Messier sidelined with knee chip

Messier, winner of the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes on May 3 at Aqueduct, recently underwent surgery to remove a knee chip, according to his connections, who hope to get him back later this year.

“We hope to get him back the same away,” trainer Rick Dutrow said. “It’s his second knee operation. He’s had two throat operations and he’s had a colic operation. I don’t know how many horses have five operations and keep going.

“We’re being led to believe he’s going to come back as good and he has got a chance of being better and there’s always that chance of that not working out at all,” Dutrow added. “Then he’ll live a great life; that horse is in a no-lose situation.”

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Messier, a 5-year-old son of Empire Maker, is a three-time Grade 3 winner and finished second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in 2022. He also crossed the finish line first in the Excelsior but was disqualified for interference.

Some of the same individuals and groups who own Messier – SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Racing – have recently sent the stakes-winning sprinter Hopkins to Dutrow. The horse has spent the last two weeks at Keeneland, but was due to arrive at Dutrow’s Belmont Park barn on Tuesday.

Previously trained by Bob Baffert, Hopkins won the Grade 3 Palos Verdes at Santa Anita in 2023 before finishing fourth, beaten one length in the Dubai Golden Shaheen. This year, Hopkins was beaten a nose in the Palos Verdes and finished 12th of 14 in the Golden Shaheen on March 30, his most recent race.

Meanwhile, Dutrow said White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, is scheduled to have his next workout on Thursday at Belmont as he continues to prepare for the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga on June 8.

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