3/2/09
Last updated: 3/1/09 8:27 PM
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Midshipman was last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
(Charles Pravata/Horsephotos.com) |
Champion MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled’s Song) will miss the Triple Crown after he
sustained a minor soft tissue injury to his left foreleg during routine
exercise at Godolphin’s Al Quoz Stables in Dubai on Saturday.
He will now require a period of time out of training but the prognosis for a
return to racing in the second half of the year is favorable.
“Unfortunately Midshipman has knocked himself and inevitably this injury will
rule him out of the Triple Crown races,” Racing Manager Simon Crisford explained
in a statement. “It is a huge shame as he had been pleasing us enormously and
was ready to make his reappearance next Thursday.”
Midshipman was honored as the 2008 champion two-year-old following victories
in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Del Mar Futurity (G1) as well as a
runner-up effort in the Norfolk S. (G1).
Bred and raced by Stonerside Stable for his career debut, the chestnut was
acquired by Darley Stable days prior to the Del Mar Futurity, along with most of
the other assets from Robert McNair’s Stonerside Thoroughbred operation.
Midshipman was subsequently promoted to Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin team and has
been wintering in Dubai.
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“He is scheduled to return to America in early April and hopefully he will be
back on the track later in the season,” Crisford said. “We can’t risk him right
now as we need to give his injury time to settle. It is in his best interest to
give him time to return to peak fitness later in the year.”
Midshipman has so far posted a 4-3-1-0 mark with earnings of $1,380,200.
