Man Among Men Out Remainder of 2003

R.D. Hubbard and Connie Sczesny's Man Among Men will be sidelined for the remainder of the year after suffering an injury to his left hind ankle, trainer Gary Mandella said. The 3-year-old son of Gentlemen was sent to his owners' Crystal Springs Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where he will recuperate for at least the next three months.

"He landed (in Kentucky) this morning," Mandella said. "It's disappointing, but we're looking forward to a big 4-year-old year from him."

Man Among Men's injury was discovered shortly after he worked a bullet five furlongs in :59 3/5 at Hollywood Park on May 25.

"He worked great," Mandella said. "But he came out a little funny behind, so we did a nuclear scan which found a little area; his left hind leg lit up. It's very fortunate that we found it early enough and it's a credit to the modern medicine we have that we can find these things before they need surgery.

"It's actually a blessing that we found it now. We were able to get ahead of it and give him the time off he needs to bring him back next year."

Kentucky-bred Man Among Men stamped himself as a legitimate Kentucky Derby (gr. I) contender in February with a length victory in the nine-furlong Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, defeating eventual classic winner Empire Maker. He was taken off the Triple Crown trail following two unplaced finishes in the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) and Arkansas Derby (gr. II) and was gearing up for a return to action this summer when the injury was discovered.

From seven starts, Man Among Men has reached the winner's circle three times and has earned $122,640. He also won the Pinjara Stakes over the turf after breaking his maiden by 5 ½ lengths over Del Mar's lawn.