McCraken might join Classic Empire in Blue Grass

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – The setbacks incurred by both Classic Empire and McCraken in recent weeks here in south Florida give them the opportunity for just one more prep for the May 6 Kentucky Derby, and as of Wednesday, there was a real possibility that both could wind up in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 8.

McCraken was the latest to have an ill-timed injury. Trainer Ian Wilkes announced on Tuesday that he had a minor ankle injury that would keep him from an intended start in the Tampa Bay Derby on March 11. On Wednesday morning at the Palm Meadows training center, Wilkes said that with aggressive treatment, McCraken likely could have made the race, but the long-term implications of rushing the colt did not give him comfort.

“You could push, but what would you have afterwards?” he said. “The goal has been the Kentucky Derby, and it’s still the goal. There’s still 5 1/2 weeks until the Blue Grass, so there’s no rush. He should go back to the track in four or five days, and we’ll go from there.

“He just had a little filling in an ankle. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t normal. Out of precaution, we took X-rays. It’s clean, looks great. It’s just a little hiccup in the road. All of us face these things when you train horses. It’s minor. But we need to take care of it.”

Wilkes said he feels fortunate that he planned three preps for McCraken this spring and already got a race into him. McCraken won last month’s Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa to remain unbeaten. If Wilkes had planned on starting McCraken’s 3-year-old campaign in the Tampa Bay Derby, “We’d be up a creek without a paddle,” Wilkes said.

“Fortunately, he’s had a race,” Wilkes said.

In Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager held last weekend, McCraken closed at 6-1, the lowest odds of any individually listed interest. The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” choice, was a lukewarm 5-1 favorite.

Classic Empire, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, had an abscess pop out the heel of his right front hoof days after his third-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream last month. Trainer Mark Casse said the Blue Grass is the most likely spot for Classic Empire to have a final Derby prep.