Lieutenant Dan will not run in Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

ARCADIA, Calif. - Lieutenant Dan will miss the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 5 with an undisclosed ailment.

Second in the 2021 BC Turf Sprint at Del Mar, Lieutenant Dan won his only start this year in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar on Sept. 4, but has not had a workout since that race.

A 6-year-old gelding, Lieutenant Dan has won 9 of 18 starts and earned $923,740 for owner and breeder Nick Alexander and trainer Steve Miyadi.

“We’re staying home,” Alexander said on Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita. “Steve won’t run him unless he’s 100 percent, and he’s not 100 percent.”

Lieutenant Dan earned a fees-paid berth for winning the Green Flash Handicap, his sixth stakes win.

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“It’s hard to pass up a free trip and all that, but it’s hard to run if he’s not 100 percent,” Alexander said.

Lieutenant Dan will remain with Miyadi’s stable at Santa Anita indefinitely. Racing plans are undetermined, pending Lieutenant Dan’s recovery and enthusiasm for racing in coming months, Alexander said.

“As long as he wants to do it, I’ll pay the bills,” Alexander said.

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