Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, who started and ended his career at Saratoga, has been retired to stud at WinStar Farm.

After finishing 10th of 11 in the Travers Stakes on Aug. 28, his third unplaced effort in a row following the Derby, the son of Maria's Mon underwent a head-to-toe veterinary examination as a precaution. The scan revealed bruising of his cannon bones, sending him to the sidelines. After further evaluating the injury and the potential for a return, the WinStar team, which campaigned the colt as a homebred, made the decision to retire him.

"The final decision to retire Super Saver was a difficult one that may not be popular with fans but should be very popular with our breeders," WinStar Vice President and Racing Manager Elliott Walden said in a release. "The bone bruising ... which limited his performance during the latter half of this year should subside with time. However, it created a slight risk that he would not return to the form he showed as a two year old and through the Kentucky Derby."

Super Saver made his career debut at Saratoga on Aug. 22, 2009, finishing second in a maiden special weight. He went on to break his maiden at second asking at Belmont. After running fourth in the Champagne, he finished the year with a victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club, winning in stakes-record time and displaying affinity for the Churchill Downs track.

The colt rounded into form as a 3-year-old by finishing third in the Tampa Bay Derby and then second in the Arkansas Derby. Three weeks later, under a patented rail-skimming ride by Calvin Bore, Super Saver splashed home in the mud to score a 2 1/2 length win in the Kentucky Derby. It was the first Derby win for WinStar and also the first for leading trainer Todd Pletcher, ending an 0-for-24 skid.

"I've dreamt of winning the Kentucky Derby since I was six years old," Pletcher said. "Super Saver was my fastest 2-year-old last year and his stakes-record performance in the (Kentucky) Jockey Club told me he was a Derby horse. I just had to harness that speed and get him ready. Thank God it happened just that way."

Super Saver's bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 ended when he was eighth in the Preakness, a finish Pletcher attributed to the grind of Triple Crown season. The colt was freshened for a summer campaign, but finished fourth in the Haskell and then 10th in the Travers in what would be his final career start.

Super Saver finished 10-3-2-1 with earnings of $1,889,766. A stud fee has not been announced.