Turfway Park: Vinery Spiral loses injured King Congie

King Congie will be scratched as the second morning-line choice from Saturday’s Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park after incurring a strained hind leg during a routine gallop Friday morning at the Florence, Ky., track.

Jeff Lifson, regional representative for the colt’s owner, West Point Thoroughbreds, made the announcement Friday evening. King Congie was the 4-1 second choice in an original field of 12 3-year-olds in the Grade 3, $500,000 Vinery Spiral, the annual showcase event at Turfway. There is no also-eligibles list for the Spiral, so only as many as 11 will run.

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King Congie, trained by Tom Albertrani, is named for the late Congie DeVito, a longtime employee for West Point. The Badge of Silver colt has finished first in his last three starts, all on turf, although he was disqualified to third in his last race, the Hallandale Beach Stakes. He was to be ridden Saturday by Javier Castellano, who has other calls on the 12-race card.

The severity and long-term implications of the colt’s injury were not immediately known.
Positive Response is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the 40th running of the Spiral, which goes at 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack. It goes as the 10th race, with post time set for 5:31 p.m. Eastern. The race will be shown live on TVG, with live streaming of the entire card available online at drf.com.