French Park Out of Oaks, Wagering Suspended in Future Pool 3

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An ankle injury suffered during a workout has knocked Stevestan Stable's French Park out of consideration for the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), and wagering on the filly (#10) has been suspended in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager.

Trainer Helen Pitts told a Churchill Downs official late Thursday that the gray/roan daughter of Ecton Park would undergo surgery April 7 at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital near Lexington to remove a bone chip from her ankle. Pitts said French Park, the winner of the Golden Rod (gr. II) and Pocahontas (gr. III) at Churchill Downs, had apparently suffered the injury in a workout April 2 at that track.

"She worked well and worked well within herself," said Pitts. "She cooled out fine and walked fine, but on Monday there was quite a bit of heat (in the ankle)."

The chip was discovered in an X-ray of the ankle taken earlier in the week. Pitts said the injury is not career threatening, but it will take French Park out of a planned run in Keeneland's $250,000 Stonerside Beaumont (gr. II) April 14 and the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) May 5.

"The chip is very clean," she said. "There's no damage done to the joint. It's not a big deal, but it's just an unfortunate thing."

Pitts said that French Park would get about two months off following the surgery. French Park has a record of 3-1-0 in five career starts and earnings of $297,601.

French Park stood at odds of 22-1, and a total of $120 had been wagered on the filly in a pool that had climbed to $3,370 as of the end of April 6.

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