And, just like that, Nadal is gone from the Triple Crown.
The big, bay colt, expected to be one of the stalwarts of this year's unorthodox series of classic races, was abruptly retired Thursday after he sustained a left front lateral condylar fracture after a workout at Santa Anita Race Track in California.
"Right now, everyone is just so disappointed," Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said by phone from California. "As long as this is not life-threatening, that is a good thing. He came out of surgery and the horse is going to be good."
Nadal, named for tennis great Rafael Nadal, worked a half-mile in a time of 48 4/5 seconds Thursday. Baffert said the son of Blame came back to the barn and he noticed Nadal was a bit off so X-rays were taken. The beginnings of a fracture were evident on the X-ray and the horse went into surgery at the equine hospital on the Santa Anita grounds.
Two screws were inserted and the horse was returned to Baffert's barn.
"He is lucky and we are lucky," Nadal's co-owner George Bolton said by phone from Jupiter, Fla. "Thank God he did not take one more step."
Unraced as a 2-year-old, Nadal had won all four of his starts this year by a combined 8 1/4 lengths. In his most recent start, he had won the second division of the Grade I, $500,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on May 2. The horse weighs a massive 1,325 pounds; the average thoroughbred weighs between 1,000 and 1,100 pounds.
Nadal had 150 points and was No. 1 on the Kentucky Derby qualifying points list.
Nadal's next race was scheduled to be the first leg of the Triple Crown, which, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is the $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 20. Normally contested at 1 1/2 miles, the Belmont this year will be run at 1 1/8 miles.
Bolton was looking forward to facing Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, considered by many to be the best 3-year-old on the East Coast. Tiz the Law, who last won the Florida Derby, has won both of his starts this year. Jack Knowlton of Saratoga Springs is the managing partner of Sackatoga Stable.
"I was looking forward to going against Tiz the Law," Bolton said. "I was excited. It was going to be great for the sport. Now, it's lost. Tiz the Law is going to win the Belmont."
Knowlton, when reached late Thursday afternoon, had heard the news of Nadal's injury. He was also awaiting the Tiz the Law-Nadal matchup at Belmont Park.
"It's unbelievable, I feel bad for them," Knowlton said. "Most people had Nadal and Tiz the Law at the top of the 3-year-old lists at this point."
Baffert still has two other high-profile 3-year-olds that are pointing to the classics. One of them, Charlatan, tested positive for a banned substance after he won the other division of the Arkansas Derby. A split sample is now being tested and if it comes back positive, it would likely mean Charlatan would be disqualified from first place, lose his 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and the purse money ($300,000 to the winner) would be redistributed.
Baffert told BloodHorse on Wednesday that he was thinking of running Charlatan in the Woody Stephens, a seven-furlong sprint on Belmont day instead of running both his colts in the Belmont.
"We will have to see how he trains," Baffert said when asked if Charlatan could be redirected to the Belmont.
A third Baffert horse, Authentic, is being pointed to the rescheduled Santa Anita Derby on June 6. Baffert said he is planning on keeping him there.
twilkin@timesunion.com • 518-454-5415 • @tjwilkin
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