Casino Drive in doubt for Belmont
By DAVID GRENING
ELMONT, N.Y. ? Casino Drive?s status for Saturday?s Belmont Stakes became uncertain Friday morning after his connections found what they believe could be a stone bruise in the colt?s left hind foot.
Casino Drive, the second choice on the morning line behind Big Brown, did not go to the track Friday morning for his usual training. Nobutaka Tada, spokesman for Casino Drive?s connections, said the horse would be monitored throughout the day. Addressing the media in the Belmont press box at 6 p.m. Friday, Tada said Casino Drive was ?okay now? and had not been scratched.
?We want to run in the Belmont Stakes,? Tada said Friday morning. ?We are planning on running, but we have to be sure he is well.?
Tada said Casino Drive had been looked at by a veterinarian and that the colt had stood in ice in attempt to get any heat out of the foot.
When asked if there was heat in the foot, Tada said, ?At the beginning, a little bit. But now it?s okay.?
Tada said he and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa noticed something amiss early Friday morning when they took Casino Drive out of his stall to walk him before sending him to the track. Tada said they felt Casino Drive was not walking ?the way he walks every morning; a slight difference over a regular day. We think it?s a stone bruise.?
Casino Drive has been in New York since April 30. Every day before and after he trains, Casino Drive walks the barn area for 30 to 45 minutes.
Casino Drive has won both of his career starts. He won a maiden race in Japan in February then shipped to America to win the Grade 2 Peter Pan over this track. Casino Drive is a son of Mineshaft out of the dam Better Than Honour, who is the mother of the last two Belmont Stakes winners, Rags to Riches (2007) and Jazil (2006).
By DAVID GRENING
ELMONT, N.Y. ? Casino Drive?s status for Saturday?s Belmont Stakes became uncertain Friday morning after his connections found what they believe could be a stone bruise in the colt?s left hind foot.
Casino Drive, the second choice on the morning line behind Big Brown, did not go to the track Friday morning for his usual training. Nobutaka Tada, spokesman for Casino Drive?s connections, said the horse would be monitored throughout the day. Addressing the media in the Belmont press box at 6 p.m. Friday, Tada said Casino Drive was ?okay now? and had not been scratched.
?We want to run in the Belmont Stakes,? Tada said Friday morning. ?We are planning on running, but we have to be sure he is well.?
Tada said Casino Drive had been looked at by a veterinarian and that the colt had stood in ice in attempt to get any heat out of the foot.
When asked if there was heat in the foot, Tada said, ?At the beginning, a little bit. But now it?s okay.?
Tada said he and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa noticed something amiss early Friday morning when they took Casino Drive out of his stall to walk him before sending him to the track. Tada said they felt Casino Drive was not walking ?the way he walks every morning; a slight difference over a regular day. We think it?s a stone bruise.?
Casino Drive has been in New York since April 30. Every day before and after he trains, Casino Drive walks the barn area for 30 to 45 minutes.
Casino Drive has won both of his career starts. He won a maiden race in Japan in February then shipped to America to win the Grade 2 Peter Pan over this track. Casino Drive is a son of Mineshaft out of the dam Better Than Honour, who is the mother of the last two Belmont Stakes winners, Rags to Riches (2007) and Jazil (2006).
