Grade 1 winner FAULT galloped on Sunday at Santa Anita Park but exited the exercise with a possible career-ending injury.
X-rays were taken on the four-year-old daughter of Blame after her exercise rider felt something was off following the work. The scans revealed a non-displaced condylar fracture in her left hind leg, according to trainer Phil D’Amato.
“It comes with the territory,” D’Amato told The Blood-Horse’s Jeremy Balan. “They’re very fragile horses, and you have to appreciate them while you have them. One bad step can change everything.
“But the good news is there is an excellent prognosis. She has a 100 percent recovery chance, and the owners need to weigh how much she’s worth as a broodmare (after the surgery).”
Fault is scheduled for surgery on Monday and will have screws inserted in her leg to stabilize the injury. The bay filly is campaigned by Agave Racing Stable and Little Red Feather Racing.
“The owners will talk among themselves and decide what to do,” D’Amato told the DRF’s Steve Andersen. “She can race again, but the question is has she done enough? Will she be a broodmare or will they give her time to come back?”
Fault was targeting the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard. She was bringing a perfect three-for-three mark from this year into that 1 1/16-mile contest.
After spending much of her career competing on turf, the filly has been making a name for herself on the main track in her past pair of wins, including a 6 1/2-length victory in the Santa Margarita Stakes (G1) two back.
Fault’s lifetime record stands at 16-6-3-2, $618,795.
