KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) – Barbaro was resting comfortably and eating with gusto Tuesday, one day after the colt’s veterinarian said the Kentucky Derby winner was in for “tough days ahead.”

“He’s tolerating the new cast well,” Dr. Dean Richardson said at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. “We have changed his left hind foot bandage and that looks improved. His vital signs remain stable and his attitude and appetite remain excellent.”

Barbaro had a new cast applied Monday – his sixth overall, and the fourth change in a week. He also underwent three other procedures on the right hind leg he shattered in the Preakness seven weeks ago, including surgery on Saturday to correct “potentially serious” complications to the injured leg.

After six weeks of a relatively smooth recovery, Barbaro suffered a weekend of complications.

This included three hours of surgery Saturday night when doctors treated an infection and replaced the titanium plate and many of the 27 screws that had been inserted into the leg May 21, the day after the Preakness.

A small abscess on the sole of his left hind hoof also developed.

On Monday, Richardson said the strapping colt was in for “tough times right now.”

“I think we’re going to have some tough days ahead,” he said. “I’m being realistic about it. When a horse has a setback like this, it’s a problem.”

But on Tuesday, the vet was more upbeat:

“Barbaro is eating well and resting in his stall,” said Richardson, who has worked on the colt since his arrival.

AP-ES-07-11-06 1835EDT