Racing:Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another has been retired from racing after a freak injury forced the colt's withdrawal from Saturday's $1 million Belmont Stakes.
Trainer Doug O’Neill said the colt, who was bidding to become the first horse in 34 years to complete the Triple Crown, would stand at stud next season after suffering a swollen tendon earlier on Friday.
“This is extremely tough for all of us,” O'Neill told reporters outside the barns at Belmont Park on Friday. “Though it’s far from tragic, no one died or anything like that, it’s extremely disappointing. I feel so sorry for the whole team. We’ve had such an amazing run.”
I’ll Have Another’s owner, Canadian businessman J. Paul Reddam, said the decision to scratch the horse was made after scans showed early signs of tendonitis in his left front leg.
Reddam said the injury was not serious and the horse could have still contested the Belmont but they did not want to risk any further complications.
“He's not lame, he could have run," Reddam said. “But we have to do what’s best for the horse. If he can't compete at the top level, he’s done enough. History is going to have to wait for another day.”
Tendon injuries are common in thoroughbreds and most return to the track within six months but I’ll Have Another was worth more as a stallion after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Reddam bought I’ll Have Another for $35,000 and he won nearly $2.7 million on the track but would be expected earn more than double that in stud fees.
Most winners of America’s classic races end their careers in the breeding barns, with mixed success. The only Triple Crown winner to sire another Triple Crown winner was the 1930 champion Gallant Fox, whose son Omaha repeated the feat in 1935.
The 1977 Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew, the only horse to go through the Triple Crown while still undefeated, became one of the world’s most successful sires after retiring from the track.