Carson Hollow out for year

ELMONT, N.Y. - Carson Hollow, a Grade 1-winning filly and the New York-bred Horse of the Year for 2002, suffered a chip in her left knee that will require surgery, and she is likely out for the remainder of the year, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said Monday.

Carson Hollow, a 4-year-old daughter of Carson City owned by Frank Stronach and Hemlock Hills Farms, will be shipped to the Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic in Lexington, Ky., where she is expected to undergo surgery on June 11. Dutrow said he expects Carson Hollow to return to the races next year as a 5-year-old.

From his Aqueduct barn, Dutrow said that if Stronach "had just breeding on his mind, we wouldn't be operating. This is something she could live with in the breeding shed. We're going to try and get her back over there. If she doesn't come back 100 percent, then it's time to stop."

Dutrow said he noticed something amiss with Carson Hollow on Friday, two days after she worked six furlongs in 1:11.81 at Aqueduct. Carson Hollow was being pointed to Sunday's Grade 2 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont.

Carson Hollow won the first four starts of her career, including the Grade 1 Prioress last summer at Belmont Park. She may be best known for a race she lost, battling through the stretch with You before falling a nose short in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga.

Carson Hollow bounced back to win the Grade 3 Floral Park but finished last in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. This year, she has one win from three starts, that coming in the Grade 2 Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap.