Multiple Grade 1 star SUMMER BIRD (Birdstone), a leading candidate for
champion three-year-old male honors, exited a Sunday morning workout with an
injury and has been ruled out of the December 6 Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1).
The Tim Ice pupil, who had shipped to Japan on November 19, was training at
Hanshin Racecourse, the site of the about 1 1/8-mile Japan Cup Dirt. According
to the Japan Racing Association, Summer Bird came out of his Sunday exercise
with a metacarpus fracture in his right foreleg.
Subsequent reports specify that the colt was diagnosed with a bone chip in
his right front fetlock. Plans call for Summer Bird to ship to Kentucky, where
further decisions regarding his course of treatment and future racing career
will be made.
As the winner of the Belmont S. (G1), Travers S. (G1) and Jockey Club Gold
Cup (G1), Summer Bird was eligible for bonuses if he placed in the top three in
the approximately $3 million Japan Cup Dirt.
Summer Bird, who was a distant second to Horse of the Year candidate Rachel
Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Haskell Invitational (G1) in August, was most
recently a gallant fourth to Horse of the Year candidate Zenyatta in the
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
In his absence, only one American contender remains in the Japan Cup Dirt,
TIZWAY (Tiznow) from the James Bond barn. Fourth in the Whitney H. (G1) two
back, the four-year-old is coming off a distant third to Summer Bird in the
Jockey Club Gold Cup. Tizway arrived in Japan this past Monday.