Grade 1 Winner Fault Injured During Training
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Fault after her win in the Adoration Stakes
Grade 1 winner Fault sustained a possible career-ending injury during a routine gallop June 3 at Santa Anita Park, according to trainer Phil D'Amato.
A day ahead of her final scheduled timed workout for the June 9 Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park, the 4-year-old Blame filly owned by Agave Racing Stable and Little Red Feather Racing galloped on the Santa Anita training track Sunday. But after being pulled up, her exercise rider felt something was off.
Her rider hopped off, D'Amato said, and walked the filly back to the Santa Anita barn area, where she began to show signs of discomfort. X-rays revealed a non-displaced condylar fracture in her left hind leg.
Fault will undergo surgery June 4, the trainer said, and will have two screws inserted into her leg to mend the injury. D'Amato said that while her prognosis is good, her ownership will have to make a decision following her recovery whether to continue her racing career or retire her to be bred.
"It comes with the territory," D'Amato said. "They're very fragile horses, and you have to appreciate them while you have them. One bad step can change everything. But the good news is there is an excellent prognosis. She has a 100% recovery chance, and the owners need to weigh how much she's worth as a broodmare (after the surgery)."
After time with trainers Al Stall Jr. and Michelle Lovell, Fault was transferred to D'Amato for her 2018 campaign and never lost in three races at his Santa Anita home base. A previous grade 3 winner with Lovell, Fault took the Buena Vista Stakes (G2T) Feb. 17, switched to dirt to earn her first grade 1 by 6 1/2 lengths in the March 17 Santa Margarita Stakes (G1), and closed into a slow pace to just get up last time out May 6 in the Adoration Stakes (G3). Out of the stakes-winning Horse Chestnut mare Charming N Lovable, she has a 6-3-2 record from 16 starts and $618,795 in earnings ($420,000 came from her three races in 2018).
"She was getting good, and we thought she was a Breeders' Cup-quality filly," D'Amato said. "We're just happy it's not a major or life-threatening injury. She's going to live a good life regardless (of whether she races again)."