Melatonin turned out at farm
ARCADIA, Calif. – Melatonin, the winner of two Grade 1 races in 2016 who was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, has been taken out of training because of a foot issue, trainer David Hofmans said this week.
Hofmans said Melatonin is scheduled to leave his stable for a four-month break at a local farm.
“We’ll be ready for the fall,” Hofmans said. “It’s been one little problem after another.”
Melatonin won the Santa Anita Handicap last March and the Gold Cup at Santa Anita last June and did not race again until the BC Classic. A 6-year-old gelding, Melatonin was out of training last summer because of illness.
More recently, Melatonin has been bothered by an abscess in a foot. Owned by Susan Osborne’s Tarabilla Farms, Melatonin has won 5 of 14 starts and earned $1,398,552.