Focus shifts from Kentucky Derby to Preakness for High Oak

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – An ankle issue, presumably the result of an incident that occurred in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, will keep High Oak from running in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 9 and eliminate any hope of him making the Kentucky Derby, part-owner Lee Einsidler said Wednesday.

High Oak, trained by Bill Mott, was one of two horses impeded to the point of losing their rider during the running of the Fountain of Youth on Feb. 5. Initially, it was believed High Oak had escaped the incident unscathed. But upon returning to the track at Payson Park, High Oak developed filling in his left front ankle and was forced to miss at least a week of training.

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Einsidler said the hope now is that High Oak could make the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard and then potentially the Preakness two weeks later.

Einsidler said Mott told him he “could bring him back to the track, but if it doesn’t work it could really give us a problem for the year.”

“This horse is too good and too special,” he said. “I’m going to go really slow and he’ll let us know if he’s ready to run in the Pat Day Mile or the Preakness.”

High Oak, a son of Gormley, won his first two starts at age 2, including the Grade 2 Saratoga Special. He finished fourth in the Grade 1 Hopeful before an issue sidelined him for the remainder of 2021. A fever forced High Oak to miss the Swale Stakes in early February at Gulfstream.

Mott is still expected to be represented in the Wood by South Street and perhaps Iconic Adventure.