Suspected Bone Bruise Sidelines Euro Charline
Image:
Description:
Euro Charline, winner of the Beverly D. Stakes (gr. IT) this summer, will miss the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (gr. IT) Oct. 11 at Keeneland Race Course after developing lameness in her right hind ankle.
Team Valor International's 3-year-old Myboycharlie filly came out of her stall slightly lame the morning of Oct. 6 at Belmont Park, prompting trainer Todd Pletcher to cancel her final workout for the QE II Challenge Cup.
Initial X rays showed nothing amiss, but closer analysis revealed signs that are suggestive of bruising of the medial condyle of the cannon bone, according to a Team Valor release, she will undergo a nuclear scan later this week to confirm that diagnosis. If it is bone bruising, no surgery will be required and she should heal completely with 60 days of turnout at Dr. Gary Priest's farm near Versailles, Ky., Team Valor said.
"It is a huge disappointment, one that really knocked the wind out of our sails, but fortunately she should never look back from this," Team Valor CEO Barry Irwin said in a statment. "Her form has been confirmed with two horses behind her in the Beverly D. (runner-up Stephanie's Kitten and ninth-place finisher Emollient) coming back to win grade I races, and we were really looking forward to seeing her at Keeneland, especially after she had a five-furlong breeze on the grass at Belmont where she went the last quarter in :22 4/5."
Purchased privately by Team Valor after launching her career with two consecutive wins on the all-weather course at Wolverhampton in England last winter, Euro Charline shipped to the U.S. and became the first 3-year-old winner in the 25-year history of Beverly D. Aug. 16 at Arlington International Racecourse. That came on the heels of a listed stakes victory July 25 at Ascot and a third-place finish in the Coronation Stakes (Eng-I) June 20 at Royal Ascot for Newmarket-based trainer Marco Botti.
"We will probably wind up keeping her in America to race next year," Irwin said of the filly who has a 4-1-1 record from seven career starts. "However, I will speak with my partners and see if they would rather return her to England instead."