Omaha Beach Returns to California from WinStar Farm

Fox Hill Farms' Omaha Beach left WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., June 10 and is scheduled to arrive back in California by plane Monday evening before returning to trainer Richard Mandella's barn, Fox Hill's Rick Porter said.

The 3-year-old War Front  colt was made the morning-line favorite for the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs after winning the Arkansas Derby (G1) and Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, but was scratched three days earlier due to an entrapped epiglottis. He had throat surgery May 3 at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., and was sent to WinStar Farm afterward. 

Though originally scheduled to leave May 18, Dr. Rolf Embertson, who performed the surgery, felt Omaha Beach's swelling was subsiding slower than he had hoped. Embertson continued to scope the bay colt and Porter said his throat began looking much better in the last 10 days. 

"Mandella wanted to make sure that we scoped him before we put him on the plane, and he scoped A-OK this morning," Porter said Monday. "It was a little slow in healing, but he's healed."

Porter also credited WinStar Farm's staff and their trainer, Destin Heath, for Omaha Beach's care while in Kentucky.

"Destin's been taking great care of him and again, WinStar has all the facilities," Porter said, noting that the grade 1 winner had consistent access to the farm's on-site hyperbaric chamber during recovery. "Recently they've been riding him in the barn for the last week or 10 days and he's been outside in a pen. For a while he was not himself. He was really laid back. Again, in the last week or 10 days, he's really become alert and full of himself."

Connections hope to have Omaha Beach back to the races by late summer at Saratoga Race Course.

Fox Hill Farms shared pictures and videos of Omaha Beach on its Facebook page while the colt recovered, including videos during and after surgery. Porter said both he and Fox Hill's executive vice president, Victoria Keith, feel it is important to be transparent and keep fans updated on their horses.

"We think it's nice to show everybody something they don't get a chance to see a lot of the time," Porter said. "We thought it was a good idea to put the surgery on there, let them see exactly what was going on, bringing him in there and taking him back to his stall, and then putting videos of him leaving. We try to make it interesting for the people that do follow Fox Hill Farms' Facebook, which are a lot of people. We just think the public doesn't get a chance to see a lot of these things and there's no reason not to show them."