Proud Citizen has surgery

, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, had seven screws inserted into his left cannon bone Monday to help repair the fractured shin he suffered while running fifth in the Belmont Stakes on June 8.

Dr. Stephen Selway performed the operation at his Belmont Park Equine Surgical Clinic. Selway said one reason he used so many screws was to help repair some of the tiny fractures that had accumulated around the larger fracture. The shin fracture was three inches long and located two inches below the knee.

"Some of those were real tiny fragment screws," Selway said Monday afternoon. "The surgery went well; he's back at the barn now."

Selway said he would take the screws out in 60 to 90 days, and after the holes fill back in Proud Citizen could return to training. Selway said that Proud Citizen could make it back to the races in six to eight months.

"He stayed sound the last two weeks, which helped us reach that stable plateau where we could operate," Selway said.

Proud Citizen, a son of Gone West, is owned by Robert Baker, David Cornstein, and William Mack and is trained by D. Wayne Lukas. In the Derby, he chased War Emblem around the track and finished second. He finished third in the Preakness.