Tendon injury sidelines Mawthooq

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mawthooq was scheduled to be flown from south Florida to New York on Tuesday to run in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 7 in hopes of reigniting his Kentucky Derby aspirations.

Instead, Mawthooq will be vanned from south Florida to Lexington, Ky., on Sunday to be evaluated for a tendon injury that will knock him out of the Withers and off the Triple Crown trail.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Friday that Mawthooq showed heat and inflammation in his right front tendon, and an ultrasound revealed damage to the tendon. Mawthooq had worked five furlongs in 1:02.05 at Palm Meadows on Thursday.

McLaughlin said Mawthooq will be evaluated at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, and that he will be out for “months.”

“Tendons are always bad,” McLaughlin said. “Tough blow. This game throws blows at you. He was doing so well.”

Mawthooq, a son of Distorted Humor who sold for $850,000 as a yearling, won a maiden race at Aqueduct by 10 1/2 lengths Nov. 26. He was sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3 but finished third, 10 1/2 lengths behind the winner, Bluegrass Singer.

McLaughlin said he still plans to be represented in the Withers by Classy Class, who won his debut and then finished fourth in the Grade 2 Remsen.

Meanwhile, at Belmont Park on Friday, three of the six likely runners in the Withers put in workouts over the training track.

El Kabeir, the Jerome Stakes winner and likely Withers favorite, worked five furlongs in 1:00.85 shortly after 7:30 a.m., according to trainer John Terranova. Belmont clockers officially gave El Kabeir a time of 1:01.14. The work came five days after El Kabeir worked five furlongs in 1:01.47.

Terranova moved El Kabeir’s final work up a day or two, noting that extremely cold temperatures were forecast for Saturday, which could make for a less-than-desirable track over the weekend.

On Friday morning, light snow fell during training hours, but the track was still labeled “fast.” Terranova caught El Kabeir’s first quarter in 24.48 seconds and his last three furlongs in 36.37.

“We were just looking to cruise from the half, pretty much similar to what we’ve been doing,” Terranova said. “Looks great. We’re eight days out, and looking at the rest of the week, it looks like the weather is going to be cold and snow. We’re not going to do much from here on out, not that we need to. I just wanted to get the last work out of the way on a good track.”

Two hours later, after the 9:30 a.m. renovation break, recent maiden winners March and Tencendur put in workouts over the training track.

March, working in company with the older male Bond Vigilante, went five furlongs in 59.95 seconds, finishing slightly in front of his workmate. Both horses found a target in a Tom Morley-trained horse who broke off several lengths in front of them, which may have resulted in the pair working so fast.

March is coming off a neck maiden win over the inner track Jan. 11.

“We’ll take a shot and run in the Withers,” trainer Chad Brown said from south Florida. “He seems to be training well. He’s the type of horse I’d expect with racing experience and age he’s going to improve. Is he ready for a step like this? We’ll have to see.”

Though Irad Ortiz Jr. worked March, his brother Jose will ride March in the Withers. Irad Ortiz is going to ride Classy Class.

Tencendur, a New York-bred maiden winner Jan. 19, worked a half-mile in 50.72 seconds over the training track.

“That’s the first time I breezed him by himself,” said Blair Golen, the assistant trainer to George Weaver. “I didn’t want him to do much because he ran 11 days ago.”

Tencendur will need a rider because Manny Franco, who was aboard for his maiden win, is expected to ride Far From Over.