Maiden claimer Formal Dude euthanized due to pelvis injury

ARCADIA, Calif. – After injuring his pelvis in the 10th race Saturday at Santa Anita, the 4-year-old gelding Formal Dude was euthanized Saturday night.

Formal Dude was favored in the $30,000 maiden-claiming route. Jockey Tiago Pereira told trainer Phil D’Amato he felt something wrong and pulled the horse up in the stretch. Formal Dude appeared to favor his right rear leg before being loaded onto the van.

An examination revealed a fractured pelvis. “We had to put down the horse,” a dejected D’Amato confirmed Sunday morning. “If we could have [saved him], we would have.”

Formal Dude was making his second start back from a layoff and returning to the surface on which he ran the best race of his career in March 2018. Formal Dude gave no sign of anything amiss in preparation for the Saturday race.

His last two workouts, on June 1 and May 25, were in company with stakes winner King Abner and viewable on XBTV.com.

“You do everything you can possibly do; we thought he was in a good race,” D’Amato said. “It just happened.”

D’Amato said it was the first time one of his trainees had sustained a severe pelvis injury.

The Formal Dude incident occurred three days after the 2-year-old Derby River sustained a fatal shoulder fracture while galloping. On May 19, Spectacular Music sustained a fatal pelvis injury in a race.