A persistent leg issue will keep Grade 2 winner Successful Dan out of the Whitney Handicap on August 4.
A filling in Successful Dan’s left-front pastern has interrupted the horse's season, but trainer Charles Lopresti is hoping the injury will not be career-ending.
Lopresti loaded Successful Dan onto a van Saturday morning, bound for Lexington, Ky., and an appointment with Dr. Larry Bramlage at the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital.
“I’ve been watching it, and it won’t go down, and it’s a place where he had an injury in ’09 as a 3-year-old,” Lopresti said. “He’s not lame or anything; he’s been on the track every day. Even if it’s just a strain, we don’t want to take a chance like that. It’s sad; it’s unfortunate. He’s been plagued with nagging injuries all his life, and we haven’t seen the best of him.”
Successful Dan underwent an ultrasound examination that came up clean, said Lopresti, and he will receive further testing at Rood & Riddle.
“There is no tear,” Lopresti said. “Dr. Bramlage, we sent everything to him. He knows that horse inside out and upside down. He’s got all the records. He knows everything about that horse. If there’s any chance to bring him back, he’ll tell me.
“I jogged [Successful Dan] on the track this morning, and he was full of himself. With a horse of that caliber, you have to be careful. To win a race like the Whitney, you have to be 100 percent. It’s a really sad day for us.”