Strat Mo Matic euthanized after fatal training injury

Though trainer Ed Barker won two races on Thursday’s card at Aqueduct, it was still a bad week for the veteran trainer.

On Tuesday, Strat Mo Matic, a son of Uncle Mo who won his debut for Barker on Dec. 16, fractured both sesamoids in his right front foreleg during a routine gallop and had to be euthanized.

“Talent-wise, he was probably the best 2-year-old I ever had … I never had a horse like him,” said Barker, who was also part-owner of Strat Mo Matic. Danny Chen, Campbell Road Stables, and Kenneth Abeles also owned Strat Mo Matic.

Barker said he didn’t have Strat Mo Matic fully cranked the day he won his maiden by a head, a race for which he earned a 72 Beyer Speed Figure.

Barker was pointing Strat Mo Matic to the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes on Jan. 27.

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