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Bellamy Road off Triple Crown trail; Don't Get Mad to skip Preakness

Bellamy Road will skip the Preakness and Belmont due to an injured leg (Michael J. Marten/Horsephotos.com)

Wood Memorial (G1) winner BELLAMY ROAD (Concerto), who finished seventh as the 5-2 favorite in the Kentucky Derby (G1), popped a splint in his left front leg and will miss the rest of the Triple Crown, trainer Nick Zito said Tuesday. The injury typically is caused by too much stress on the splint bone, which is located beneath the knee. X-rays did not reveal any fractures.

Bellamy Road is expected to miss about 30 days of training and will be pointed toward the August 27 Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga.

Zito said three of his five Kentucky Derby starters -- HIGH FLY (Atticus), NOBLE CAUSEWAY (Giant's Causeway) and SUN KING (Charismatic) -- remain under consideration for the May 21 Preakness S. (G1). He said ANDROMEDA'S HERO (Fusaichi Pegasus) will skip the middle jewel of the Triple Crown but may run in the Belmont S. (G1) on June 11.

In other Preakness news:

DON'T GET MAD (Stephen Got Even), who romped to a seven-length victory in the Derby Trial S. just seven days before finishing fourth in the "Run for the Roses," will not run in the Preakness, trainer Ron Ellis said.

"He had two major efforts in two weeks," Ellis said. "We'll take him off the trail for now, but the Belmont remains a strong consideration."

B. Wayne Hughes, who owns Don't Get Mad, is expected to be represented in the Preakness by GREELEY'S GALAXY (Mr. Greeley), who was 11th in the Derby.

Trainer Tim Ritchey confirmed that Kentucky Derby third-place finisher AFLEET ALEX (Northern Afleet) will travel by van from Churchill Downs to Pimlico on Wednesday, thus being the first to arrive at the Preakness stakes barn.

"I traveled back to Delaware (after the Derby) where we had some horses running, but I will be at Pimlico around 4 p.m. (EDT) Wednesday to receive Afleet Alex," Ritchey said. "Right now, he's doing great. Everything is going as planned."

Kentucky Derby runner-up CLOSING ARGUMENT (Successful Appeal) has returned to Belmont Park.

"We haven't decided on a ship date, but it will probably be Wednesday of next week," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "His final breeze will most likely be at Belmont."

WILKO (Awesome Again), who finished sixth in the Derby, is expected to fly from Louisville to Baltimore, Maryland, on May 18. Trainer Craig Dollase took certain satisfaction that four of the top six finishers in the Kentucky Derby were based in Southern California.

"I'm proud of the way our California horses performed in the Derby," Dollase said. "Our horse ran a big race. When you consider the fact that he bled and endured kick-back from 18 other horses, it looks like a solid effort. We have beaten those horses, which makes me very confident going into the Preakness."


 


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