Frac Daddy was scratched from the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) due to a tendon injury Aug. 23, but it remains unclear a day later how the Scat Daddy colt hurt himself.
"Honestly, we don't really know what happened," said Blake Heap, in charge of the preparations at Del Mar for Kentucky-based trainer Ken McPeek, Aug. 24. "We know he was fine two days ago. Then (Friday night) the guys who live here heard some banging and thrashing and when they got near (the stall) they saw the webbing was moving.
"The horse was back in the corner of the stall when they got there, but we think he got his leg up over the webbing."
Upon examination, a tendon in the left front leg was discovered to be warm and swollen, Heap said. A preliminary scan of the injury was done, and the results are pending.
Frac Daddy, a 4-year-old owned by the Magic City Thoroughbred Partners of Carter Stewart of Billings, Mont., and minority partner Ken Schlenker, will be shipped to Kentucky Aug. 25 for further tests and determination of treatment.
McPeek said such an injury could be career threatening and, if so, Frac Daddy would stand at stud in Kentucky.
Winner of the Eclipse Stakes (Can-II) June 1 at Woodbine, Frac Daddy is a multiple graded stakes winner who was considered dangerous in the Pacific Classic due to his appreciation for synthetic surfaces. The gray colt has five wins and six seconds from 18 lifetime starts and earnings of $686,036.