductee, John M. Veitch

John M. Veitch

John M. Veitch is an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Sylvester Veitch, his family has been part of the horse-training business for three generations....

, Sunshine Forever was voted the Eclipse Award

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

 for American Champion Male Turf Horse following a 1988 season in which he won three Grade I

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 races. In addition to winning the important Turf Classic, Man o' War Stakes

Man O' War Stakes

The Man o' War Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Now Raced in July, it is a Grade I event offering a purse of $500,000 and is open to horses three-years-old and up. Run at one and three-eighths mile on the grass, the race sometimes attracts top European horses...

, and the Washington, D.C. International Stakes, the colt ran second to Great Communicator

Great Communicator

Great Communicator is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1988 Breeders' Cup Turf.Great Communicator suffered a breakdown in the 1990 Carleton F. Burke Handicap at Santa Anita Park and had to be euthanized.-References:...

 in the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...

 and third to winner Mill Native in the Arlington Million

Arlington Million

The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flathorse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois in August each year...

.

In 1989, Sunshine Forever's best major race results were a second in the Grade II Canadian Turf Handicap

Canadian Turf Handicap

The Canadian Turf Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The Grade III race is open to horses four-year-old and up and is run at a distance of 11/16 miles on turf....

 at Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans December through April, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America....

 in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and a third place finish in the Grade III Fort Marcy Handicap

Fort Marcy Handicap

The Fort Marcy Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Grade III race, it is open to horses three-years-old and up and is raced on turf over a distance of 1 1/16 miles. The event currently offers a purse of...

 at Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Retired to stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 duty at Darby Dan Farm, Sunshine Forever's offspring met with modest racing success. After standing in the United States, he was sent to Nitta Farm in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. In late 2004, arrangements were made to bring the then nineteen-year-old horse to the Old Friends

Old Friends Equine

Old Friends is a nonprofit equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky. It is the only thoroughbred retirement facility in the United States that accepts stallions....

 retirement home for thoroughbred racehorses in Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown, Kentucky

Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts...

where he remains.