The Breeders' Cup Sprint lost yet another top contender when trainer
Todd Pletcher revealed Discreetly Mine will miss the race because of an
injury to his left stifle. Division leader Majesticperfection was the
first major defection from the race when retired because of injury late
this summer.
Pletcher said it took several days to diagnose the exact nature of
Discreetly Mine's problem but received the bad news from Dr. Larry
Bramlage on Wednesday.
"It's nothing too serious, but he'll have to be given 60 days off,
which naturally eliminates the Sprint from consideration," Pletcher
said. "If all goes well we hope to have him back in training again this
winter at Palm Meadows. This is terribly disappointing to us because
obviously this horse found his niche sprinting during the second half
of the season."
Discreetly Mine won his last three starts at distances ranging from
six to seven furlongs including the Grade 1 King's Bishop and Grade 2
Amsterdam this summer at Saratoga.
Two horses who do appear headed for the Sprint are Girolamo and
Riley Tucker after finishing first and second respectively on Saturday
in Belmont's Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational.
Rick Mettee, New York based assistant for Godolphin, said Girolamo
will be pointed for the Sprint following his popular 2.5 length victory
over Riley Tucker. The Vosburgh was the first start at six furlongs for
Girolamo and earned him a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
"I was pleased with his performance," said Mettee. "He ran fast but
not too fast and I think he's still got room to improve. He'll need to
run a little faster to win the Sprint but he's lightly raced which
means we should have a fresh horse for the rest of the season."
Trainer Steve Asmussen was equally happy with Riley Tucker's second place effort in the Vosburgh.
"I was definitely pleased with his performance and considering his
best effort for us came at Churchill Downs, there are a lot of things
to like about running him in the Sprint," Asmussen said.
Riley Tucker won the Grade 3 Aristides while earning a career best 110 Beyer Speed Figure this spring at Churchill Downs.
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