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FOLLOWING UP WHAT MEaIK JUST SAID !! Likely favorite Eskendereya is out of the Kentucky Derby.
Trainer Todd Pletcher pulled the 3-year-old colt out of next weekend's race due swelling in his left front leg.
Eskendereya stamped himself as the horse to beat after romping to wins in the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial by a combined 18 1/4 lengths.
“
We were still kind of hoping for a miracle overnight and we didn't get it. It's the worst of timing.
” -- Trainer Todd Pletcher
He was scheduled to work at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, but Pletcher opted to keep the muscular chestnut colt in the barn while sending his other Derby entries out on the track.
Pletcher said he detected something was "off" with the horse when he galloped on Saturday morning and later noticed swelling between the ankle and knee of the left front leg. It had worsened when Pletcher arrived at the barn Sunday morning and he sent owner Ahmed Zayat a text informing him of the problem.
"We were still kind of hoping for a miracle overnight and we didn't get it," Pletcher said. "It's the worst of timing."
Pletcher stressed that "the horse is not lame" and he's hoping the injury, which he likened to a sprained ankle in a human, isn't career-threatening. Eskendereya will undergo an examination when the swelling subsides, but Pletcher said he'll speak to Zayat before making any decision on what to do next.
"It's a tough one," said Pletcher.
Pletcher said Zayat "took it better than I would have."
"He says the horse comes first," Pletcher said. "He loves Eskendereya. He's not going to do anything to take any chances. ... It's not a phone call I wanted to make."
Zayat, who owned 2009 Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press
Trainer Todd Pletcher pulled the 3-year-old colt out of next weekend's race due swelling in his left front leg.
Eskendereya stamped himself as the horse to beat after romping to wins in the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial by a combined 18 1/4 lengths.
“
We were still kind of hoping for a miracle overnight and we didn't get it. It's the worst of timing.
” -- Trainer Todd Pletcher
He was scheduled to work at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, but Pletcher opted to keep the muscular chestnut colt in the barn while sending his other Derby entries out on the track.
Pletcher said he detected something was "off" with the horse when he galloped on Saturday morning and later noticed swelling between the ankle and knee of the left front leg. It had worsened when Pletcher arrived at the barn Sunday morning and he sent owner Ahmed Zayat a text informing him of the problem.
"We were still kind of hoping for a miracle overnight and we didn't get it," Pletcher said. "It's the worst of timing."
Pletcher stressed that "the horse is not lame" and he's hoping the injury, which he likened to a sprained ankle in a human, isn't career-threatening. Eskendereya will undergo an examination when the swelling subsides, but Pletcher said he'll speak to Zayat before making any decision on what to do next.
"It's a tough one," said Pletcher.
Pletcher said Zayat "took it better than I would have."
"He says the horse comes first," Pletcher said. "He loves Eskendereya. He's not going to do anything to take any chances. ... It's not a phone call I wanted to make."
Zayat, who owned 2009 Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press
PS-MARVIN LOVES SPLIT SALAD !! 
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