Injury Knocks Achilles of Troy Out of Derby Contention

Edited press release
Paraneck Stable's Achilles of Troy, winner of the Whirlaway and Count Fleet at Aqueduct, has been declared out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), so there will be no wagering on the colt in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager when it opens a four-day run on Thursday, April 6.

Wagering was suspended in KDFW Pool 3 on Achilles of Troy (#2) after Paraneck Stable's Ernie Paragallo told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday that the son of Notebook had suffered "heat in his left front suspensory" ligament and soreness in his rear end. Achilles of Troy had been pointed toward the $1 million Arkansas Derby (gr. II) on April 15, but now is expected to be out of training until summer. The Paraneck colt had been listed as a 50-1 shot in handicapper Mike Battaglia's Pool 3 morning line odds.

Paragallo confirmed the report to a Churchill Downs official, which led to the suspension of wagering on Achilles of Troy in Pool 3, which opens at racetracks and simulcast outlets across the country at noon (all times Eastern) on Thursday. The defection leaves 23 wagering interests in the pool, including a mutuel field (#24) that includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the remaining 22 individual horses.