Omaha Beach Scratched from Pegasus World Cup

The star-crossed career of Fox Hill Farm's Omaha Beach  came to an end Jan. 23 with another jolt for owner Rick Porter. X-rays detected the start of a cannon bone fracture in the 4-year-old's rear right ankle, and the son of War Front  was scratched from the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1).

Omaha Beach, who was going to be retired after the Jan. 25 Pegasus at Gulfstream Park to begin life as a stallion at Spendthrift Farm, was the even-money favorite in the 1 1/8-mile race. The complexion of the event changed significantly Thursday, when Robert P. Donaldson's Spun to Run, the 7-2 second choice on the morning line, was also scratched due to a skin problem.

The sad turn of events for Omaha Beach was a reminder of last spring, when the colt was the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) but had to be scratched three days before the race because of an entrapped epiglottis.

"This horse means so much to the people connected to him because he has so much personality. We've just had bad luck with him," Porter said. "He was going into the Derby in great shape as the favorite, and we had to scratch him. Then in this one, he was doing great, was going to be the heavy favorite and be his late race, and this happens. This race meant so much to all of us, but you have to put the horse first. Once the X-rays were read, there was no talk of running. When I talked on the phone with (trainer) Richard Mandella and (jockey) Mike Smith, I think all three of us were crying.

"It's a shame we never got to see him at his best. He and Songbird were the two best horses I ever had, and I've been fortunate enough to have some good ones. This guy, between his personality, his talent, and his bad luck, was special."

Porter said the decision to scratch Omaha Beach two days before what would have been his final race was made after Rood & Riddle orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage spotted what looked like the beginning of a cannon bone fracture on an X-ray.

"It's a real bummer," Porter said. "The track vet came by around noon and looked at the horse and saw slight swelling in the ankle. They called Richard and he came over, and when he first called me he said it could go either way. It could be a bruise. But they got an X-ray and sent it to Dr. Bramlage, and I had Richard talk to him while Larry was looking at the X-ray so there was no misunderstanding. Dr. Bramlage said there was a slight area that could be the beginning of a cannon bone fracture. At that point, we all knew that was it. We're not going to take a chance with something like that."

Omaha Beach galloped about 1 1/4 miles Thursday morning for Mandella and seemed to cool out fine. The problem was detected and X-rays were taken when Dr. Dionne Benson, the chief veterinarian for Gulfstream Park operator The Stronach Group, checked Omaha Beach later in the day.

"While we are disappointed to have to miss the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Omaha Beach's safety and well-being comes first, and we wanted to do what was best for him," Mandella said. "He has been a great pleasure to have around the barn, and we are grateful for the opportunity to train such a magnificent horse." 

As a safeguard for the equine athletes, The Stronach Group announced in mid-December that additional veterinarians would be brought in to monitor the horses running in the nationally televised Pegasus and Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Sponsored by Runhappy (G1T).

"We appreciate the willingness of Mr. Mandella to put the safety of Omaha Beach above all else," said Belinda Stronach, the chairman and president of The Stronach Group. "His decision was the right thing to do and reflects the new standard of care set for this year's Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series." 

More than 30 veterinarians were employed to monitor the horses at the Breeders' Cup this past November, and four horses were scratched by the vets prior to the races. Trainer Danny Gargan, who will start Tax in the Pegasus, said the merits of additional medical checks were reflected in the detection of Omaha Beach's injury and that what happened Thursday will not be a rare event at major events going forward.

"I think you'll start seeing (this) happen more often because of safety concerns, and I'm fine with that. It should happen to keep (bad) things from happening," Gargan said. "Imagine if he ran with the start of a fracture and something happened during the race. You never want to see anything happen to a horse, you never want to see a competitor not compete, but most of all you don't want something to happen to a horse on television. 

"You have to give a lot of praise to the vets out there because without them, we could have had a really bad day. There are things that are put in place that some people don't like, but having vets check the horses more will prevent a lot of (accidents) from happening."

Omaha Beach, bred in Kentucky by Charming Syndicate out of the Seeking the Gold mare Charming, will head to Spendthrift with a 5-4-1 record from 10 starts and earnings of $1,651,800. He posted grade 1 wins in the Malibu Stakes, Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes, and Arkansas Derby.

Though he was unable to race Omaha Beach throughout his 4-year-old campaign, Porter said he had no real qualms with the retirement because his horse was being turned over to his good friend B. Wayne Hughes, the owner of Spendthrift Farm who played a crucial role in entering Porter in a clinic that successfully treated him for a type of cancer he believed to be incurable.

"I was happy to send him to Wayne. If I had to retire him early, Wayne was the one I'd do it for. I've gotten to know his team at Spendthrift, and they are great people," Porter said. "He has everything going for him. He'll be a great stallion. They have a package of great mares for him."

As for the Pegasus, there will now be a field of 10 in the race televised by NBC Sports. Omaha Beach had post 5, which means horses outside of him will move in one spot.

With Spun to Run and Omaha Beach, who finished 1-2 in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), out of the picture, Higher Power, Mucho Gusto, and Tax will vie for favoritism.



Donaldson Dismayed to Miss Pegasus

Owner Robert Donaldson said it felt like a "punch in the gut."

Ever since Spun to Run shipped to the Palm Meadows Training Center in early December to begin working toward a start in the Pegasus World Cup, Donaldson's colt had been batting a skin disease.

There were ups and downs with treatments, but when Donaldson talked with trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero about his 4-year-old Hard Spun  colt Jan. 21, there was a positive report.

"Carlos said he was doing great, and Carlos rarely talks like that," Donaldson said.

A different call from Guerrero came on the morning of Jan. 23. Spun to Run's condition had worsened to the point where Guerrero said he could not race Spun to Run in the Pegasus and would have to scratch him from the $3 million race at Gulfstream.

"It's very disappointing," Donaldson said, "but you can't run your horse when he's not right. Carlos said he broke out in big red hives that will scab up in a few weeks. I knew he was fighting this, and I'd rather fight this than something more serious. He's jogging sound. Carlos is very broken up about it. It's really unfortunate. The highs are high and the lows are low in this game, but at least I still have my horse."

Donaldson said he believes the skin rash was caused by Spun to Run's reaction to wood shavings.