The news was not good at the Bob Holthus barn for Skeet, who suffered a knee chip during his fourth-place finish in Thursday's Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (gr. III).Holthus saddled Keet to stunning sprint scores in the King Cotton and Hot Springs at the Oaklawn meeting, closed well in the Count Fleet, beaten by a length and a half as the 9-5 second choice.Skeet did not pull up well, and x-rays revealed a chip in his left knee. The 4-year-old will be sent this weekend to the Rood and Riddle Clinic in Lexington, Ky., where surgery will be performed on Tuesday.
Holthus, a nine-time Oaklawn champion trainer, took the news in stride."We knew something was wrong when Skeet couldn't sustain his rally," he said. "He was really coming on before he got hurt. When they run that fast, there's always the possibility of something going wrong. We'll give him six months and hope to bring him back in the Fall."