First Mission to scratch from Preakness due to hind ankle injury
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BALTIMORE – First Mission, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line for Saturday's $1.65 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, will scratch from the race due to a yet-to-be-determined issue with his left hind ankle, his connections announced Friday morning.
Godolphin Racing, which owns First Mission, said in a posting on its Twitter account that trainer Brad Cox has been working with the 1/ST veterinary team the last couple of days to try and fully identify a left hind issue but were unable to do so. The horse will be sent to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky to be evaluated by Dr. Larry Bramlage.
“We are obviously very disappointed, but the welfare of the horse is our utmost concern, and we are going to take the necessary steps to determine the best course of action to get him back on the track,” Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s director of bloodstock, said in a press release.
Cox said Friday that after training on Wednesday there was some question whether First Mission was off behind. X-rays taken Wednesday were inconclusive, he said. On Thursday morning, Cox had First Mission jog on the road and he did well enough to the point where the horse galloped later that morning.
In the end, however, after consultation with the 1/ST Racing veterinarians, Cox, and his on-site veterinarian, the decision was made to scratch.
“Without a doubt it’s easy to make the decision to not race him because there is some question,” Cox said Friday morning. “I think watching him train he’s happy, healthy, doing well. He was a monster coming off the track yesterday morning. There is a little bit of a question mark with some of the diagnostics done, which led us to the decision to not obviously take a chance. We have to be 100 percent in order to run, and there are just some question marks.”
Cox said First Mission was scheduled to leave Baltimore by van for Lexington Friday night and take up residence at Keeneland in Godolphin’s barn overseen by Johnny Burke.
Cox believes First Mission will get examined in the early part of next week.
First Mission has won 2 of 3 starts, including the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes on April 15 at Keeneland.
The scratch takes out the horse deemed the biggest threat to Kentucky Derby winner Mage in the Preakness. It also reduces the field to seven, the shortest Preakness field since 1986.
First Mission, who was to be ridden by Luis Saez, had the outside post.
This scratch comes two weeks after five of the 23 horses entered in the Kentucky Derby were scratched for various reasons, including Forte, the morning-line favorite who was scratched due to a bruised foot the morning of the race.
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