Brown disputes vet scratch of favored Dolce Zel from Valley View

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Chad Brown on Friday morning described himself as “extremely upset” with the unplanned defection of morning-line favorite Dolce Zel from the Grade 3 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland after chief state veterinarian Dr. Nicholas Smith scratched the filly following a standard pre-race examination.

“It’s totally wrong, in my opinion,” said Brown.

Dr. Bruce Howard, equine medical director for the state of Kentucky, said by phone early Friday afternoon that Smith and a second state veterinarian, Dr. Brent Cassady, “both were concerned enough with what they saw that they decided to make the scratch. Safety of the horse is always our primary concern. They are two of our very experienced veterinarians.”

Brown, however, strongly disputed that anything was wrong with Dolce Zel, a French-bred filly who has raced five times in his name, posting two wins, both in Grade 3 turf races. She ran twice in Kentucky in the spring, finishing second in the Grade 2 Appalachian at Keeneland and third in the Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill Downs.

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“She’s had a puffy tendon sheath the whole time I’ve had her,” said Brown, who provided two videos of the filly appearing to jog sound. “It’s nothing, just something cosmetic. She’s completely sound. I told the vet I’d jog her 50 times for him if he wanted. It’s the worst call I’ve ever seen in terms of pre-race evaluations.

“It’s too bad that it’s come to this with these horses. It seems like there’s no room for reasonable discretion when it comes to these pre-race exams.”

Dolce Zel, owned by the partnership of Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Bob LaPenta, was to compete for the equivalent of a $250,000 purse when ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. in the Valley View, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies. Brown said she now will be pointed to the $135,000 Winter Memories, also a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies, on Nov. 13 at Aqueduct.

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