Surgery for Declan's Moon

Declan's Moon, last year's champion 2-year-old male, will have a chip in his left knee surgically removed this weekend, his trainer, Ron Ellis, said Wednesday morning at Hollywood Park.

Declan's Moon was taken out of training last week when the fracture was first discovered. At the time, Ellis was not sure if surgery would be needed, but the decision has been made to operate. Dr. C. Wayne McIlwraith will perform the surgery at a clinic near Los Alamitos, Ellis said.

"The vets are afraid the blood supply could be compromised and cause some decay to the bone if the chip is not taken out," Ellis said. "It's a small chip. It's only one-third of a centimeter. The general size when they split off the bone is one centimeter. I think if we do this now it just helps guarantee that we have no problems down the road."

Declan's Moon has won all five of his starts. He was a winner of the Santa Catalina Stakes on March 5 in his only start of 2005.