Blues and Royal...dead...Lyphard....Dead (36!!!)...GIACOMO hurt.
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GIACOMO
Surgery to sideline Giacomo
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo has a bone chip in his left ankle that will keep him away from racing until the end of the year at the earliest, trainer John Shirreffs said Thursday.
The injury was discovered when X-rays were taken on Wednesday, Shirreffs said. Noted veterinarian Rick Arthur will conduct surgery at Hollywood Park next week.
"The prognosis is excellent," Shirreffs said.
Shirreffs said the injury to Giacomo's foreleg is not severe, and he is encouraged that Giacomo can make a full recovery. "I would go with a cup-is-half-full scenario," he said.
Shirreffs said Wednesday's procedure was the first time that Giacomo had been X-rayed in his life.
The X-rays were conducted after jockey Mike Smith said that Giacomo had displaced his palate and could not breathe properly during the Belmont Stakes last Saturday. Giacomo finished seventh, 17 3/4 lengths behind Afleet Alex.
Early in the race, Giacomo was just behind the leaders. He took the lead briefly on the final turn, but faded rapidly in early stretch. Shirreffs said that Giacomo did not suffer the same breathing problems during a postrace examination by a veterinarian.
Still, Shirreffs ordered the X-rays when Giacomo returned to California, wanting to give the colt a full checkup before resuming any training.
"He's not had a displacing problem before in any race, and he's been through a lot," he said.
Shirreffs said that Dr. Dawn Hunkin, Giacomo's regular veterinarian in California, had told him that "it looks like a fresh chip because there was so little damage to the joint itself."
Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Giacomo has won 2 of 10 starts and $1,966,316. He scored a shocking victory in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, rallying from 18th in a field of 20 to win by a half-length at 50-1. The race was his first stakes victory in five attempts.
Giacomo finished third in the Preakness Stakes on May 21, losing by 9 3/4 lengths to Afleet Alex.
Shirreffs is hopeful that Giacomo can return to exercise in September, with a possible return to racing at the end of the year or the start of 2006.
"Most of the time for these type of injuries, it's between three or four months" off, Shirreffs said. "He should be at the short end of the time. With time, he should go on to be a better horse."
Lyphard
Lyphard dead at age 36
By FRANK MITCHELL
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lyphard, who at 36 was the oldest living elite Thoroughbred sire and one of the oldest horses in the world, died on June 10 at Gainesway Farm in Lexington.
The stallion was euthanized because of the infirmities of old age, a farm official confirmed.
His death was not unexpected, since the bay stallion had stubbornly held off death for years.
Lyphard, a son of Northern Dancer, won 6 of 12 starts in Europe and was nearly a champion before embarking on a remarkable stud career. In all, Lyphard sired 115 stakes winners from 843 foals (14 percent stakes winners), with 84 percent starters and 60 percent winners from his foals. He ranks as one of the half-dozen great sons of Northern Dancer, alongside Nijinsky, Danzig, Sadler's Wells, Nureyev, and El Gran Senor.
These stallions made a mark on the breed, exuding class, speed, soundness, and athleticism. And Lyphard was one of the best. He was the leading sire in North America in 1986, led the list in France in 1978 and 1979, and led the French broodmare sire list in 1985 and 1986.
BLUES AND ROYALS
odolphin Racing’s promising United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2) winner Blues and Royals was euthanized last weekend at Belmont Park due to complications of colitis.
"Very sadly, we’ve lost Blues and Royals," said Godolphin Racing Manager Simon Crisford. "He’s foundered and had to be put down. It’s a great shame because he’s a lovely horse with a lot of talent. He had colitis and things just deteriorated."
Blues and Royals was considered Godolphin’s second-stringer behind English Group 1 winner Shamardal going into the UAE Derby, but Blues and Royals ran off to a 12-length victory in the $2-million 1 1/8-mile dirt race on March 26 at Nad al Sheba.
That win led Godolphin to aim the Florida-bred son of Honour of Glory for a run in the Kentucky Derby (G1). But on April 18 Godolphin pulled him from consideration for the American classic, citing a minor respiratory condition.
Blues and Royals was later shipped to Belmont Park with designs on running him in the second half of the year, but he did not handle the travel very well, Crisford said.
Out of the Dixieland Band mare Dixieland Blues, Blues and Royals was a half-brother to Brooklyn Handicap (G2) winner Limehouse.
"He was great on [Dubai] World Cup (UAE-G1) night," Crisford said in reference to Blues and Royals brilliant win in the UAE Derby. "He won really well as you know and we were just hoping he could have a nice career in North America, but he couldn’t be saved."
Godolphin has had its share of bad luck with sending horses from Dubai to the United States. The stable lost champion two-year-old filly Tempera to colic in 2002 after she shipped from Dubai to prepare for a run at the Kentucky Oaks (G1). And last weekend, their Grade 1-winning homebred three-year-old filly Balletto (UAE) was retired after intestinal surgery. She developed colic after she shipped from Dubai to Belmont this spring.--Pete Denk
