Foot issue forces Imperial Hint out of Breeders' Cup Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. - Imperial Hint will be scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said Saturday morning.

Carvajal said Imperial Hint developed a blister on his coronet band, at the top of his hoof, that was sensitive to the touch when examined by state veterinarians.

“The horse has been training well,” said Carvajal. “When the vets watched him on the track he looked good, but the area is sensitive to the touch.”

Imperial Hint was to run in his third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He finished second behind Roy H in the race two years ago at Del Mar and third to that rival in 2018 at Churchill Downs. He was again one of the leading candidates in the event this year, entering the Sprint off victories in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga and as the 1-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Vosburgh five weeks ago at Belmont Park.

“He is perfectly sound,” said Carvajal. “My blacksmith, the world famous Wes Champagne, put the foot testers on him and he said the horse would have no problem running. But the state vets make the final decision.”

Carvajal said Imperial Hint, who trains and races with glue-on shoes, would ship to his winter base at Tampa Bay Downs and be pointed to the Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. Imperial Hint finished third behind X Y Jet in the Golden Shaheen earlier this year.

“This is not a real issue, he can still go to the track every day and train if we want to,” said Carvajal. “We’ll take him down to Tampa, maybe look for a race in December and another in February, with Dubai being the goal again. It’s unfortunate, but these things happen. It just came at the wrong time. What’s the most disappointing is that he was doing so super coming up to the race, I really thought this was going to be our year.”

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