INJURY SIDELINES MUD ROUTE.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer For California horses, the Run for the Roses is starting to feel more like the War of the Roses, the way the casualties are piling up. A day after 2-year-old champion Boston Harbor broke down in a workout at Santa Anita, leading western Kentucky Derby contender Mud Route was declared out of the running on Tuesday because of a shin injury. Both colts had been training for Sunday's San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade II event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt. , a steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. to the April 5 Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. , a major prep for the May 3 Kentucky Derby. Both are expected to recover and race again. But Boston Harbor will be sidelined at least four months with a fractured left-front cannon bone, trainer D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. said Monday, and Mud Route will need a month of complete rest and two months of conditioning before his comeback, trainer Ron McAnally said Tuesday. ``It's disheartening dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. to come this far with a colt who's this good,'' said McAnally, the Hall of Famer who trained champions John Henry, Bayakoa and Paseana but has known little except disappointment in the Derby. ``I think he's the most talented horse I've had.'' Mud Route, who is owned by breeder Janis Whitham of Kansas, had a sharp 7-furlong workout Saturday at Santa Anita. Sunday, his left foreleg was tender to the touch. X-rays showed no fracture. McAnally said Dr. Jack Robbins diagnosed the problem as bucked shins, a common ailment in young thoroughbreds. ``We decided it was unfair to go on with it (training),'' McAnally said. Back east, Pulpit has been dazzling in winning his first three races, including the Fountain of Youth Stakes The Fountain of Youth Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Gulfstream Park at the beginning of March each year. A Grade II event open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt, it offers a purse of $350,000. last Saturday at Gulfstream Park. ``Just a few months after Cigar's retirement,'' wrote the New York Daily News' Bill Finley, ``racing may have its next superstar.'' Meanwhile, here in California, horsemen and handicappers have been only a little less excited about Mud Route. A son of Strawberry Road and a grandson of 1983 Derby winner Sunny's Halo, Mud Route ran third in his debut in November, then broke his maiden by 11 lengths at Hollywood Park in December and won a one-mile allowance race by 2-1/4 miles in fast time at Santa Anita on Jan. 18. He quickly became the consensus Derby favorite of Santa Anita press-box handicappers. And rival trainer Bob Baffert - whose own top hope, Del Mar Futurity The Del Mar Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. Beginning in the racing season of 2007, this race has been upgraded by the American Graded Stakes Committee from a Grade II event to a Grade I. winner Silver Charm, had his Derby preparation interrupted by a virus - told the Daily Racing Form The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States. : ``I know everyone is talking about Pulpit, but if I had my choice between the two, I'd take Mud Route.'' McAnally said he plans to replace Mud Route in the San Rafael with Hello, the Santa Catalina Stakes winner who had been scheduled to face Silver Charm in the March 16 San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses run each year at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is normally held in mid-March and is open to horses, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. . Now, at least jockey Chris McCarron won't have to choose between the two McAnally colts. The tentative San Rafael field looks like this: Bagshot, Carmen's Baby, Daylight in Dubai, Funontherun, Inexcessivelygood, Steel Ruhlr, Swiss Yodeler and Hello. Post positions for the $200,000, one-mile race for 3-year-olds will be announced Friday. The San Rafael is the highlight of Sunday's Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during undercard. The Big 'Cap will feature Gentlemen, the Argentina-bred 5-year-old who has won five straight races in California. Glisson dies: Gordon Glisson, the popular former jockey, died Sunday at the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, where he was being treated after an accident at home in Ventura County. He was 66 and leaves a wife, Elsie, and three children. Glisson was the nation's leading jockey in 1949, the year he became the only apprentice rider to lead the Santa Anita meet in winners, beating Johnny Longden and Eddie Arcaro. Glisson rode '49 Santa Anita Derby winner Old Rockport and '55 Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. winner Rejected. Big money: Big 'Cap week begins today with a $525,941 carryover after nobody hit the pick six Saturday or Sunday. |
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