Perfect Drift had captured the Lane's End Spiral Stakes earlier this year before finishing third in the Kentucky Derby behind War Emblem. Johnson, who is stabled at the Trackside training Center in Louisville, elected to run the gelding in the Belmont without a prep.
Trainer Murray Johnson said Monday that Perfect Drift, who finished 10th as the 5-1 second choice in the Belmont Stakes, came out of the race with a shin problem, which will keep him out of serious training for about 60 days."He wasn't lame after the race, but considering how he ran, we felt we should look for something," Johnson said. "We had him scanned and the scan revealed a hot spot on his shin, indicating the bone was undergoing some kind of change. It's similar to what horses do when they buck shins. But there were no microfractures. We'll treat him as we would with a 2-year-old that had bucked shins. We'll walk him for 30 days, then jog him for 30 days."
