Yesterday at Aqueduct, Eightyfiveinafifty was set to make his second start as a 3-year old after winning his first race this year (and only the 2nd race of his young career) by 17 lengths. He was the odds-on favorite in the race. A good performance in this race would send him well on his way for preparing for the Kentucky Derby this May.
So what happened?
Going around the first turn his bit broke, the jockey lost control and the Eightyfiveinafifty ran off the track, breaking through a rail and then leaping another rail heading off the grounds. His jockey, Jorge Chavez, fell off sometime after the crash through the first rail. Luckily the horse was caught and miraculously was pretty much OK except for a gash on his leg requiring 14 stitches. Chavez was taken to the hospital and appears to be OK as well.
A day that began with such high hopes and excitement ended with the horse very likely being taken off the Derby trail. Preparing for the Derby is a very carefully planned thing. A horse only gets one shot to run in the Derby since it is a race for 3-year old horses and any glitch in the plan can spoils a horse’s chances for getting to the big race.
Quality Road is a perfect example of this. Last year Quality Road looked like he was going to be going to the Derby as the favorite. He’d had some hoof problems early on but had apparently overcome them. He’d broken the Gulfstream track record in the Florida Derby in March 09. But then the hoof problems reemerged shortly after. He was taken out of training to heal up and missed the opportunity for the Derby. He ended 2009 with a freak out at the starting gate at Breeders Cup (read more about that here). Yesterday he was back at Gulfstream for his second start as a 4-year old.
So, what happened?
He broke his own track record and won by 12-3/4 lengths in the Donn Handicap. You can’t make stories like this up!
