Injury will keep Its Gonna Hurt out of BC Juvenile Turf Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. – Its Gonna Hurt, winner of the Speakeasy Stakes earlier this month at Santa Anita, will miss the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Friday because of a suspensory injury.

Trainer Brian Koriner said the injury was diagnosed on Friday after Its Gonna Hurt was found to have inflammation in a leg. The injury will keep Its Gonna Hurt out of training for four to six months, Koriner said.

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The absence of Its Gonna Hurt will allow Chelsea Cloisters to join the Juvenile Turf Sprint field, Breeders’ Cup officials said. Trained by Wesley Ward, Chelsea Cloisters has been second in three turf sprints – the Group 3 Prix du Bois at Deauville, France, in July; the Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 15; and the Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 7.

A filly by First Samurai, Chelsea Cloisters was 11th, beaten 2 3/4 lengths as the 3-1 favorite, in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Owned by Hat Creek Racing, Chelsea Cloisters is based in Kentucky and trained by Wesley Ward. Friday at Churchill Downs, Chelsea Cloisters breezed a half-mile in 50.80 seconds on a yielding turf course.

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Koriner has had a difficult week in regard to the health of some of his top runners. He said on Friday that the 3-year-old Take the One O One has been sidelined with an undisclosed ailment and will be out of training for as many as six months.

Take the One O One won consecutive stakes for 3-year-old California-breds here and at Del Mar in June and July before finishing 11th in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 2.

- additional reporting by Jay Privman