GoldMark Farm's Whitney Invitational Handicap (gr. I) winner Cross Traffic will not run in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) after sustaining a minor shin injury when the track broke out from underneath him at the start of the Sept. 28 Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) at Belmont Park.
"It is very unfortunate for this to happen at this time of the year because this will prevent him from competing in the Breeder's Cup Classic," said Todd Quast, general manager of GoldMark Farm, in a statement Oct. 2. "We will bring him back to GoldMark to evaluate him and based on those findings make decisions regarding his future."
Cross Traffic, a 4-year-old son of Unbridled's Song out of the Cure the Blues mare Stop Traffic, developed into a top handicap horse for trainer Todd Pletcher in a relatively short period of time this year.
Starting his career at Gulfstream Park Jan. 24, he reeled off two impressive victories before tackling graded stakes company in only his third start. In the Aug. 3 Westchester Stakes (gr. III) he earned a 1 1/2 Ragozin number when losing by a short head to Belmont specialist Flat Out , who finished in a time of 1:32.99, three-fifths of a second off the world record.
Cross Traffic followed that effort with a nose loss to Sahara Sky in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I), just getting nipped after setting the pace in the one-mile test. Next came the Whitney, his first time around two turns, which he won by three quarters of a length over Successful Dan while defeating the one-two finishers of the 2012 Breeder's Cup Classic, Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man , and 2012 Travers (gr. I) winner Alpha .
Cross Traffic has a record of three wins and two seconds from six starts for earnings of $687,967, with four triple-digit Beyer numbers—the largest being a 116. He was bred in Kentucky by Diamond A Racing Corp. and was a $300,000 purchase at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga select yearling sale when consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent.