BC Turf news: King Cugat injured

ELMONT, N.Y. - King Cugat, who finished second as the odds-on favorite in Saturday's Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational, came out of the race with strained ligaments in his left foreleg and will be forced to miss the Breeders' Cup Turf, trainer Bill Mott said Monday.

Mott believed the injury was to the distal sesamoidean ligaments located at the base of the sesamoid where it attaches to the pastern bone. On Monday, Mott was waiting for the results of an ultrasound, "which could display something more definitive."

Mott said that the ligament "has been a chronic problem with him. It's not the first time it's been an issue. It is the first time that it's put him on whoa."

Mott did not believe the injury was career-ending and would not require surgery. Mott hoped that several months off would heal the injury and allow King Cugat to return to the races next year.

King Cugat has had a distinguished career, winning 7 of 16 starts including six stakes. A son of Kingmambo, King Cugat has earned $1,293,782. His only shortcoming is that he is 0 for 6 in Grade 1 races with five second-place finishes.

With Fantastic Light headed to the Breeders' Cup Classic and with Bienamado sidelined, King Cugat was viewed as North America's leading candidate for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

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