Gabriel Charles undergoes emergency colic surgery

DEL MAR, Calif. – Gabriel Charles, the winner of the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar on July 18, underwent an emergency operation for colic at a San Diego County veterinary clinic on Saturday, trainer Jeff Mullins said.

Mullins said late Saturday afternoon that the operation was a success but cautioned that the next few days are vital in the recovery of Gabriel Charles.

“It wasn’t too extreme,” Mullins said of the surgery. “It’s the complications after surgery that can be the most important thing. The next 36 hours are the most crucial.”

The surgery ended plans to start Gabriel Charles in the Arlington Million at Arlington Park next Saturday. Owned by Michael House and Sam Britt, Gabriel Charles had been pre-entered for the Arlington Million.

Mullins said Gabriel Charles was found to be in distress “right after training” at Del Mar on Saturday morning. The 5-year-old horse was transferred to a clinic in Bonsall, Calif., about 30 miles northeast of the racetrack, for treatment.

Mullins said veterinarians told him “the large intestine got over the top of the small intestine and was trapped. All the blood circulation was intact.”
Gabriel Charles has won 4 of 11 starts and earned $584,400. He displayed one of the best performances of his career in the $400,500 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf, his first Grade 1 win. The Read was the third start of the year for Gabriel Charles, who missed all of 2014 because of a tendon injury.

Earlier in his career, Gabriel Charles won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.