The Tin Man is “doing real well,” trainer Richard Mandella reported after the 9-year-old gelding fractured his right knee coming out of surgery Oct. 25.
“We’re keeping him quiet at the barn so that he can’t lay down or do any further damage,” Mandella said Nov. 2. “We feel pretty good because everything is going smoothly…but he is vulnerable.”
The Tin Man had undergone a bone scan of his left front ankle, and he underwent exploratory surgery of the ankle because, Mandella said, “the ankle lit up.” The son of Affirmed—Lizzie Rolfe, by Tom Rolfe, then fractured the intermediate carpal bone in his right knee coming out of the anesthesia.
“It’s an odd bone to fracture,” the trainer said. “We’ve got to keep him pretty quiet. It’s not an easy call on whether to put a screw in. We’re asking all the experts, but so far they all agree that we’re doing the right thing.”
Mandella said that The Tin Man would remain in his Santa Anita stall for a couple of months to ensure he is no longer in danger.
“He’ll be our guest of honor,” Mandella said.
The injury ends The Tin Man’s long career. Bred and owned by Ralph and Aury Todd, he earned $3,663,780 while winning 13 of 31 races, including the 2006 Arlington Million (gr. IT), 2007 Shoemaker Mile Stakes (gr. IT), and two editions of the Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship (gr. IT). He had eight graded stakes placings including a runner-up effort in this year's Arlington Million.
The Tin Man has been retired at age nine after winning 13 of 31 starts.
