Beasley has surgery to remove ankle chip

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Mark Hennig said that his promising 3-year-old Beasley underwent surgery Monday to remove an ankle chip diagnosed following his fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 11. Beasley, a son of Shackleford, was beaten eight lengths by Tapwrit after bobbling at the break and racing wide.

Beasley had a win and two seconds in three starts prior to making his stakes debut at Tampa. Prior to the Tampa Bay Derby, Beasley extended the odds-on Battalion Runner through a long stretch duel before dropping a 1 1/4-length decision while going 1 1/8 miles here Feb. 3.

“We had options but felt like the best thing to do was to have the surgery to do right by the horse,” said Hennig. “Patty Hogan did the surgery, and she said if all goes well, he can be back to us in four weeks and theoretically be back under tack by Derby time. He ran a better figure on the Rag sheets in the Tampa Bay Derby than in any of his previous races.

“He’s run faster every time, and I thought he ran well considering the pretty horrendous break and how wide he was that day. I’m excited about the prospect of getting him right and how good a late-summer and fall campaign we might have to look forward to.”

Hennig will be in action here Saturday when he sends out Cursor for her 3-year-old debut in the $75,000 Any Limit Stakes. Cursor, by Quality Road, has not started since finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Tempted at Aqueduct on Nov. 25. She was an impressive maiden winner at the seven-furlong distance of the Any Limit in her previous start.

“We had to stop on her a little bit after the Tempted,” said Hennig, who trains Cursor for Courtlandt Farms. “She started back in training in mid-December and hasn’t had any hiccups. She’s come along nicely this winter. Ultimately, I think she wants to run a little further, but this looks like a decent starting point.”

Hennig has named Jose Ortiz aboard Cursor in the Any Limit. Trainer Kathleen O’Connell’s speedy and undefeated Who’s the Lady will top a lineup that also includes Fashion Runaway and the supplementary entrants Truge, Colorincolonel, and Mia.

The Grade 3 Skip Away also came up light for Saturday, with Zulu, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here last winter, and Team Colors, the runner-up in the Skip Away a year ago, the two leading contenders.