The Queen’s CARLTON HOUSE (Street Cry [Ire]) suffered a minor setback ahead
of Saturday’s Derby S. (Eng-G1) at Epsom, connections announced Tuesday. While
it is expected that the May 12 Dante S. (Eng-G1) winner will still make the
lineup for the Blue Riband, Racing Manager John Warren warned that it would be a
“day-by-day” brief after filling was found in one of the colt’s joints at
evening stables Monday.
“His joints weren’t quite a pair, and it became evident there might be an
issue, but this morning the horse was X-rayed and we found there to be no
abnormalities,” Warren explained. “It is a soft-tissue swelling and it’s a
day-by-day thing now, as no medication can be administered. It could be the
equivalent of a footballer straining his ankle, and it wasn’t evident in his
cantering yesterday that he took a false step.
“The horse is sound this morning and, luckily, his important work is out of
the way, so it would only be routine cantering that would be undertaken for the
remainder of the week anyway. It was a little bit sore and filled, but they will
be hosing, icing and wrapping the joint to speed up the healing process. I felt
this morning that we are still extremely hopeful.”
Warren revealed that Carlton House had trotted Tuesday and added, “I think
the fact that Sir Michael (Stoute) sent him out this morning really says it all
— it’s not as if he has to stand in his box and it’s a big issue. I suspect
that it will be well cared for during the day and this evening and in the
morning a little bit more information will come to the surface. Her Majesty just
wanted to know the detail and was typically philosophical, but is used to horses
and knows them inside out.”
Meanwhile, Ed Dunlop expressed his pleasure at snapping up Johnny Murtagh for
the ride on NATIVE KHAN (Azamour [Ire]) in Saturday’s classic. After the Two
Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) third completed his preparation Tuesday morning, the
Newmarket-based conditioner said, “We are delighted to have Johnny on our side.
He has already won the race on Sinndar, High Chaparral (Ire) and Motivator, and
he is a world-class jockey with a fantastic record around Epsom. He finished
third on Ouija Board (GB) in the 2004 (Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe [Fr-G1]), so we
know him well, and I am sure that he will do a great job for us.
“Obviously, it was disappointing hearing that Kieren (Fallon) had changed his
mind, and I felt particularly sorry for the owners, who wanted him to ride and
thought that they had their man. But it’s no big deal — Native Khan has run
five times, and Kieren was only aboard twice. We then went for Olivier Peslier,
who rode Native Khan in the Two Thousand Guineas, but he has to ride for the
Wertheimer brothers at Longchamp on Saturday, so had to decline. However,
getting Johnny is a real coup, and we are very happy about it.”