Fractured Sternum Sidelines Rider Nicolas

Apprentice rider Gonzalo Nicolas, injured at Santa Anita Park May 2, is at Huntington Memorial Hospital recovering from a fracture in his sternum in the breast plate area, according to his agent, Vince DeGregory.

A 23-year-old native of Guatemala, Nicolas has been in the U.S. since he was 13 and graduated at Riverside High School. He was injured when his mount, Granny Calling, broke down when four-wide on the turn for home in Friday’s first race.

Nicolas began riding in 2013, when he won with 24 of 320 mounts. This year, he has nine wins from 61 races. Nicolas missed several weeks with a vertebrae chip on the lower part of his back in early January.