Gunnevera continues recovery, may breeze in four weeks

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gunnevera, who has been on the farm recuperating from a deep hoof wound suffered during the running of the Dubai World Cup on March 31, will return to Gulfstream Park West next week to begin preparations for the second half of his 2018 campaign, trainer Antonio Sano reported Friday.

Gunnevera was never a serious factor in the Dubai World Cup, finishing eighth, 12 lengths behind winner Thunder Snow. He came out of the race with a severe gash on his left front foot that Sano believes occurred when he stumbled and possibly hit himself about 25-50 meters after the start of the race.

“He’s had two months’ rest and, as you can see, the wound has healed excellent,” Sano said, while referring to before-and-after pictures of the injury to Gunnevera’s left front foot. “He’ll come back to our barn at Gulfstream West next Friday, and if all goes well should be able to have his first breeze in about four weeks, hopefully sometime around the end of June.”

Sano said he’d like to put Gunnevera on the same type of schedule as a year ago, when he returned from a similar mid-season layoff following a third-place finish in the Preakness.

“I’d like to get a race for him at Gulfstream to start back, take him up to Saratoga for his second start, and then point again for the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” said Sano, who trains Gunnevera for owner Salomon Del Valle.

Gunnevera won an overnight stakes here last summer and finished second in the Grade 1 Travers prior to his fifth-place finish behind Horse of the Year Gun Runner in the Classic. He finished a distant third in the Pegasus World Cup in his only other start this season, increasing his career earnings to more than $2.9 million. Gunnevera’s most important victory came at Gulfstream Park in March 2017 in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.