Queen's Plate Favorite Dance With Ravens Sidelined

Dance With Ravens, the favorite in the Queen's Plate Stakes June 26 at Woodbine, will undergo surgery for the removal of a chip on his right front ankle. The son of A.P. Indy finished seventh in the classic.

Dr. Robert McMartin of Toronto will perform the surgery.

"He had been training great for the race," said trainer Mark Frostad. "He'll miss a minimum of three months."

Dance With Ravens, who finished first in the June 5 Plate Trial Stakes, but was disqualified to sixth for interference, was attempting to emulate two of his half-siblings and his dam in the Queen's Plate. In 2000, his half-brother Scatter the Gold won the 1 1/4-mile race. The following year, his half-sister Dancethruthedawn did the same. In 1991, his dam, Dance Smartly (by Danzig), won the Queen's Plate. Both Dancethruthedawn and Dance Smartly were champions at year's end.

A homebred for the Samuel family's Sam-Son Farm, Dance With Ravens won last year's Grey Breeders' Cup Stakes (Can-II) and was second in the Summer Stakes (Can-IIT). He sports two wins from seven starts and earnings of $262,284.