Every year some three-year-olds that start out as hopefuls on the Road to the Triple Crown fall by the wayside.  Some simply prove not to be good enough, and some encounter a physical ailment that precludes their continuing down what could be their Cripple Crown.

Following are some who have been sidelined with ailments of one sort or another as well as our take on what the problem might actually be.

--Ron Parker

Believe in Hope - Trainer Ron Ellis was quoted in Daily Racing Form as saying that Believe in Hope "is just not acting right.  I'll give him some time to recoup."

After his maiden victory, Believe in Hope (Thunder Gulch--Hope Rises, by Mr. Greeley) was shoved right into two Grade 1 races 25 days apart.  Was it the stress of chasing Street Hero in the Norfolk?  He was already off for 3 1/2 months after that third place finish before Ellis said he was giving him some (more) time.  Or was it the unsoundness that comes with a double of Mr. Prospector (3S x 4D) which gives you Raise a Native (4S x 5D)?  A little dose of Reviewer in his pedigree doesn't help either.

Big Drama - We include Big Drama (Montbrook--Riveting Drama, by Notebook) in the spirit of equal time since he's off the trail after kicking himself in his stall hard enough to bruise the bone and subsequently undergoing surgery.  Trainer David Fawkes is wisely taking his time and looking ahead to something more realistic than trying to force the colt into the Derby.  In Big Drama's case, accidents will happen.

Midshipman - The champion two-year-old colt, Midshipman (Unbridled's Song--Fleet Lady, by Avenue of Flags) may get to make his three-year-old debut later this year.  He suffered what was described as a "minor" soft tissue injury to his left fore leg during routine exercise in Dubai on February 28, and Godolphin Racing Manager Simon Crisford says that they need "to give his injury time to settle."

There is no inbreeding in Midshipman's first five generations, so that's a positive, but Unbridled's Song is suspect in the soundness department.  Broodmare sire Avenue of Flags is similarly a serious question mark, having raced only three times.  After finishing second in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes (G2) in only his second start he underwent surgery on his right knee in the summer of 1990 and was out of action for seven months.  He returned to win an allowance race at Santa Anita in February of 1991, then reinjured the knee a month later in a workout.  A testament to his popularity with breeders is the fact that he has spent the last several years on a farm in New Mexico, advertised for a "private" fee.  His earlier tenure at a different New Mexico farm was for $5,000.

Old Fashioned - So here we have one of the presumably legitimate Kentucky Derby contenders sidelined with "a non-displaced slab fracture to his right knee" that was said to have happened while finishing a game second in the Arkansas Derby (G2).

We're not surprised he didn't get to the Derby, there are a number of weaknesses in his pedigree that we feel simply caught up with him after six starts.  I think what worried us the most was his sire, Unbridled's Song, sire of Midshipman (see above) as well as Eight Belles (no further explanation required).

And of course there's the 5S x 4D cross of (yawn) Raise a Native as only part of the problem.

Do you find it a sad commentary on today's Thoroughbreds that a page such as this one even exists?

Point Encounter - Here's a colt that was off the trail after one start.  Point Encounter (Point Given--Rita Rucker, by Dmitri) won his maiden debut at Santa Anita the day after Christmas last year and two weeks later trainer Carla Gaines said he was off the Derby Trail with a soft tissue injury and that "it could take a while" for him to return.  According to Daily Racing Form, "Gaines declined to be specific regarding the exact nature of the injury, and did not say if the colt hurt himself in the race or while training."

Added Gaines: "The things [injuries] that are showing up, who knows when they start?"

How about at conception.  Point Encounter has the Dangerous Double:  Raise a Native 5S x 5S via Mr. Prospector and Alydar, plus a 5S x 4D cross of Northern Dancer.  We might forgive the Raise a Native double since it comes from two sources (with Mr. Prospector being the weaker link) but then we find a dose of notoriously unsound Danzig.  You may recall it took Danzig nearly a year  to recover from his first start only to be retired after three races.  Double Raise a Native and add Danzig, that's like giving an arsonist a book of matches and a gas can.

Run Away and Hide - Here's another with only three starts after which he was whisked off to Darby Dan to make little Run Away and Hide's.  Unbeaten in those three races including a Grade 2 and Grade 3, Run Away and Hide (City Zip--Jilted, by Runaway Groom) was well regarded by his connections but suffered a "knee injury" last October while working out in anticipation of the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

One can only wonder about the lack of any details about the "knee injury" and why such a well regarded racing prospect was whisked off to stud while he was still a two-year-old.

What we find in this pedigree is a disturbing number of relatives who started very few times.  The first three generations of his female family started in a combined 16 races.  Scattered throughout his first four generations are Raise a Native (4 starts), Sailaway (3), Stalwart (5), Hoist the Flag (6), and unraced mares Blushing Promise and Runaway Bride (GB).  We would be remiss not to point out that there are other horses in this pedigree that started a number of times but as Ellen often points out, "unsoundness trumps soundness."

Saratoga Sinner - After four career starts (two wins including the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes), Saratoga Sinner (Harlan's Holiday--Naughty Linda, by Slew City Slew) was sidelined after the Holy Bull with a chip in his left knee and trainer Eddie Kenneally indicated he would give the colt time off until the summer.

"He is a very sound horse," Kenneally said. "It's just one of those things.  It's very tough."

Well, there is unsoundness in the sire line, but the bottom half of the pedigree offers a  healthy dose of turf blood, most notably Round Table (6D) through Poker, Round Table again (5D), and Round Table's full sister Monarchy (5D). 

Saratoga Sinner has yet to race on grass, but we sure would like to see what he can do on it.

Street Hero - Here we have the winner of the Norfolk Stakes (G1), which also happened to be his only win in six starts as a two-year-old.  Yes, that's correct, he broke his maiden in a Grade 1 race, and followed that with a third in the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), beaten 1 3/4-lengths by Midshipman.  Yes, the Midshipman who is recovering from a "minor" soft tissue injury.

But Street Hero (Street Cry [Ire]--Squall Linda, by Summer Squall) was finished before his third birthday, undergoing knee surgery after the Breeders' Cup, and was sent to Vinery for stud duty.

So we have another three-year-old shuffled off to try and make the bucks as a stallion, bringing with him some Mr. Prospector (Raise a Native) and Storm Bird (Northern Dancer) blood which will no doubt be mixed with more of the same to further weaken the breed in the name of greed.

Post Trail Happenings

Terrain -  Were you stunned that Terrain (Sky Mesa--Minery, by Forty Niner) pulled up approaching the three-eighths marker in the Iowa Derby on June 26 and was vanned off the track?  Shocked that he was promptly euthanized due to the severity of a fractured sesamoid and condylar fracture in his right front leg?

"He warmed up well, started off nice," trainer Al Stall Jr. said. "Robby [jockey Robby Albarado] said he was like butter, but down the backside something went wrong."

Okay, folks, this is a recording, if you double Raise a Native you're at risk, if you triple Raise a Native you have no business asking what manner of cruel fate accounted for this tragedy. 

Terrain was the product of Raise a Native 5S x 4D, both through Mr. Prospector, with an additional 6S presence via Exclusive Native.  An additional possible pedigree weakness lies in the form of granddam Orseno, a half sibling to an increasingly suspect Unbridled, but that seems like a minor problem in light of Raise a Native 5S x 4D x 6S.