Our son of Candy Ride broke very well today after being a little hesitant to load into the gate. Heading into the first turn, Irad Ortiz Jr. and Secret Crush were three wide and settled off the early leaders #1 Unlimitedpotential (eventual winner) and #2 Crossing. The opening quarter of :22.86 was pretty quick, but they were able to slow it down and completed the first half-mile in :47.18.
Secret Crush maintained his third-place position on his own while remaining three wide down the backstretch. As they went into the far turn, Irad started to ask Secret Crush to quicken, but it was soon evident that he was not accelerating as needed. The eventual runner-up, #4 Reynolds Channel, came along his inside and went past him quite easily. Secret Crush floated off the turn and was very even in the stretch, but did fight on gamely for third once he got pressure to his outside from #6 Sardis.
Following the race, Secret Crush was flagged by the state veterinarian coming off of the track, and was put on the 14-day vet list. Once he got back to the barn and was evaluated by the Pletcher team he was noticeably off at a jog in his front left limb. Trainer Todd Pletcher had his front left ankle X-rayed, which returned inconclusive. In speaking with Todd, he would like to give Secret Crush a few days and evaluate any changes as time goes on.
Looking back, Secret Crush did battle with some issues before getting to the racetrack and when discussing that with Todd, he felt pretty confident that that was not the issue as that area had been consistently monitored.
We were expecting a big effort today from Secret Crush and thought it was a great spot for him to break through, so perhaps what we are finding is part of the reasoning for the average effort. It’s disappointing news but we’ll do whatever is best for Secret Crush based on the findings over the next few days.
AFTER RACE FOLLOW-UP
Secret Crush earned a 79 Beyer Speed Figure for yesterday’s third place finish. This was a slight regression from his most recent 86 BSF but this was still a solid number.
As mentioned in the race recap, the Pletcher team will continue to monitor his left front ankle/foot and we will return back with any additional information.
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