Lawyer Ron won’t run in next Saturday’s Preakness after all.
The colt who won six in a row before finishing 12th in the Kentucky Derby, will have surgery today to remove a small chip from his right hind ankle.
Trainer Bob Holthus had hoped to run Lawyer Ron in the second leg of the Triple Crown, but the colt’s ankle was X-rayed and it was decided Thursday that the chip would be removed at Lexington’s Rood & Riddle equine clinic.
“He’ll be out approximately 30 to 40 days before he can return to training,” Holthus said. “If he had been a cheap horse, you probably would have not thought anything about it. You’d have just gone on. But, after all, he’s run one start in each of the last 10 months.”
A majority interest in Lawyer Ron was sold two days before the Derby by the estate of James Hines Jr. to Audrey Haisfield’s Stonewall Stallions. Holthus said the new group owns 80 percent of the Lawyer Ron.
The decision ended two days of uncertainty regarding Lawyer Ron’s ankle
On Tuesday, Holthus said the colt was unlikely for the Preakness because of the injury, but a day later he said more X-rays were needed.
In other Preakness news, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro jogged a mile and galloped another at the Fair Hill Training Center, in Elkton, Md.
“Our plans are day by day,” trainer Michael Matz said. “We don’t have anything special planned for him at this time.”
Sweetnorthernsaint, seventh in the Derby, jogged a mile at Laurel Park and trainer Michael Trombetta said his colt would ship the 20 miles to Pimlico on race day, May 20.
Brother Derek remained at Churchill Downs, and trainer Dan Hendricks remained confident his colt will run a big race next week. In the Derby, Brother Derek finished in a dead heat for fourth with Jazil.
“Circumstances will make the Preakness a much easier race without traffic,” Hendricks said.
A full field of 20 ran in the Derby; a field of about eight is expected for the Preakness.
Others pointing to the Preakness are Like Now, Bernardini and Hemingway’s Key. Trainer Bob Baffert was expected to decide this weekend on the status of Point Determined and Bob and John.
AP-ES-05-11-06 1803EDT
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.