Centre Court sent to Rood & Riddle; Zinzay bound for
Jessamine
Centre Court, only eighth in the Ballston Spa on Saturday, has been
sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital near Lexington, Kentucky, to undergo a nuclear
scan, trainer George “Rusty” Arnold revealed.
“She’s sound, but something has gone amiss that I haven’t found,” Arnold said
of the Jenny Wiley winner, who had also disappointed in the July 27 Diana before
her latest flop.
“I worked hard trying to find it, but I’m missing something. She’s going to
be examined on Wednesday morning, and then I’ll get a report from (Dr. Larry
Bramlage).
“She trained sensationally, but something has changed in the
afternoon. She wasn’t comfortable leaving the gate, she had her head in the air,
she was bearing out. Nothing was right. Something is there that I’m missing and
all of my vets are missing.”
Arnold had better fortune on Sunday with another daughter of Smart Strike, Regis Racing’s Zinzay.
The trainer believed that the well-bred juvenile was destined to be
a turf horse, and his opinion was validated when she won by a neck in her debut,
a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight.
“I never expect them to pull out a victory,” Arnold said. “I expect them to run
well. She had trained well and we thought she had performed well, and that’s all
you can ask for a two-year-old first-time starter. Winning is just a bonus.”
Zinzay is the first foal to race out of Music Room, an unraced half-sister to
Music Note, who posted Grade 1 scores in the Beldame, Coaching Club American
Oaks, Ballerina, and Mother Goose on the dirt; and Musical Chimes, a Group/Grade
1 turf star who captured the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas) and
John C. Mabee Handicap.
“She likes the grass,” Arnold said. “Her works were better on the grass. I don’t
think she is going to see the dirt.”
On Sunday, Zinzay tracked 4-5 favorite Hillhouse High in second before striking
to the front in midstretch and asserting herself late under jockey Joe Rocco, Jr. Crown Queen, a half-sister to Royal Delta, finished 3
1/4 lengths behind the
winner in third.
“She did everything right,” Arnold said of Zinzay. “She acted good in the paddock, she
acted good in the gate. She broke well and did everything the right way. We’re
very happy with her. She had trained well, but you don’t know if they are going
to do it until they do it.”
Arnold said Zinzay likely will make her next start in the Grade 3 Jessamine on
October 9 at Keeneland.
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