Knee Surgery to Sideline Kid Cruz for Year
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Grade III winner Kid Cruz, most recently fourth in the Travers Stakes (gr. I), is having surgery to remove a chip from his left knee and will miss the rest of the year, trainer Linda Rice said Aug. 29 from Saratoga Race Course.
Dr. Patty Hogan is scheduled to perform the operation Sept. 2 at her Fair Winds Farm in Cream Ridge, N.J., Rice said.
A 3-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid , Kid Cruz was beaten by six lengths in the Aug. 23 Travers at Saratoga, finishing behind the victorious V. E. Day and previous grade I winners Wicked Strong and Tonalist.
Rice noticed something amiss the following morning, she said. Subsequent X-rays revealed a small chip in the upper joint of the left knee.
"The day after the race I saw a little heat," Rice said. "The second day after the race, he showed a little lameness with the heat. It took a couple days for it to kind of move around, but (Hogan) said it's a great prognosis and he'll be good as new."
Kid Cruz had a good year, capped by a win in the Dwyer Stakes (gr. III) July 5 at Belmont Park. The bay colt subsequently ran third in Saratoga's Jim Dandy (gr. II) prior to his effort in the Travers. During a season in which he won four of eight starts and banked $480,400, he also won Belmont's Easy Goer, the Federico Tesio at Pimlico Race Course, and the Private Terms at Laurel Park.
"He's had a nice season," Rice said. "It's time for us to get him patched up for next year and, hopefully, have a good 4-year-old campaign."
Claimed for $50,000 last fall, Kid Cruz is owned by Vina Del Mar Thoroughbreds and Black Swan Stable. His career mark stands at 5-1-1 from 10 races with purse earnings of $508,375.