Masochistic unlikely to race again this year

ARCADIA, Calif. – Masochistic, one of the leading sprinters in California and whose recent career has been mired in controversy, has been turned out for at least 60 days, essentially ending his 2017 campaign.

Masochistic finished 13th as the 2-1 favorite in the Churchill Downs Stakes on a wet-fast track in Kentucky on May 6. Trainer Ron Ellis said Masochistic is being given a rest at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky.

“We’ve turned him out for a while,” he said.

With a break of at least two months, Masochistic would not return to training until the summer and would need a few months to regain fitness. Many leading stakes for sprinters would be run before Masochistic was ready to resume racing.

Masochistic, 7, has won 8 of 16 starts and earned $857,550. He was second in the Grade 1 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita in March.

Owned by Samantha Siegel and Will Shamlian, Masochistic finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita last November but was disqualified from the purse money for testing positive for a banned steroid.

Because of the positive, Masochistic is ineligible for the BC Sprint at Del Mar in November, a penalty that leaves the gelding without a lucrative year-end goal.