Golden Gate Fields: Top Northern California 3-year-old Exit Stage Left injured

ALBANY, Calif. - Undefeated Exit Stage Left, winner of the Golden Nugget, Gold Rush, and California Derby, was injured during training Saturday at Golden Gate Fields and will miss the Feb. 15 El Camino Real Derby trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.

The potential favorite for the Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby, Exit Stage Left had a six-furlong bullet work of 1:13.60 on Feb. 2. He was galloping on Saturday when injured.

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“The horse came back from galloping this morning and was injured,” said Hollendorfer when contacted at Santa Anita, where he spent Saturday morning watching his Southern California runners train. “There’s no way to know why, or, actually, what happened, but the horse can’t run. He’s going to have to have some time off and that’s all I can tell you.”

Hollendorfer said that Puppy Manners, who finished fourth in the California Derby, would still run in the El Camino Real and that he would now also enter Tamarando, winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Russell Baze, Exit Stage Left’s regular rider, will take the call on Tamarando.