Joking recovering from illness in California
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Joking, the Grade 1 Vosburgh winner, had a relapse of pneumonia and remains at an equine clinic in Southern California, according to owner-trainer Charlton Baker.
Joking initially got sick after shipping from New York to California for a planned start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 5. He was entered in the Breeders’ Cup but was scratched and sent to Chino Valley Equine Hospital in Chino Hills.
In late November, Baker said Joking was improving to the point where he was going to ship him to a California farm for a month before bringing him back to New York. Baker said Sunday that he is hoping to get X-rays of Joking’s lungs sent to him so that he can go over them with his New York veterinarian, Michael Galvin.
“I’m just trying to get him where we can get him back here,” Baker said. “It’s hard to correspond with a vet across the country.”