Ethan Man Sidelined With Leg Injury

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West Point Thoroughbred's Ethan Man has some farm rest on his schedule after the Patrick Byrne-trained gelding suffered a leg injury in his 10th place finish in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) last week at Santa Anita.

Byrne said Ethan Man strained a suspensory ligament in his left front leg during the race. He said the injury was a recurrence of a similar injury suffered by the gelding earlier in his career.

"That was my gut feeling before we even X-rayed him," he said. "He got checked down the backside and maybe that had something to do with it. The jock (Rene Douglas) said he felt really good prior to the race. He was a little off on his left front cooling out and we took some precautionary X-rays."

Byrne said the injury is not serious enough to end Ethan Man's racing career, but he would be getting the winter off.

Ethan Man returned from a layoff of more than a year to compile a 1-1-0 record in three 2003 races, which included a runner-up finish in Keeneland's Phoenix Breeders' Cup (gr. III).

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