Rail Link out for year, may be retired

Rail Link, out of action since winning last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, will miss the rest of his 4-year-old season and may never race again. On Wednesday, Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, said that the son of Dansili had suffered a tendon strain and that a decision concerning his future would be made shortly.

Rail Link's reappearance on the track had been delayed after he underwent surgery for bone chips at Newmarket in January. Last week Grimthorpe had said that Rail Link, an Andre Fabre trainee, was being aimed at the Sept. 16 Prix Foy, the traditional older-horse prep for the Arc, but this latest setback has put an end to those plans.

The five-length victory last Sunday of Zambezi Sun in the Grand Prix de Paris, a race won last year by Rail Link, may have been a factor in declaring Rail Link out for the year. Like Rail Link, Zambezi Sun is a Dansili colt owned by Juddmonte. On Tuesday, Zambezi Sun's trainer, Pascal Bary, announced that he would run next in the Sept. 16 Prix Niel, the key Arc prep for 3-year-old colts. That race also was won by Rail Link last year, between his victories in the Grand Prix and the Arc.

Ladbrokes has cut Zambezi Sun to 5-1 for the Oct. 7 Arc, second choice behind Epsom Derby winner Authorized at 7-2.