Fracture Knocks Notional Off Derby Trail

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Florida Derby (gr. I) runner-up Notional suffered non-displaced condylar fracture of his left front ankle Saturday morning at Keeneland and will not run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), owner J. Paul Reddam said.

Reddam said the son of In Excess came off the track and appeared “a little off,” X-rays were taken and revealed the fracture.

Notional was injured during what trainer Doug O’Neill described as a routine gallop over  Polytrack on Saturday at Keeneland.  The colt was scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday to repair the fracture.

“He’s officially out,” said O’Neill.  “He fractured his front left ankle this morning.  He just galloped and came back and didn’t cool out very well.  As the morning went on he started getting a little filling in that ankle and they X-rayed it and, lo and behold, they saw a fracture.”     

Notional, bred by Vessels Stallion Farm in California, had won the San Rafael (gr. II) and Risen Star (gr. III) before his fast-closing second to Scat Daddy in the Florida Derby.

Reddam and O'Neill were forced to miss Saturday's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) , in which their Great Hunter finished a troubled fifth, when their private jet experienced mechanical failure.

 

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