Lord Nelson to miss 2017 breeding season due to laminitis

Dual Eclipse Award finalist Lord Nelson will miss what would have been his first breeding season at Spendthrift Farm after recently developing laminitis.

Lord Nelson was scratched from last November’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, which was to be his final start, after a minor cut in his right foreleg became infected. The horse remained in California for several weeks, undergoing extensive treatment, before shipping to Spendthrift in Kentucky. The farm staff was hopeful that he would be ready for the start of breeding season in February – and, in fact, he was shown to breeders in town for the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale – but he has now developed laminitis as a secondary complication.

“It’s a new setback, but we are cautiously optimistic about his prognosis,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said. “With that said, we understand the seriousness of this disease. [Spendthrift owner B. Wayne Hughes] is committed to always doing what’s best for the horse, and that means Lord Nelson will be withheld from breeding mares this season. Our team has notified all of the breeders from his full book, and our focus is now 100 percent on bringing him back to good health.”

Lord Nelson, by Pulpit, won three Grade 1 events in 2016 for Spendthrift, taking the Bing Crosby, Triple Bend, and Santa Anita Sprint Championship. He is a finalist for divisional Eclipse Awards as champion sprinter and older dirt male, to be presented Saturday night.

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