INGLEWOOD, Calif. - He won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, defeating the likes of Afleet Alex, Roman Ruler, and Sun King, and he wasn't far off Declan's Moon in the Hollywood Futurity. That, however, was all that was seen of Wilko last year in this country, and since he has now been absent from the races for the past three months, he has again become something of a forgotten horse in the buildup to the Kentucky Derby.

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.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Only three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby, the last of whom was Winning Colors in 1988. At Santa Anita that spring, Winning Colors won the Santa Anita Oaks, subsequently ran away with the Santa Anita Derby in her first start against males, and then moved on to Churchill Downs for her date with destiny.

Sweet Catomine is now on course to try to emulate Winning Colors. She won Sunday's , will head next to the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 9, and if she whips the boys here, she will take them on again in the Kentucky Derby on May 7.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The unsettled outlook for the May 7 Kentucky Derby was reflected in the closing odds of Pool 2 of the , with the mutuel field, or the "all others" option, being dispatched a lukewarm favorite over a host of more familiar names.

Pool 2, which closed Sunday evening with record handle, has the field as the 6-1 choice over Afleet Alex (8-1), who was the favorite for much of the four-day run before being overtaken Sunday. Then came High Limit (9-1), Sun King (10-1), Lost in the Fog (13-1), Rockport Harbor (14-1), Bandini (14-1), and Sweet Catomine (16-1).

The curse of the 2-year-old champion reared up and struck again on Friday when the undefeated Declan's Moon, last year's Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male and the favorite for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, was declared out of the Derby with a small fracture in his left knee.

Afleet Alex and Lost in the Fog were slightly favored at 6-1 midway through the second of four days of wagering into Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

As of 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, and with the handle standing at $86,450, Afleet Alex had drawn nearly $10,500 in the win-only future wager, about $650 more than Lost in the Fog. Next in line were Sun King (7-1), Rockport Harbor (8-1), the mutuel field (10-1), and Bandini (12-1). Real-time odds are available on kentuckyderby.com.

Declan's Moon, the reigning divisional champion and the early favorite for the 131st Kentucky Derby, is off the Triple Crown trail after being diagnosed with a knee chip that is not career-threatening but will sideline him through the summer.

Afleet Alex opened as the 4-1 favorite amid relatively light betting in the opening hours of wagering into Pool 2 of the , which began its four-day run Thursday at noon Eastern.

As of 5:40 p.m., Afleet Alex was slightly favored over Lost in the Fog (5-1), Rockport Harbor (5-1), Declan's Moon (8-1), the mutuel field (10-1), and Sun King (11-1). Handle was $33,643.

The field, or the "all others" option among 24 wagering interests, closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 1, conducted Feb. 10-13. Handle for Pool 1 was a record $620,362.

Declan's Moon, the champion 2-year-old male of 2004 and the future book favorite for the Kentucky Derby, emerged from his victory in the Santa Catalina Stakes last Saturday with heat in a knee, trainer Ron Ellis said.

Ellis, speaking from his base at Hollywood Park, downplayed the situation and said that Declan's Moon was scheduled to return to the track for exercise on Friday.

"He's got a little heat in a knee," Ellis said on Thursday. "It's not a big deal. I think it's normal stuff. If I get worried, I might have it X-rayed."

NEW ORLEANS - High Limit has run only twice, both times at Delaware. He has yet to compete in a stakes race, and has not raced in more than four months.

Yet when entries were taken Wednesday for the Grade 2, $600,000 on Saturday at Fair Grounds, Mike Diliberto, the linemaker at Fair Grounds, made High Limit the 5-2 favorite in the field of nine.

"His first two starts were very impressive, and Bobby Frankel proved with Peace Rules that he can take a horse, improve him, and win the Louisiana Derby," Diliberto said. "He's got a lot of upside."