The Player returns to Kentucky after miraculous recovery
The saga involving The Player continues in remarkable fashion.
After being gravely injured in the New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds on March 24, the 5-year-old horse was shipped Friday to the Indian Ridge Farm of owner-trainer Buff Bradley in Frankfort, Ky., following lengthy rehabilitation of his right foreleg at the Louisiana State University veterinary clinic.
Bradley and longtime partner Carl Hurst spared no expense in extending the life of The Player, a multiple graded winner of $452,485 from 14 starts.
“I have a great partner in Carl, and LSU did a fantastic job with the horse,” said Bradley, who accompanied The Player on the van ride from Louisiana. “I think he’s pretty happy to go home.”
The Player joins Brass Hat, another fan favorite campaigned by Bradley, in living out his days at Indian Ridge.
Trainer Forster notches rarity
No one knows for sure, but Grant Forster may well have been the first trainer to sweep the late daily double at Churchill with horses whose last starts both had come at Thistledown. Forster pulled off that feat when Honor Ride and Parisian Stroll both wired their competition in the final two races under the lights Thursday evening. A $2 double returned $67.
“Probably a first,” laughed Forster, a 44-year-old lifelong horseman who hails from British Columbia, Canada, and now has about a dozen horses in training at nearby Trackside.
More construction
Churchill officials on Friday unveiled plans for yet another major seating project at its flagship track. A 20,000-square-foot rooftop garden will be added atop the new Starting Gate Suites in the grandstand area across from the eighth pole, with the $5 million project expected to accommodate another 500 customers in time for the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
