Grade 2 winner ROCKPORT HARBOR (Unbridled’s Song), who has been dogged by
various physical issues this year, returned to the track at Oaklawn Park for a
mile jog on Wednesday morning and came out of it well, according to trainer John
Servis.
“Everything went well,” Servis said at the barn afterward. “Rocky showed no
ill effects of his latest problem. For the first time in days, he seemed like a
happy horse.”
Rockport Harbor was found to have a blood clot on the right side of his neck
on Saturday. Veterinarian Dr. Douglas Byars treated the three-year-old on
Sunday, and the clot began to dissolve without forming an abscess. Servis said
Rockport Harbor, who hadn’t been to the track since Friday, “was not a happy
camper” being confined to the barn area over the past four days, but he noted
that the gray colt’s attitude improved noticeably when returning to the oval on
Wednesday.
The April 16 Arkansas Derby (G2) remains the goal for the once-beaten
Rockport Harbor.
“Rocky will gallop over the next few days, and if all goes well, he’ll have a
serious work Sunday morning,” Servis explained. “That will be the work that
tells us where we’re at. But if nothing more happens, Rocky still could make the
Arkansas Derby.”
Rockport Harbor has also been plagued with foot problems, but Servis said
it’s not an issue right now.
“As for the foot, that’s great. It’s ice cold.”