Nehro to undergo surgery for ankle chip

Nehro to undergo surgery for ankle

chip

Owner Ahmed Zayat told The Paulick Report Sunday that NEHRO

(Mineshaft) exited his fourth-place finish in Saturday's Belmont S. (G1) with a

bone chip in his ankle. The Steve Asmussen pupil is scheduled to undergo surgery

at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital near Lexington, Kentucky.

"It's not career-ending, but it sets us back," said Zayat, who added that the

November 5 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs remains a long-term

goal.

The Belmont was the seventh career start for Nehro and fourth straight in a

graded stakes, after running second in the Louisiana Derby (G2), Arkansas Derby

(G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1), his most recent effort, on May 7.

Nehro broke from post 6 in the Belmont and was quickly guided to the rail by

jockey Corey Nakatani heading into the first turn. They were able to save ground

on the sloppy, sealed main track before angling out past the quarter-pole and

making a late run, beaten 7 1/2 lengths by Ruler on Ice (Roman Ruler).

Asmussen's New York-based assistant, Toby Sheets, had commented on the colt's

effort before his injury was revealed.

"I don't know if it was the surface or eating all the muck," Sheets said.

"All the winners yesterday were on the front end or close to it, or ate no mud,

and he ate a ton of mud. The horse that ran second (Stay Thirsty [Bernardini])

was on the fence not eating any mud, and the horse that won was on the outside.

"The note of the day, basically, is that most of the horses that won, their

bridles were all clean when they came back."