LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Fulleffort was scratched from Saturday's Kentucky Derby because of a chip in his left hind ankle, the latest departure from the field of 20 horses roughly 24 hours after Silent Tactic was ruled out.
Race officials announced the change Thursday, and trainer Brad Cox told The Associated Press that Fulleffort will undergo surgery and is expected to recover and return to racing. Cox said an X-ray revealed fluid in the ankle and called it an easy decision because Fulleffort showed some lameness.
“That’s part of the game,” Cox said. “It was a problem that needed to be addressed."
Fullefort’s exit means jockey Tyler Gaffalione will have to wait for another chance to win the race for the first time. Cox went into the week with three Derby horses and is now down to two: Commandment and Further Ado.
"I love 'em," Cox said. “Both had a great morning. I’m excited about Saturday.”
With Fulleffort out, Ocelli draws in off the also-entered list. Trainer Whit Beckman found out after the colt galloped at Churchill Downs around 7:15 a.m.
“I kind of had the expectation all along that if you’re within a couple spots that you have a chance,” Beckman said. “Especially in this day and age, it just seems there’s always a lot of changes from the time we draw to the time we run. We were kind of quietly confident that things would go our way.”
Beckman has been training Ocelli all along as though the colt would be participating in the Derby. Ocelli is coming off a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Race Track on April 4.
“He’s been training great since we got back here from New York after the Wood,” Beckman said. “Around the barn, he’s a very mature, easy-going horse. Sometimes he could be a little quirky on the track, but it seems like we’re getting a little bit close to perfection every time.”
Ocelli follows Great White into the field, who got in Wednesday when Silent Tactic was scratched because of a foot injury. Like Great White's John Ennis, Beckman was unsure if he'd have a horse in the Derby but was unbothered by the situation.
“The certainty of it to me was more stressful because things can only go wrong,” Beckman said. “In this case, when things can only go right and if something did go wrong, well, it didn’t matter: We weren’t in the race anyway. ... Coming in knowing you could — maybe, maybe not — go, you just kind of let the cards fall and let the universe do its thing.”
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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
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