Multiple Grade 2 winner ROMAN RULER (Fusaichi Pegasus) will not run in the
Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 7 and will get some time off, trainer Bob Baffert
announced on Sunday. The dark bay colt finished eighth and last in the San
Felipe S. (G2) on Saturday.
“He’s out of the Derby picture,” Baffert said. “The Preakness (G1), there
might be a shot, but right now he’s definitely out of the Derby.”
Roman Ruler has been plagued by a quarter crack for much of the year and was
scratched from the February 13 San Vicente S. (G3) when the injury flared up
again. He returned to training soon after that with the San Felipe as his next
race.
“That (left front) foot has been plaguing him even though we’ve been trying
to get him there with a band-aid approach so I need to just stop on him and let
that thing grow out properly,” Baffert said. “I had to run him to find out if he
could make it. If he didn’t run yesterday I was going to be completely out of
the picture.
“Roman Ruler is a good horse and I’m going to have to cut that quarter out,”
he added. “He needs three weeks of (doing) nothing to let it heal.”
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said San Felipe winner CONSOLIDATOR (Storm Cat) came
out of the race well and could go next in the Blue Grass S. (G1) at Keeneland on
April 16, though a start in the April 9 Santa Anita Derby (G1) is not completely
out of the question.
“Consolidator went right to the head of the class,” he said. “He came out of
the race beautiful and he got a lot of pressure early and he stayed around.
That’s what you like to see because the (Kentucky) Derby is always pressure.”
San Felipe third-place finisher DON’T GET MAD (Stephen Got Even) could go in
either the April 16 Arkansas Derby (G2) at Oaklawn Park or the Santa Anita
Derby, but his trainer, Ron Ellis, said he is “…leaning towards Santa Anita.”