Hurricane Ike, winner of The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial (gr. III), will not start in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) this weekend, trainer John Sadler said May 12.
The son of Graeme Hall had been preparing for the second leg of the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs, where he won the Derby Trial by 2 3/4 lengths April 24. But he did not make his scheduled flight from Louisville to Baltimore May 12. Sadler said the colt was declared from the race due to an unspecified injury of the left hind leg that was discovered prior to the flight.
“My horse isn’t so fine. It’s something that came up this morning. I got a call telling me that he was off behind,” said Sadler from Hollywood Park.
Sadler’s veterinarian Dr. Ken Reed attended to the injury.
“This is pretty fresh, but it looks similar to the problem he had at Oak Tree,” said Sadler, referring to a condition that popped up last fall at Santa Anita and delayed the colt’s 3-year-old campaign. “He might have re-injured himself in the same area.”
Hurricane Ike, a winner of two of eights starts, is owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash. Out of the Future Storm mare Parental Uproar, he was bred in Florida by Stanley Boileau.
The departure of Hurricane Ike now leaves the Preakness field with 12 probable starters. The field will be drawn later today.