Saratoga Special winner Copper Bullet sidelined

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Copper Bullet, the four-length winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, will be sidelined indefinitely with a minor injury, his connections said.

“He’s on the shelf for a little bit, I don’t know how long,” said Ron Winchell, whose Winchell Thoroughbreds co-owns Copper Bullet with Willis Horton. “He’s probably not going to make the Breeders’ Cup. He had a little setback, so we gave him a little time. He’ll be back.”

Copper Bullet, a son of More Than Ready trained by Steve Asmussen, won a maiden race by eight lengths in May at Churchill Downs in his second start. After finishing a troubled second in the Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs on June 30, he rebounded in the Saratoga Special here on Aug. 13.

“It’s a little disappointing when you have to back off one like that, but he’ll be back,” Winchell said. “Just something simple, he just needs time.”