Injury free, East Avenue to winter at Fair Grounds

East Avenue was back on the racetrack Thursday morning at Churchill Downs but won’t have a chance to get his career back on track until sometime next year.

East Avenue came out of his stumbling, ninth-place finish as the 9-5 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with damage done only to his reputation. An eight-length debut winner of an Ellis Park sprint, East Avenue in his second start scored a 5 1/4-length victory going two turns in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity. He breezed across the Keeneland finish line that day with his ears pricked and earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure that helped catapult him into BC Juvenile favoritism. Breaking from post 1 at Del Mar, East Avenue figured to lead or stick close to the pace. Instead, he nearly fell on his nose leaving the gate, took up a position near the back of the field, and never came close to contending.

Brendan Walsh, who trains East Avenue for his breeder, Godolphin, swatted away a suggestion that the colt had been compromised by any sort of injury, like a grabbed quarter, resulting from his bad stumble. “He’s fine,” Walsh said.

East Avenue won’t do more than light training for about a month, Walsh said, and will ship from Churchill to Fair Grounds, where he’ll winter. Walsh hinted that a February comeback start might be more likely than a race in January.

“We’re going to back off for a little while, but not for very long. We’ll try and get him ready for the [Kentucky] Derby trials, see how things go,” Walsh said.

The Derby prep season at Fair Grounds, which begins its 2024-25 meet Oct. 22, starts with the $100,000 Gun Runner on Dec. 21, continues with the $250,000 Lecomte on Jan. 28, followed by the Feb. 15 Risen Star, with the Louisiana Derby capping the series on March 22.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.