Laminitis Claims One in Vermillion's Life

H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) winner One in Vermillion , injured while training in New Mexico in the fall, was euthanized in Arizona Feb. 2 due to laminitis, according to owner Jonathan Kalman.

Laminitis is inflammation of the laminae of the foot—the soft tissue structures that attach the coffin or pedal bone of the foot to the hoof wall. Laminitis can be triggered by an issue in another part of a horse's body, including from weight-bearing shifts due to another injury.

The 4-year-old California-bred son of Army Mule   out of the Any Given Saturday mare Given Star  was unraced since the Aug. 26 H. Allen Jerkens, a race at Saratoga Race Course he captured with a late rally when midstretch leader New York Thunder suffered a catastrophic injury. One in Vermillion closed from fourth to first in the final furlong, rallying for a 1 3/4-length victory under Irad Ortiz Jr.

In the fall One in Vermillion injured a fetlock in a workout in New Mexico at Zia Park while preparing for a start, necessitating his retirement. He subsequently was entered in the January Horses of All Ages Sale at Keeneland, where plans called for him to be sold as a stallion prospect. 

But in late December, as he was in Arizona being prepared to travel to Kentucky for the sale, veteran blacksmith Len Albright was troubled by the colt's foot in the leg opposite the fetlock injury.

"And when I saw the look on the farrier's face, I was like, 'Oh no, that can't be good,'" Kalman recalled. "And he said, 'I can't shoe this horse.'

"He goes on that this horse's foot is foundered"—in which the hoof and coffin bone are separated and the coffin bone can rotate—"and I knew exactly what that meant."

One in Vermillion was sent to the clinic of Dr. Justin McCormick at Copper Ridge Equine in Phoenix.

"When he started being treated at the vet, he started to do a little better, and they were kind of amazed at how well he was doing for a little while," Kalman said. "It was kind of looking like, well, maybe he's gonna be able to survive this. But then he took a bad turn for the worse a couple of nights ago, according to the vet ... they just said this is not something we can save at this point."

The Richard Barton Enterprises-bred One in Vermillion, a $26,000 sales purchase by Kalman as a yearling in 2021 from the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Fall Mixed Sale, made $653,840. The colt raced across the country in 12 starts for trainer Esteban Martinez, winning four ungraded stakes out west as a younger horse before the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in the summer of his 3-year-old season. After a third-place finish in the Aug. 6 West Virginia Derby (G3) at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort, Kalman said he floated the idea of running in the Jerkens to Martinez.

"The seven furlongs seemed perfect for him because he won at seven furlongs at Santa Anita in the Lazaro Barrera (Stakes) in May," Kalman recalled. "I said, 'Why not? Let's try this. There will be some really good horses in that race, but why not? Why not us?'"

"It was just an amazing ride that he took us on," the owner later added.