Derby prospect Gunmetal Gray to have surgery for condylar fracture

ARCADIA, Calif. – Gunmetal Gray, who won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes in January, was diagnosed with a condylar fracture after a workout at Santa Anita on Sunday and was scheduled to undergo surgery later in the day.

Terry Finley, president and chief executive of West Point Thoroughbreds, which co-owns the colt, said the injury was diagnosed at the barn in the minutes after the workout and “doesn’t appear to be career-threatening.”

“It looks fixable,” Finley said.

Trained by Jerry Hollendorer, Gunmetal Gray worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds at Santa Anita on Sunday, his first major exercise since a fourth-place finish in the second division of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16.

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The injury comes at a time of heightened concern over horse welfare at Santa Anita following 22 equine fatalities since late December. The track has not raced since March 3 to conduct an investigation into the racing surface but plans to resume racing on Friday.

Co-owned by Pearl Racing and Hollendorfer, Gunmetal Gray has won 2 of 7 starts and earned $284,700. At 2, Gunmetal Gray was second in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita and fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, losing both races to eventual 2-year-old champion male Game Winner.

Gunmetal Gray has had three starts this year. After the Sham Stakes, Gunmetal Gray finished second to Mucho Gusto in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 2.