Horse racing-Pletcher-trained colt Grande scratched from Kentucky Derby
May 2 - May 2 (Reuters) - Repole Stable's Grande has been scratched from the Kentucky Derby on the eve of the first leg of U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown due to what Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher called a foot bruise, Churchill Downs said on Friday.
The withdrawal of the lightly-raced dark bay colt, who had won twice in three races, comes a day after the Bob Baffert-trained Rodriguez was scratched from the Kentucky Derby because of a bruised foot.
Repole Stable owner Mike Repole said in a statement on X that Grande was battling a "slight cracked heel" this week which had been improving and that the decision to scratch was made by the veterinarians.
"We all love these horses and our number one concern is the safety and welfare of these amazing Thoroughbreds," said Repole. "That is, and should always be the priority.
"With all the diagnostics we have taken, the great vets we use, and the experience of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, we are baffled and confused by what criteria vets are using to determine who scratches, who doesn't and when ... especially when every diagnostic tells us the horse is safe and sound."
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Perhaps unsurprisingly given one is run over a straight mile and the second takes place over a turning mile and a half, few horses have landed the first two Classics of the British season, with only three managing to do so since the great Nijinsky completed the Triple Crown 45 years ago. Nashwan claimed Guineas and Derby glory in 1989, but it took a horse as brilliant as Sea The Stars two decades later to repeat the feat before Camelot did the same in 2012, after which he came up narrowly short in his Triple Crown quest in the St Leger. Appleby, who has trained two previous Derby winners in Masar (2018) and Adayar (2021), is hoping Ruling Court can etch his name into the history books, but said at Epsom on Friday: 'We're just on weather watch. There's not as much rain around – we were forecast showers this afternoon and it's been a lovely, drying day. 'We know what this track can do in these conditions, the horse is in great form and I'm looking forward to him running, (but) I will just highlight that if all of a sudden we get a deluge (of rain) and the ground becomes very testing, then conversations will have to be had during the build-up to the race over whether we participate or not. 'So there is a warning out there, but I think we'll be OK. It looks as though the weather has broken up a bit and the forecast tonight doesn't look as though it's going to be quite as severe as it was first forecast to be.' Like Masar, Ruling Court will be ridden by William Buick, who said: 'He's not too dissimilar from Masar. They have completely different pedigrees, but Masar was a good third in the Guineas and again went to Epsom having not run beyond a mile. They are not similar horses but have not too dissimilar profiles. 'Masar winning the Derby was the highlight of my career. I'd ridden in it enough before and been placed before and I thought I'd know how it would feel to win it, but it was an amazing day.' On whether his mount could be a Triple Crown contender, he added: 'I got asked about it before the Guineas and there were still three races to go! 'Ruling Court is heading into the most important race now. I'll answer the question after Saturday as I don't think I can answer it in a sensible way right now.' The biggest threat to Ruling Court appears to be Aidan O'Brien, who has saddled a record 10 Derby winners, including the last two and eight in the last 13 years. His chief hope this weekend appears to be Delacroix, who has impressed in winning the Ballysax Stakes and the Derby Trial at Leopardstown this spring and is the chosen mount of Ryan Moore. 'Everything has gone well with him, he's won his two trials and we always thought of him last year as a potential Derby horse,' said O'Brien. 'We've been very happy with both of his runs. We found out that he gets a strongly-run mile and a quarter and there's every chance that he will get a mile and a half. 'He has form on all types of ground and he's a big, powerful horse. We feel he has gone the right way every week really.' At the start of the year Delacroix's stablemate The Lion In Winter was at the head of ante-post lists for the Derby, but an interrupted spring campaign and defeat in the Dante at York have dented his reputation. 'He'd only the two runs as a two-year-old, winning his maiden at the Curragh and then winning the Acomb at York. The Acomb is over seven furlongs on a quick track and you're never sure, but we always thought that there was a strong possibility that he could (be a Derby horse),' O'Brien added. 'He's a good traveller, that's what he did in the Acomb and the Dante. I think Ryan was very happy with the way he travelled in the Dante, he travelled down the straight well and as he was getting ready to have a go he just got a little bit chopped and with a horse needing the run as badly as he did, that would be a big disadvantage to him. 'Everything has gone well since York and we couldn't have asked any more from him really.' The Ballydoyle handler's trio is completed by Chester Vase winner Lambourn, of whom he said: 'He had a lovely run first time and then he ran a lovely race in Chester. There's no doubt he looks like a horse that will stay further, he's straightforward and obviously he got the trip in Chester well. 'You couldn't be happier with him at Chester as we knew it would be plenty sharp enough for him, but he still coped with it and we're looking forward to seeing him run again.'
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